AT LAST!!! Dan, who works at the front desk at The Gant, called to tell Clara, (L) and Emma (R) that Mrs. Berg’s cookies had arrived. They ran to pick up the bigggggg box.
Although Dorie calls this week’s recipe, Spur-of-the-Moment Vegetable Soup, she admits it’s really Stone Soup. She’s referring, of course, to that glorious ancient folk tale which, in 1947, writer Marcia Brown used as the basis of her children’s book entitled Stone Soup. And for writing it, Brown won a prestigious Caldecott Medal that year.
Before we get to the soup, let’s move on to dessert, Oatmeal-M & M’s Cookies baked by Liz Berg of That Skinny Chick Can Bake. In July, Liz participated in an on-line baking auction to raise money for victims of our devastating Colorado fires. After a fierce bidding war, I successfully won her cookies. We decided that she would wait to bake and send the cookies until mid-October when my entire family, including two little girls who love cookies, would be in Aspen.
Emma is older so she gets to open the box.
This past Tuesday we celebrated Michael’s Life with family and friends at a wonderful and joyful service. Our two little cookie monsters stood at the altar, in a church full of strangers, and sang like angels. Is it sacreligious to say they nailed “Amazing Grace”? It goes without saying that when the anticipated cookies arrived, even their Mother (that’s Melissa), let them each have a bag, no sharing. Thanks, Liz, you baked a great reward!
“It’s a big box, Grandma.” (Clara)
The Mother Lode.
“One bag of cookies for each of us. Thank you, Mrs. Berg.”
The vegetable soup, which was our main course for dinner tonight, was a wonderfully simple and nutritious entrée. After cooking sliced carrots, onions, celery, and seasonings in olive oil, I added chicken broth, diced potatoes and brought everything to a boil. After taking it down to a simmer for 20-30 minutes and adjusting the seasoning, I did choose to puree it. And to that pureed soup I added cooked quinoa for extra nutrition, texture and flavoring. I served the hearty soup with yellow/red beets and crusty bread for a delicious meal.
I put together a mixture of sliced carrots, onions, celery, garlic and Provençal seasonings and tossed them together with olive oil into a Dutch oven .
After adding chicken broth and diced potatoes to the mixture, I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes.
To see what stones my colleagues threw in their soup this week, go here.
After adjusting the seasonings and pureeing the soup, I added cooked quinoa to make a heartier soup.
Lovely post! Enjoy the yummy cookies and your soup looks delicious;-)
What a lovely post 🙂 Love the Doristas getting together on projects!!
Oh, Mary!!! Your post has MADE.MY.DAY! I’m so glad I could play a wee role in the week of celebrating Michael’s life. I love how you made such an adventure out of the cookie arrival…such memories your sweet granddaughters will have! And you captured the excitement and those beautiful smiles perfectly. Thank you.
Quinoa would make a lovely addition to this soup! Not sure if the husband would want that, though. He suggested beans as a addition. And lucky you with the cookies! Very nice, indeed, and for such a good cause! 🙂
Great post, Mary! Love the photos of your beautiful granddaughters! I’m sure they’ll enjoy those lovely cookies! I passed on this FF, I’m in Florida and the temps are in the 80’s…just not soup weather! However, your soup looks wonderfully delicious…I’m sure it was enjoyed by all! Have a lovely weekend!
Great idea of the timing for the cookies… sounds like it was a lovely service. I love the addition of the quinoa and the beets you really made this soup into a hearty meal.
Great idea adding quinoa to the soup:) Congratulations on winning Liz Berg’s delicious cookies . Your two cookies monsters look delighted.
The quinoa sounds like a great addition! The soup was delicious but not too filling. Your whole meal combo sounds like it was wonderful.
Oh Mary, what a fun post. Your granddaughters are beautiful and I just love the pictures of them tearing into that package. I’m sure Liz is tickled that her cookies are going to such appreciative customers.
A celebration of life sounds like a wonderful parting ceremony. I hope that you are enjoying your time with loved ones.
Mary, your post is wonderful. Happy faces, cookies and a terrific soup. What more could one ask for! Cooked quinoa sounds like a wonderful and hearty addition to this healthy soup!
Have a good weekend!
Though delicious, this soup was not hearty. I love your idea of adding quinoa to change that! Sounds like a wonderful pre-cookie meal (go Lizzy on the cookies!) , and what could be better than a meal shared with family. It sounds like the service was lovely, what a perfect tribute to your loved one.
I would never have thought to add quinoa, but it looks really good. Sounds like a perfect meal with Lizzy’s cookies! The service for your husband sounds lovely and how wonderful that your granddaughters sang Amazing Grace.
What a great story! I love it when online worlds cross over into real life!
The cookies look fantastic and the soup looks delicious (the quinoa sounds like a great idea).
Your girls are gorgeous, Mary. And Mrs. Berg definitely rocks.
I will really consider adding a little cooked quinoa to the soup. I am working on my version for lunch today.
Sweet pictures of the girls, bet they take after their grandma! I know you miss Michael, but you captured a lot of joy at his memorial with your family! Hope you are enjoying being back home in the mountains for now.
I know Liz (virtually) and I know this box was definitely a “prize”! What a fun way to celebrate a birthday. Your soup sounds amazing Mary, not at all like the “stone soup” I think of! YUM!
Oh, and thanks for all your sweet, kind comments this past week on The Café! I loved hearing from you.
what a great way for bloggers to connect! 🙂
Mary, your grand-daughters are adorable!!! I was travelling and I was not able to make the soup this week but I will definitely make it sometime during the winter!!!!
What a very special post this week. Thanks for sharing the cookie story and those amazing shots of the “arrival of the cookies”. Makes me feel like I was there. Your granddaughters are adorable !! I still have the soup on my to do lost but will be pureeing it when I do knock it out. Great post and congrats on a beautiful ceremony.
Hi, Mary! What a wonderful post! I would love to try some of Liz’s cookies myself! We just got home from NY and RI – it was a wonderful, if packed, trip! I had hoped to make it to Baked in Brooklyn, but didn’t.
We went to a beautiful wedding on Long Island then drove to Newport (taking a ferry, of course). We toured 2 of the Vanderbilt mansions – The Breakers has a kitchen to die for! I think we should talk them into letting us have a FFWD grand finale there! Can you imagine?
It sounds like your celebrations of Michael’s life was wonderful. It must have been heartbreaking, too.
I think I will make this soup – even though it’s simple, it sounds like one I’d enjoy.
Welcome Home, Susan and John. Susan, I would love to see what “stones” you and John could dream up to give this soup some jazz.
Mary, this a wonderful post in every way. It just touched me. I remembered my brother´s one month memory service in the US, which I couldn´t go to, but got so many comments about it afterwards. Your grand-daughters are adorable, how great to have those wonderful cookies for them. Can´t beat Liz on that department! Have a great day!
Your soup looks fantastic. And what a great cookie gift from Lizzy!