Soup for a Winter Day

One of my favorite dishes to prepare is a pot of soup especially when the winter day is gray and gloomy.  There is no snow on the ground today and it is actually warm for the middle of winter.  But as I thought about what to prepare for lunch today, the thought of a savory soup came to mind.

The first thing I did was check out the soup section of my personal notebook of recipes to get some ideas.  Yes!! Cabbage Fat-Burning Soup sounded great!  I checked out my storehouse of food to see what ingredients I had available.

The freezer had frozen bags of shredded zucchini and cabbage from my summer garden.  Also a bag of cooked black beans.

Frozen shredded zucchini, black beans, and shredded cabbage were ready to be added to the soup.

Umm…I love making a cabbage soup with lots of other ingredients.  It seemed like a opportune time to empty the remainder of the bag of Swiss Chard into the soup.

 

 

The cellar yielded chopped tomatoes and tomato juice in glass jars.  I choose chicken broth in a cardboard box as the liquid base of the soup.

The jars of canned tomatoes remind me of the hot days September when I was picking and canning these red fruits.

The vegetable keeper in the fridge had the last bag of carrots from the garden.  Amazingly, they were still usable.  There was some chopped onion, extra stalks of celery leftover from a veggie platter, and cooked chicken breast with some broth.  To finish the soup, the kitchen cupboard had pearled barley and Italian seasoning.

I immediately started the process by sauteing onion and celery in coconut oil.  I added about 2 cups of the chicken broth, a pint of the tomatoes in their liquid, and 2 cups of the tomato juice.

Next, 1/3 cup of barley, about 1 cup of chopped carrots, the bag of black beans, the cabbage and zucchini were added.  I thawed them enough so they would break apart and not be one solid chunk.

While those ingredients simmered, I chopped and added the cooked chicken breast and Italian seasonings.  More broth was needed so it would not be too thick.  The soup simmered for about 40 minutes so the barley would be soft and all the flavors combined.

This would be considered a thick, chunky soup but not a chowder since it is not thickened with flour.  The barley seemed to add a bit of thickness so it not completely a clear broth base.

This soup is great for an easy lunch and full of nutrition.  You can do your own version with what you have on hand when you start thinking it is a soup day!

I would love to hear what soups you enjoy.

“My husband said that his favorite soup is my homemade tomato soup!”

 

 

Hidden Treasures

Beaugard Sweet Potatoes are one of my favorite root crops. This cluster had about twelve sweet potatoes of varying sizes.

Did you know that potatoes,carrots, red beets, onions and other root crops that grow under the ground are like hidden treasures?  While they are growing underground they are like a buried treasure.

In early summer around the middle of June, I can’t wait to see if there are any little red potatoes growing under that green leafy plant.  I will cautiously loosen the dirt underneath the plant to find some evidence of the harvest that is still yet to come.  I will usually find enough small potatoes that will suffice for a meal.  They are a tasty treasure.

We also have hidden treasures growing underground where no one can see.  We are storing up treasures in heaven by our daily deeds.

In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus spoke to us that treasure here on this earth can rust, be eaten by moths, and thieves can break in and steal it.  Last week a couple told me how their valuable coins that were stored in a safe box in the bank were stolen!  We think if it’s in the bank, it is safe.  Our clothes don’t last, our cars rust, and things can be stolen but what we store in heaven is secure.

So what are the treasures that we store in heaven?  It sounds kind of like an investment that we make for the future.  Investing in people is one way.

This became real to me when I was in the middle of caring for my children.  I was bathing the toddlers one evening and feeling rather exhausted.  The question came to my mind, “What impact am I having in the world?” Then the Holy Spirit brought to my mind these verses from Matthew.  My children were treasures!

I could be working and making money to buy clothes, nicer furniture or cars but those things would all wear out and have no lasting value. In this season of life, I was investing my life in the children that the Lord had given us.

Just like the root crops that are growing underground, we can’t see the total picture of what God has in mind for our children.  We might have a glimpse as we search for the precious fruit that is growing in their lives until they mature to all the plans God has prepared for them.  My husband and I would rejoice when our children made wise choices to follow God’s ways.  Those children are now parents investing in their children.

There are many other ways that we store up treasure in heaven.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this!