Soup of the Day... Beef Soup with Country Vegetables

Some Soupy Facts

• In the late 1700s, apparently the French King was so enamored with himself that he had his royal chefs create a soup that would allow him to see his own reflection in the bowl. Sheesh! But as a result, consommé (clear broth) was born.

• In the French Court of Louis XI, the ladies' meals were mostly soup. Guess what the reasoning was? They were afraid that chewing would make them break out in facial wrinkles! 

• Why did thin soups become all the rage in Europe during the 17th century? The spoon was invented. Why was the spoon invented? Because of the latest fashion trend: large and stiff ruffles that the men and the women of the high courts wore around their necks. The design of the spoon was to accommodate wearers of those large ruffles and keep themselves from getting dripped on.

• Frank Sinatra always asked for chicken and rice soup to be available to him in his dressing rooms before he went on stage. He said it always cleared his mind and settled his tummy.

Today's recipe... Remember... Disclaimer: Some folks don't always follow updated USDA canning methods, they may live in another country where the standards are not the same, they may use heirloom methods passed down through the generations, they may choose other canning methods not recommended. Use this recipe at your own discretion, or adapt it to your own method. I am sharing these recipes EXACTLY as they were sent to me and take NO responsibility for them.

Beef Soup with Country Vegetables

By Rose Robinson

6 lbs Stew meat browned­ do not fully cook it (or meat of your choice)

2 lbs chopped carrots (1 cup per qt)

2 lbs potatoes peeled and cubed (1 cup per qt)

1 lb chopped celery (1/2 cup per qt)

1 lb or less chopped onion (1/4 cup per qt)

1 tsp per qt minced garic (optional)

1/2 tsp per qt Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 tsp per qt Catsup

1/2 tsp per qt Beef Base if using hot water otherwise 6 qt of Beef Broth brought to a boil

Notes:

Chop all vegetabes and put in bowls of water until ready to use. Drain them when ready to fill jars.

Meat is 1 inch cubed with as much fat trimed as possible

Once broth is at a boil ­ Pack jars in this order­

Meat

Potatoes

Carrots

Celery

Onions

Spices

Hot Broth with 1 inch headspace

Process for meat used.

Stew meat 90 minutes at 10 lbs pressure

Roughly 13 quarts of soup

Note from Granny: I've had a few people question the fact that the instructions state to brown the meat... and the photo shows non-browned meat... let me clarify... follow the written instructions, the photo is a "prettied up" representation of the recipe... READ... and FOLLOW the written instructions.

Tomorrow's Soup of the Day... Beef Vegetable Soup