Stick To Your Ribs

The weather outside for some of us is frightful. When it is cold out my food needs to be hot and savory. Enter my mother’s everything but the kitchen sink soup.  

Bear with me on the steps because my mother is what I would call a, “I used whatever I had in the house and made it work type of cook.” You know the best kind.  

Step one is to gather any and all ground provisions in the vicinity, then add to them some pumpkin, onion, garlic and thyme. If you are like me and like your food a little on the spicy side you already have some type of jerk/hot sauce/sriracha in the fridge. Bring that out as well. 

I usually add some type of bean, lentil or pea to my soup. This time I had some chickpeas in my cupboard, so chickpeas it was. The chickpeas were in a can. I opened the can drained and rinsed the peas and then put them aside. You can skip this part if you like. 

Step two is to peel the vegetables and chop up the garlic and onions. How much garlic, how many onions and what about the thyme? Personally I think when it comes to cooking exact measurements are for pansies professionals, but for the sake of tradition I would say 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 onion, 1 & 1/2  tablespoons of jerk seasoning and 1 tablespoon of thyme. However, I won’t feel any kind of way if you decide to add more or less depending on your taste.   

Step 3 is to pick a pot that is going to be big enough to hold the veggies you were able to find. I used a dish that was five quarts which left me plenty of space. Lightly coat the bottom of the chosen pot with olive oil then add the chopped up veggies and the spices and stir over a low heat for about 3 minutes. The goal is to thoroughly mix everything together. While you are stirring put the kettle on with enough water to completely cover what you have in the pot so far. 

Step 4 is to add the boiled water to the pot. You want to add enough water to give your veggies time to soften.  Cover the pot, turn the stove to medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can monitor the progress by poking the veggies with a fork. They should feel soft but firm.

If my peas/beans are in a can I will add them at this point and turn the stove down to low for another 10 minutes for step 5.

And finally, the finished product above. 🍲 What do you like to eat when the temperature drops?

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