A Fall Card and a Fall Soup Recipe

Not much to report on today. I spent most of the day working on another quilt top while Joe cut grass – again! Usually in September he only has to cut the grass once a week or less but with the couple of hot humid days we had and then a day of steady rain it grew like it was June. They are predicting another rainy day tomorrow so he was happy to get it done. I didn’t do any yard work with him today. My legs and back were still tired from standing and cooking all day yesterday. Speaking of which, one of my faithful followers requested I post the recipe for my veggie/cabbage soup – oh, oh big problem…I don’t use recipes. To me they are guide lines only and in this case, not even that. I can tell you what I put into it, but not measurements, and I can tell you how to do it but quite honestly not much that I make tastes the same twice.

Today’s card is posted at the end so if you are not into making soup, feel free to scroll down.

So, to make the soup, I suggest you chop all veggies ahead of time….chop potatoes last and put them in cold water so they don’t turn brown….drain water before adding to soup pot. I use my food processor for most of the chopping because some veggies that Joe says he doesn’t really like I chop up finer so he cannot identify them – and he loves my soup – so it’s pretty much mind over matter I’m guessing.

Okay, chop the veggies and yesterday I put in: onions, mushrooms, carrots, red peppers, green peppers, garlic, celery, sweet potatoes (yams) and red potatoes, cabbage, black beans and red kidney beans (because those are the two I had on hand). Feel free to add or subtract any veggie or bean. I use canned beans so I rinse them very well to remove the brine they come in. Sometimes I add corn and peas too, sometimes turnip or parsnips.

Pour broth into a large pot (no oil) – I don’t eat meat so mine was organic vegetable broth but any broth will work. If you are using bouillon cubes be careful of the sodium content….and if they contain corn syrup solids throw them away…eating that is like putting glass shards through your veins!  Sorry, off topic - Add a can of diced tomatoes and some tomato paste...to taste is the best I can say. I freeze tomato paste by placing about a tablespoon of it on parchment paper on a plastic or foil plate, cover with foil and freeze....then store in the freezer in a container or freezer bag. I hate that tomato paste comes in a can…it’s one of my pet peeves. Sorry, off topic again! Add seasonings – salt and pepper, Mrs. Dash, celery seed, etc. What ever you usually use is fine. If the broth and tomatoes do not cover the veggies, keep adding more of each until all veggies are under broth. You may have to add more as it cooks too.

Bring it all to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it cook away, stirring about every 10 minutes to make sure it doesn’t stick and to move the veggies around. It takes a long time if you are making a huge pot of it like I was (we ended up with enough for six(6) meals!) but for most people it should only take an hour or so. Here’s a hint, instead of buying a whole cabbage and having to slice it – I also hate that part – buy a bag of coleslaw cabbage already sliced up but use it for soup instead adding dressing for coleslaw….if it comes with julienne carrots it’s a bonus.

So that’s it. Keep stirring and tasting and adjusting seasonings as you go until the potatoes are done. When the potatoes are done, the soup is ready. I mixed up some cheese biscuits, with garlic butter drizzled over the top as soon as they came out of the oven, to eat with it and called it a meal!

Okay, whew, that was a long explanation. I think it’s easier to pass on an actual recipe! Today’s card is for the challenge at Stamping Bella. She is coming out with 40 new stamps this month! I could use some more stamps---yeah, right!

This image is one of the Ramona stamps and I decided to make it into a fall birthday card but I wanted Ramona to stand out so I coloured her in the green. This time I used my alcohol markers and Prismacolor and Derwent makers to do the shading. Paper is from the stash and I love it when it matches! The banner was die cut but the triangle shapes on it were too small for my liking so I used it as a foundation and die cut six larger banner pieces and wrote “wishes” on them. I think it works.

That’s all for a Friday,

Cheers

Violet