More than soup...

When is vegetable soup more than soup?
When it becomes a tradition. 
When it marks the beginning of the season.
When it acts as a lesson in 
cooperation,
food preparation,
produce harvesting,
and plant biology.
When it warms the heart, and nourishes the soul.
I didn't even realize that Ava looked forward to this particular soup every year until I over heard her explaining to her brother that in when the weather cools we
"...make a wonderful soup.  We all work together to make it."
I had been so wrapped up in holiday planning that I honestly forgot about this soup.
(oops.)
We started making it in our Waldorf playgroup right around Ava's first birthday.
She was right.  She has eaten this soup, prepared this way every year that she has eaten food! 
(and I was going to forget it!?)
In playgroup it was made with whatever ingredients each family brought to add.  At home it starts with trip to the produce section.  Choosing a little bit of absolutely everything that looks good.  We bring it home and set up chopping stations.  A board, a chopper (this, and this) and two bowls for each of us.  One bowl for the soup, and one for the waste.  My babies help from start to finish.  We enjoy this soup with some warm bread with butter, or nut spread.  We are still working on the proper name for our soup.  Some suggestions have been... Vegetable Curry (though there isn't any curry), Baseball soup (though there aren't any baseballs) Friendship soup, Cooperation soup, and Vegetable Soup.  We'll have to keep working on the name.

Our Soup Recipe

~Warm some butter (and /or olive oil)
~Soften some garlic and onion
~Add chopped veggies
(today we used Turnips, Rutabagas, Beats,
beat greens, carrots, potato, garnet yams,
zucchini, white corn, yellow squash, swiss chard, purple
cauliflower, and I think that's all)
~add enough water to look soup-ish
~heat until done!

we add a spoonful of miso to our bowls