Homemade Soup From Vermont

Recently, my favorite Vermonter sent me her family recipe for Potato Vegetable Soup. I decided to try it. With the vegetable broth not the chicken. It is delicious.

What follows, is my first attempt at documented cooking also known as pictures of me making the Potato Vegetable Soup. I will analyze the nutrition for you at the end.

Here we go. My comments are in BOLD:

From Vermonter:

"This is a family favorite soup that warms you from the inside out and is hearty and healthy! Also i included my favorite biscuit recipe which goes along very, very well." (PLEASE NOTE I DID NOT MAKE THE BISCUITS, I ATE MY SOUP WITH CHIPS AS I TEND TO DO, BUT THE BISCUIT SOUNDS DELICIOUS AND I ENCOURAGE THE MAKING OF IT)

POTATO VEGETABLE SOUP
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter or margarine (I USED BUTTER)
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth(VEGETABLE IS DELICIOUS!)
5 medium russet potatoes, cubed (and peeled if desired) (PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LEAVE THE SKIN ON. YOU CAN'T TELL, AND BY GETTING RID OF IT YOU ARE RIDDING THE POTATOES OF THEIR NUTRITIONAL CONTRIBUTION)
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium celery stalks, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced (VERMONTER WOULD LIKE ME TO REMIND YOU THAT WITH DRIED HERBS USE HALF)
3 sprigs fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Saute the garlic and onion in a saucepan in the butter or margarine until the onion is translucent
2. Add broth and veggies and bring to a boil
3. Simmer 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender
4. Add dill, parsley, salt and pepper
5. (optional but highly recommended) throw it all in the food processor and blend until creamy (I DID THIS, AND I TOO RECOMMEND IT...)

Of course, you don't have to use fresh herbs, but the parsley especially makes this soup incredible. (I ALSO AGREE WITH THIS POINT)

Here are most of my ingredients ready to go. I was not overly concerned with my knife skills or presentation because I fully intended to food process this soup from the get go. I love creamy soups. However, if you have other plans, maybe take a little more consideration. On the other hand, there's something beautiful about things that are not perfect so...but at least cut the carrots a little smaller than I did.

Here we are getting ready to boil. You can see where this is going to be good.

Here is the final product. It is sooo good. I've been eating it with tortilla chips.

Okay, so for the nutritional breakdown...please note this is a general breakdown. Depending on the size of potatoes this could vary. Also, I had an extra cup of vegetable broth bumping my volume up a little bit. The final result? A batch with a volume of 12-13 cups worth a total of 1120 calories. That is between 85-93 calories per cup. Not bad, not bad at all.

How did I come to this? I gave 30 calories to the garlic because I used a whole one, 50 calories to my giant onion, 100 calories to my butter, 60 calories to my broth, 800 calories to my potatoes, 50 calories to my carrots, 10 caloreis to my celery, and 20 caloreis to my zucchini. I used calorieking.com to check on any calorie I was unsure of.

No matter what you do, if you basically follow the recipe your nutrition profile should come somewhere near mine. This soup has tons of vegetables which means tons of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It's great tasting and great for you. I hope you make it and enjoy.

Here is the biscuit recipe if you aren't interested in tortilla chips:

STRATFORD HALL BISCUITS

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup chilled margarine

3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Toss dry ingredients together

3. Cut in margarine with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs

4. Pour in milk and mix until the dough just holds together. Don't over mix!

5. Gently knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until ingredients are well distributed

6. Cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter. I choose a heart- or star-shaped cookie cutter, but if you use something different they'll probably still taste the same

7. Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until they are golden brown on top

8. Enjoy with Potato Vegetable soup

Enjoy!

NAOmni