Vegetable Soup

 This is the kind of soup I wish I could eat every night.  I can not imagine anyone not liking this soup.  It had heartiness with the potatoes and the veggies in it were just amazing together.  I love that I can have 2 bowls, and gorge myself, and not feel an ounce of guilt. I love that I only had one pot to wash.  I love that it had so  much flavor, color and I felt so good about feeding this to my family, and they all loved it!  Even the 2 year old.

I really was looking to make more of a vegetable stew.  I wanted the veggies kind of rustic and large, but then I remembered I have a 2 year old, and diced somewhere in-between a dice and coarse chop.  The vegetables kind of melt into each other and get really tender.  I know some vitamins get lost when you cook veggies, but when it tastes like this, I will take the depletion happily.  This is a very versatile soup.   Add what you like, and leave out what you don't.  But did I mention how good this was? 



VEGETABLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 TBSP olive oil (I substituted some for flaxseed oil)
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 2 cups carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cup chopped red cabbage
• 1 large zucchini, quartered and chopped
• 1- 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 3-4 cups water
• 2 TBSP fresh parsley chopped or 2 tsp. dry
• salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Over medium high heat, put the oil in a big stock pot and dump in the potatoes, onions, celery and carrots.  Cook for about 10 minutes, scraping the bottom as necessary to prevent the potatoes from sticking.    Add the cabbage, and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the can of tomatoes, broth, water and zucchini a bit of salt and pepper.  Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add parsley and let simmer uncovered another 20-30 minutes, until all the veggies are tender and cooked through.  Taste broth to see if needs seasoning and add accordingly.  Serve with crusty bread and if desired, Parmesan cheese.