Being the designer that I am, I always look for ways to repurpose anything. Do I spray paint the Thanksgiving turkey carcass and use it for something for Christmas? And what do we do with the ham bone from Christmas dinner? Well, the obvious decision would be to give it to the family canine, Samuel Jackson Beauregard Watson; however, when he is spoiled beyond measure, you simply put it in the freezer for a later time to make homemade vegetable soup.
The best recipe for homemade vegetable soup is the one my mom gave me, handed down from generation to generation. It began in the summer months, when we canned jars upon jars of fresh vegetables gathered from the garden: bushels of shelled peas, ears of fresh shucked corn, peeled ripe tomatoes and baskets of fresh picked okra. I can still feel my hands itch from pulling the fuzzy green okra from the ground. However, the recipe was not limited to just the aforementioned vegetables. It consisted of whatever vegetable was grown in our garden, as well as any other variety the fellow farmers and family in the community shared with us. The vegetables were “put up” to enjoy during the winter months. All of this canning not only contributed to regular family dinners but also the ingredients of the hearty winter vegetable soup. You see, mother never recorded the recipe for her soup because it was quite simple: the soup started with a ham bone boiling in a pot of water, then add the tomatoes and whatever vegetables you had canned in the cupboard. And, of course, what is a hearty soup without great southern cornbread washed down with sweet iced tea?
Although I no longer have my mother’s canned vegetables to add to my soup, I recreated her spoken recipe as best I could with our frozen Christmas dinner ham bone and “store bought” canned vegetables as well as some fresh ones available at market now. It makes the perfect dinner served in soup crocs with a centerpiece of fresh and canned vegetables arranged in an heirloom Longaberger basket.
And to set the record straight (in case you are wondering), I did not spray paint the turkey carcass and make it a sleigh to hold the Christmas cards!