Recipe: End of Garden Soup (using beef, Polish sausage and beans)

END O' GARDEN SOUP

1 pound browned beef cubes (a tough cut of beef or leftover roast)
1 hot Polish sausage, cut up
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped or cubed
1 cup red beans, soaked and drained
1 cup white beans, soaked and drained
1 tablespoon fresh basil and oregano
7 or more tomatoes blended in blender with 1 clove garlic (blend well)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a large soup pot. Cover all with water and then add one more quart of water. Simmer at least 3 hours until flavors are well-blended.

ABOUT THE RECIPE:
Describing End O' Garden Soup, Ahmann says, "It's healthy and tasty and I guess it could be considered a comfort food."

She usually serves the hearty soup with homemade bread made from scratch.


Ahmann enjoys making the soup with vegetables from her own garden. Like many of her recipes, End O' Garden Soup is her own invention. It may be altered to make use of whatever garden ingredients are on hand, she points out.

"Soup's kind of like bread. You never make it twice the same way," she says.

While this version includes onion, celery, carrots, pepper, potatoes, red beans, white beans, tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano, Ahmann also suggests trying corn, shredded cabbage or zucchini, incorporating "whatever you have." - Marlene Ahmann

Source: The Centralia Chronicle, September 18, 2002