| I am one of those people who anticipate with glee | | | | Just last night I peeked in the fridge and pawed |
| the clear crisp autumn mornings. Give me gloomy | | | | through the cupboards pulling out the left over |
| gray clouds with a slight rainy mist moving over the | | | | ground beef, some broth, an assortment of canned |
| blooms of spring and two things will immediately | | | | vegetables, and the ubiquitous jar of spaghetti sauce. |
| happen: the closet will resemble an end-of-summer | | | | I made my (mom's, really) Minestrone Mumbo for my |
| department store clearance rack as the fall wardrobe | | | | husband, my parents, and my daughters. It tasted |
| takes over, and the stovetop will brim with comfort | | | | just like those old school days. Mom smiled, "You got |
| food. And of all the politically incorrect comfort dishes | | | | this out of great grandma's secret recipe trunk, didn't |
| bursting from my flour-dusted and grease-stained | | | | you?" |
| mid-1950's edition Betty Crocker cookbook, my | | | | "Sure did Mom, just like you did." |
| favorite fall cuisine would have to be soup. | | | | Minestrone Mumbo (Serves six) |
| Soup (the creamier, the better!) transports me to my | | | | 1 lb. ground beef |
| grade school days, wearing my little red jumper | | | | 4 potatoes (diced) |
| dress, where upon twisting the plastic cap on my | | | | 1 can of corn with liquid |
| Partridge Family thermos I am rewarded with a whiff | | | | 1 can of green beans drained |
| of mom's Slumgullion soup. To this day I'd lay bets | | | | ½ to ¾ bag of shell noodles (any noodle |
| that the smell of that soup wafting on a stiff fall | | | | will do) |
| afternoon breeze brought my test scores up at least | | | | 1 cup of fresh vegetables (zucchini is what I prefer) |
| twenty percent. | | | | 6 tsps, or cubes of beef bouillon |
| Once a week mom would magically create a soup | | | | 1 jar of red spaghetti sauce |
| our huge pot she jokingly called "the cauldron." and | | | | Salt and pepper to taste |
| the resulting aroma that would seep into every | | | | Instructions: Brown the ground beef in pan and drain |
| corner and crevice of our home wasn't of this world. | | | | out fat. Salt and pepper the meat. |
| Like the cartoons of the day, I could imagine my | | | | Boil the potatoes in water until soft. Once potatoes |
| feet being lifted off the ground, nose sniffing the air, | | | | are soft, drain out enough water so that the |
| as I floated toward the simmering taste of heaven | | | | potatoes are just covered. |
| coming from the kitchen. | | | | Adjust stove temperature to medium and add |
| Mom had many names for her consommé | | | | drained ground beef. Make sure the water is at a |
| concoctions; Italian Delight, Everything but the | | | | small boil and add your dry noodles. Cook until |
| Kitchen Sink, or my favorite: Slumgullion Soup. And I | | | | noodles are tender. |
| loved every slurp, despite the outrageous names. | | | | Add can of corn with juice, can of green beans |
| When I grew older, and asked mom for the recipes | | | | drained, any other vegetable you would like, and 6 |
| to her incredible soups, she let me in on The Big | | | | tsps or cubes of beef bouillon, then simmer. Taste to |
| Secret: every one of her soups was made from | | | | make sure there is enough beef flavor from the |
| leftovers. They weren't exactly recipes, she | | | | bouillon. (Sometimes it can need more or less bouillon; |
| stammered, a little embarrassed at the thought. How | | | | it just depends on the day, so make sure to taste. |
| could she not have recipes for her incredible gourmet | | | | At this point, pour in the jar of spaghetti and bring |
| soups? | | | | the pot back up to a simmer. (This soup can also be |
| I couldn't fathom that these bowls of bliss which I so | | | | made with chicken and chicken broth instead of beef |
| closely connected with my wonder years weren't | | | | broth, and Alfredo sauce in place of red sauce. It's |
| going to be passed down for future generations. I | | | | great with a little bit of parmesan cheese and |
| was almost incensed until I realized that while they | | | | cornbread, or French rolls. You'll probably even have |
| may not have been pulled from the pages of a | | | | leftovers to pour into the school Thermos, as well. |
| gourmet magazine or from hand-scrawled notes | | | | Beth loves to write about her childhood and her |
| long-stored in great grandma's recipe trunk, these | | | | quirky family. Beth and her husband, Lee, are |
| soups were put together out of a combination of | | | | instructors and lecturers in applying the Law of |
| financial necessity and love. I know that now. | | | | Attraction in life to attain whatever you desire. |