Raising five children on a soldier's pay was never easy, especially as I was a stay at home mom and so we only had the one income coming in. I never wanted my children to always know where their mom was. It was a choice that my ex husband and I made early on in our marriage, that our children would be raised by us and nobody else. I have never regretted that choice. It did mean however that I oftimes had to really make the pennies stretch, especially around this time of year when there were so many other things to spend our money on!
Thankfully I was always a good cook and quite adept at creating something very delicious out of not a lot! Tasty dishes such as this stone soup I am showing you today . . .
I used to give these simple budget stretching dishes somewhat exciting names! Stone Soup was one of my children's favorite stories and so this simple cabbage, tomato and rice soup became known as Stone Soup.
There was a method to my madness . . . while they might not have gotten excited about a bowl of cabbage soup, calling it Stone Soup immediately made them want to tuck in!
I am sure you are familiar with the story of the beggar who went to a poor village looking for a place to sleep and a bite to eat. The villagers were very suspicious however and were not that eager to help, but being as canny and smart as he was, he inspired them into helping him create a delicious stone soup that the whole village shared together at the end of the story. You can find the story here.
Its a wonderful story with a great moral to it, teaching children that if we can work together on things, then amazing things will begin to happen!
Things like delicious pots of soup that started with not a lot more than half a cabbage, an onion, a tin of tomatoes, some water and a vegetable stock pot.
Of course there are a few seasonings involved as well, which are never a problem in my house because I always have a well stocked herb drawer.
With a bit of crusty bread on the side this soup goes down a real treat! We have always loved it. It takes the humble cabbage and lifts it up into something quite, quite magnificent!
*Stone Soup*Serves 4 generouslyPrintable Recipe
I call this stone soup because you end up with a delicious soup, by adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that and you end up with a delicious soup everyone will enjoy!
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped1 lb of finely shredded white cabbage2 - 3 TBS olive oil500ml of vegetable stock (2 1/4cups)400g tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice (14 ounce tin)1 tsp sugar1/4 tsp dillweed1 tsp parsley flakes1 tsp seasoning salt (I like the paprika pepper one)the juice of 1/2 lemon100g raw long grain rice (1/2 cup)salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, cabbage and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium low heat for about 15 minutes, until the cabbage has begun to soften and is beginning to brown. Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, dillweed, parsley, seasoning salt, lemon juice and rice. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally for 30 to 40 minutes until the cabbage is butter tender. You may need to add a bit more water depending on how thick you like your soups.
There was another meal that my children used to gobble up that I called Monkey in the Middle, which was simply stewed meat in the middle of a plate, surrounded by a ring of corn and then a ring of rice. The children loved that. It was simple and delicious and made all the more so for its name. Funny how that goes! Bon Appetit!
