Recipe: Stone Soup

Page... your table settings, soup cans, etc
reminds me of "Stone Soup."

I know this has been posted on TKL before,
but the Holiday Season seems to make it
okay to repost the "recipe."

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The Stone Soup Story

Once upon a time, somewhere in Eastern
Europe, there was a great famine. People
jealously hoarded whatever food they could
find, hiding it even from their friends
and neighbors.

One day a peddler drove his wagon into a
village to try to sell some wares. The
peddler asked a few folks if there was a
place he could stay for the night or get
something to eat.

"There's not a bite to eat in the whole
province," he was told. "Better keep moving on."

"Oh, I have everything I need," he said.
"In fact, I was thinking of making some
stone soup to share with all of you."

He pulled an iron cauldron from his wagon,
filled it with water, and built a fire
under it. Then, with great ceremony, he
retrieved an ordinary-looking stone from
a velvet bag and dropped it into the water.

By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of
the villagers had come to the square or
watched from their windows. As the peddler
sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in
anticipation, hunger began to overcome
their skepticism.

"Ahh," the peddler said to himself rather
loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup.
Of course, stone soup with CABBAGE --
that's hard to beat."

Soon a villager approached hesitantly,
holding a cabbage he'd retrieved from
its hiding place, and added it to the pot.

"Capital!" cried the peddler. "You know,
I once had stone soup with cabbage and a
bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit
for a king."

The village butcher managed to find some
salt beef...

...and so it went, villagers brought
potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms,
and so on, until there was indeed a
delicious meal for all.

The villagers offered the peddler a great
deal of money for the "magic" stone, but
he refused to sell and traveled on the next day.

And from that time on, long after the famine had ended, they
reminisced about the finest soup they'd ever had.
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Page, I know this does not fit your current progressove dinner.

Maybe another time.

At a "stone soup party" each guest/couple would bring one or two
ingredients that go into soup. The host/hostess can be responsible
for the stock, whether it is vegetable or meat. We have done this
with absolutely no instructions to anyone as to what to bring and
rarely do we get duplicate ingredients. And, if we do, that is part
of the fun. As each guest/couple arrives they put their ingredients
into the pot. And, you let it cook until you are ready to eat.

Typical ingredients are mushrooms, onions, potatoes, beans, corn,
squash, tomatoes, garlic, soup pasta, cabbage, celery, bok choy,
leeks, turnips, ... ANYTHING.