Vegetable Soup

I was making vegetable soup the other day and I am always struck by how beautiful the pot looks when its filled with carrots, celery, and onion. I love the orange, green and white.

I also love warm soup in the winter. George and I have been making this vegetable soup a lot and I never get tired of it.

Here is the recipe:

Olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic
3 stalks celery
1-2 onions
2-3 carrots
1 carton vegetable stock
3-4 fistfuls spinach
1 container mushrooms
Cheese and/or sour cream for topping

Pour olive oil into large pot (enough to thinly coat bottom of pan - maybe 4-5 tablespoons). Slice garlic, celery, onions and carrots and cook in olive oil until softened (about 5-7 minutes). Add entire carton of vegetable stock. Fill vegetable stock carton with water and add to pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least an hour. Add spinach (if you like spinach you can really add quite a bit). Let spinach wilt. At this point I like to grind it with a hand grinder to make it a smooth consistency. You can just leave it if you like it chunky. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft (5-10 minutes). Serve hot and top with cheese or sour cream.

This recipe is very flexible. I add random (often unidentifiable) vegetables from the CSA and it always turns out delicious. You can also add chicken or turkey if you have it.