End of the Hoop House Season Soup, tra-laaa!
These are things that I found in my hoop house this week: curly dock (I did not plant it, but I’m gonna eat it) a few parsnips, a few leeks, and a couple of carrots. My sense of adventure and my absurdly fine-tuned frugality decided right then and there that I was going to make soup. Soup. Spring hoop house gleanings soup. And it was going to be GLORIOUSly delicious. I hoped.
This soup was going to be my pitiful little fists shaking at winter, with its bitter temps and its ongoing grayness and its absurd length this year. And its lack of snow. I’ve always been of the opinion (I realize that many do not see eye to eye with me on this, and I understand and accept this without rancor) that if it’s going to be cold, there might as well be snow on the ground.
Just think about it for a moment. Snow is pretty. It turns everything blue at sundown. Blue is my favorite color. Snow covers up the gray and the brown and the sad, forlorn, emptiness of the garden. Snow is a consolation to those of us who must endure at least half of the calendar year in cold, blowsy, often-bitter winter.
We did have a bit of snow before Christmas, and plenty of ice on which to try out little Mack’s new ice skates. So our winter has not been a total bust, winter-fun-wise.
But this winter was curiously dry and unreasonably cold here in Nebraska. Sadly snowless. Did you know that little Mack and I haven’t made even one snowman? We went sledding only once. Winter has been stingy with us this year, and we are ready for the old gray man to scoot on outta here. Thus, the End of the Hoop House Season Soup. Tra-laaa! Take that, Winter!
I hadn’t actually been in the hoop house for several weeks. I knew that I had left some leeks out there to freeze (alas) and also some carrots (rats) and I figured that they were (figuratively speaking) toast long ago. What self-respecting carrot, I ask you, can withstand temps of -10°? None that I’m acquainted with.
So I was astonished to find not only a few leeks, still crisp and happy in their bed of wood chips (thank you Paul Gautschi) but also some carrots (hard to find because their tops froze, but still there!) and some parsnips (the tops of which were putting out new growth, what optimists!). I dug these amazing winter survivors up and took pictures of them since I had my camera in my pocket.
Absolutely they deserved their own pictures, wouldn’t you say? Like all of us here in the Midwest (and many other frigid areas of the world, too), they actually deserved a party just for Making It Through.
Here’s what the winter-weary leek looks like on the outside. . .
Here is my collection of winter-survivors, destined for the soup pot. . . . say cheese!
Check out this crazy carrot! (The show-off!)
As I chopped and sauteed and stirred and simmered, I thought to myself that if this soup was any good, I’d share the recipe with you, my Gentle Reader. Because I figured that if I was sick and tired of winter and needed a lift that a clear-brothed, veggie-packed, herb-laced soup would give, well then, you might, too.
It was good soup. It was delicious soup. So here we go. Here’s what it looked like:
And here’s how I made it:
- 2 Tbs lard
- 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large leek, white and light-green parts only, washed and thinly sliced
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 6 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
- 2 cups frozen lima beans
- 8 cups Chicken Foot Broth or any good chicken broth
- 2 cup baby artichoke hearts, halved
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup torn fresh basil
- 1/2 cup torn fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 cups cooked chicken (optional)
- Warm the lard and olive oil in a heavy stockpot over medium heat. When the lard melts, stir in the leek and lemon zest and fry until begin to smell wonderful and the leek softens, about 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots and parsnips and saute, stirring from time to time, until crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the broth, lima beans, and artichoke hearts. Cover and simmer until the vegetables become tender, about 30 minutes. Season to your liking with salt and pepper, stir in the herbs and serve. Also optional chicken, if you like.
- Crock pot directions: After sauteeing the veg, stir all ingredients EXCEPT artichoke hearts and herbs, into your crock pot and let cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, stirring in artichokes and herbs and cooked chicken right before serving.
Oh! And here’s how to make the chicken feet broth, if you are so inclined. 🙂
I’m sharing this link with Jill and the good folks over at The Prairie Homestead, if you’d like to pop over and see what all the fuss is all about!
- Onward and upward: outward and trashward
- The NEW Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day . . . and a Guilty Secret
16 thoughts on “End of the Hoop House Season Soup, tra-laaa!”
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I totally agree that if it is cold there should be snow on the ground. We had one good snow, lots of ice and many teaser snows just dusting the landscape and disappearing as soon as the sky cleared or lightened. An inch yesterday, gone by late afternoon and an inch when I awoke, rapidly disappearing. You soup looks yummy. I need a hoop house.
Fran,
You DO need a hoop house. Everybody who likes to grow their own foods ought to have one. And where do you live? It sounds suspiciously like Nebraska. Except for all the snow. 😉
Pinned! It sounds like a delicious soup – I wouldn’t have thought of the baby artichokes. (or lard-my husband would have used olive oil).
Alana, I think the baby artichokes just MAKE this soup. And the leeks. And the lima beans. And I think using just olive oil would be just fine.
Im like you, if it is going to be this cold, I want snow, at least it looks prettier! Out here in Western NY it has been running 20-30 degrees below normal all winter. We hit 40 the other day and people were walking around in shorts. We *might* hit 50 on monday!
Glad the veggies made it through, and you got to have a nice soup out of it!
Thanks Diane! I’ve heard that NY has had a brutal winter, too. Spring can’t come soon enough for me!
Oh, wow, does that look good! There’s nothing better than going to the garden in the (spring?) and finding a few root vegetables. Especially those parsnips. I always left then there on purpose. Sweet parsnips fried in butter. Drool. Thanks for sharing. The images are wonderful! You sound like you have a nice, happy life. Peace to you.
Jeanne,
Next year I’ll intentionally leave parsnips in the hoop house, now that I see that they’re fine out there!
Well vegetable soup does sound so good right now. I am Freezing and hate it up here in Wisconsin. First time I actually hated being anywhere but this old body will not take the cold. 10 degrees this morning at 4:30 as I tried to convince my wife that the Bible states that a man is the head of the house and the wife should honer him, therefore she should walk the dogs. My wife was not buying any of it, so I ended up walking the dogs. I need to review that Bible passage. It’s going to be 60 degrees here on Saturday, and of course I will be in Pa. Visiting my sister, where I am sure it is colder. Soup and a hot water bottle are the only bright spots of the day. Thanks for the recipe. We have everything on hand so just maybe I’ll head to the kitchen if I can find the energy.
Some of my best is pinch a bit of this and that. I tried to winter over my leeks no such luck.
Coffee is on
I’ll take that cup of coffee, Dora!
Glad you found the gleanings for a remnant soup…
Had I known you missed a snowman, we would have had you over and “enjoyed” our plentiful sources this year.
Your soup sounds hearty and delicious Amy. What makes it even better is the fact that it’s made from your own produce! You can’t go wrong with soup, we always have some stored in the fridge/ freezer. It’s so simple to make! 🙂
Oh yes, Sophie, soup is the best, especially when it’s cold and winter refuses to leave! 😉
Fabulous, nutritious and hearty. Everything I love in a soup. This one looks absolutely wonderful and flavour packed. I am going to make it next week.
You’ll love it, Anita-Clare!