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