Autumn in a Soup Thermos

I am one of those people who anticipate with gleesoups were put together out of a combination of
the clear crisp autumn mornings. Give me gloomyfinancial necessity and love. I know that now.
gray clouds with a slight rainy mist moving over theJust last night I peeked in the fridge and pawed
blooms of spring and two things will immediatelythrough the cupboards pulling out the left over
happen: the closet will resemble an end-of-summerground beef, some broth, an assortment of canned
department store clearance rack as the fall wardrobevegetables, and the ubiquitous jar of spaghetti sauce.
takes over, and the stovetop will brim with comfortI made my (mom's, really) Minestrone Mumbo for my
food. And of all the politically incorrect comfort disheshusband, my parents, and my daughters. It tasted
bursting from my flour-dusted and grease-stainedjust like those old school days. Mom smiled, "You got
mid-1950's edition Betty Crocker cookbook, mythis out of great grandma's secret recipe trunk, didnt
favorite fall cuisine would have to be soup.you?"
Soup (the creamier, the better!) transports me to my"Sure did Mom, just like you did."
grade school days, wearing my little red jumperMinestrone Mumbo
dress, where upon twisting the plastic cap on my(Serves six)
Partridge Family thermos I am rewarded with a whiff1 lb. ground beef
of mom's Slumgullion soup. To this day I'd lay bets4 potatoes (diced)
that the smell of that soup wafting on a stiff fall1 can of corn with liquid
afternoon breeze brought my test scores up at least1 can of green beans drainedto bag of shell noodles
twenty percent.(any noodle will do)
Once a week mom would magically create a soup1 cup of fresh vegetables (zucchini is what I prefer)
our huge pot she jokingly called "the cauldron." and6 tsps, or cubes of beef bouillon
the resulting aroma that would seep into every1 jar of red spaghetti sauce
corner and crevice of our home wasn't of this world.Salt and pepper to taste
Like the cartoons of the day, I could imagine myInstructions: Brown the ground beef in pan and drain
feet being lifted off the ground, nose sniffing the air,out fat. Salt and pepper the meat.
as I floated toward the simmering taste of heavenBoil the potatoes in water until soft. Once potatoes
coming from the kitchen.are soft, drain out enough water so that the
Mom had many names for her consommepotatoes are just covered.
concoctions; Italian Delight, Everything but theAdjust stove temperature to medium and add
Kitchen Sink, or my favorite: Slumgullion Soup. And Idrained ground beef. Make sure the water is at a
loved every slurp, despite the outrageous names.small boil and add your dry noodles. Cook until
When I grew older, and asked mom for the recipesnoodles are tender.
to her incredible soups, she let me in on The BigAdd can of corn with juice, can of green beans
Secret: every one of her soups was made fromdrained, any other vegetable you would like, and 6
leftovers. They weren't exactly recipes, shetsps or cubes of beef bouillon, then simmer. Taste to
stammered, a little embarrassed at the thought. Howmake sure there is enough beef flavor from the
could she not have recipes for her incredible gourmetbouillon. (Sometimes it can need more or less bouillon;
soups?it just depends on the day, so make sure to taste.
I couldn't fathom that these bowls of bliss which I soAt this point, pour in the jar of spaghetti and bring
closely connected with my wonder years weren'tthe pot back up to a simmer. (This soup can also be
going to be passed down for future generations. Imade with chicken and chicken broth instead of beef
was almost incensed until I realized that while theybroth, and Alfredo sauce in place of red sauce. Its
may not have been pulled from the pages of agreat with a little bit of parmesan cheese and
gourmet magazine or from hand-scrawled notescornbread, or French rolls. Youll probably even have
long-stored in great grandma's recipe trunk, theseleftovers to pour into the school Thermos, as well.