Grandmother Murray's Grandma's Vegetable Soup

My grandmother Murray called this Grandma's Vegetable soup, which meant it was her grandmother's. I know, I know that it's made with beef stock so why do we call it vegetable soup?

Well, "Grandmother Murray's Grandma's Vegetable Soup" was too big of a mouthful so we just called it vegetable soup.

First, you need a good turkey roasting pan ... you cannot use one of those things made of heavy duty aluminum foil that you can buy at the grocery store ... but I guess you really could use any pot big enough to hold all the vegetables, water and stuff. We use our roaster because it's big and still fits in the fridgerator.

Nice soup bone (if your butcher cannot produce one, change butchers), in an emergency, you can use 2 short ribs.

6 large potatoes
4 medium to small onions
2 heads of celery
1 small to medium cabbage (just a regular old cabbage, nothing fancy)

secret ingredient (apple cider vinegar)
2 cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes
small or medium macaroni shell pasta

Brown the soup bone in the turkey roasting pan or pot, when browned, fill pan full of cold water and bring to a boil. Begin preparing the potatoes by pealing them and cutting them into large chunks. Skim the scum from the boiling water. When all scum is gone, add the potatoes, salt and pepper.

Clean and peel onions, cut into slices and add to pot.

Clean celery heads and cut stalks/ribs into slices and add to pot.

Remove the 2 outer leaves of the cabbage and slice no more than 1/4 of the head of cabbage into thin slices and add to the pot.

Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes and stir well.

Grandmother Murray's Grandma's soup recipe didn't actually call for Hunt's diced tomatoes ... the Hunt brothers started their company in 1890 and her recipe's older than that ... and even Grandmother Murray's version is older than Hunt's Diced tomatoes which weren't introduced until after WWII!

Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar ... this is where the tang of the soup comes from. Taste, and then, if not tangy enough just add a little more vinegar, and keep tasting and adding until you get it just right. Careful not to add too much, adding is easy ... subtracting ain't!

Finally add no more than 1 small handful of shell macaroni.

That's my "Grandmother Murray's Grandma's Vegetable Soup" ... simple, easy to make ... about the only thing easier is Campbell's Vegetable but I think you'll like this a whole bunch better!

Make a big skillet of cornbread (remember no sugar to ever be added to the cornbread mixture, it's un-American)

Yes, you can add carrots, peas, butterbeans, squash, corn and peppers and such to your soup, but if you do, you'll have to rename it!

I know it sounds like a lot of soup, and it is ... but it only lasts the two of us 2 days at the most around here.

Submitted By ... Miss Carol