Saturday, January 12, 2013

Making the most of what I have

This is tomorrow's dinner.  Tomato vegetable soup.

Nothing special, right?

Well, that depends on your point of view.  I'm pretty pleased with this big pot of soup for the following reason - the ingredients, which consist of potatoes, carrots, kale, sorrel, garlic and green beans, all grown by me; onions and okra from the farmer's market; tomatoes - home grown and canned; chicken stock - made by me from a summer's worth of farmer's market bbq.  And barley, the only ingredient that came from the supermarket. 

I still want more land to grow things (and keep critters on), but when I look at this relatively unspectacular pot of soup, I realize how much I've done with the small space that I have right now.

And that's the important thing about this pot of soup.  It shows me that while I haven't yet gotten to where I want to be, I'm not sitting on my hands waiting for things to happen.  If the most my urban farm will give me is the occasional pot of kickass vegetable soup and lots of fluffy omelets, then I'm going to enjoy them for all they're worth, and plot my next move on a full stomach.

7 comments:

Graca said...

What a totally beautiful post. Enjoy, it looks delicious.

gMarie said...

What a lovely looking pot of soup. I wish I loved gardening more. I need to do more with my little plot of land and canning. g

maggie-g said...

That's a really good supply of veggies. I have had no success growing carrots or kale (but I do grow onions), so I'm quite envious. Especially as you have your own hens!

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious; would love to see a recipe! Congratulations on teh garden.

Kathi Rank said...

That is a beautiful pot of soup. I have been growing veg, and envy your chickens. Keep us posted on how the girls are doing through the winter.

Sue in MN said...

We love soup in the winter. My adult kids especially like the new 8 quart soup kettle as it means leftovers for everyones' lunches. Tonight's soup (all from the freezer or refrig except one can of beans: Turkey & turkey stock from thanksgiving, onions & carrots from the garden, celery & diced tomatoes, dried mushrooms (from cousins in Europe) & hand-parched wild rice direct from the reservation. All seasoned with a "blob" of red curry paste discovered in the freezer - must be left over from the last batch of pad Thai. All served with gluten-free scones left over from Sunday night. I love being challenged to cook from what is on hand, and have committed to making LESS than 1 trip per week to the market this year - can't quite stretch it to two when the gardens are buried in snow, but getting close. Now if we could just raise our own eggs - not allowed in our little town (yet!)

Sherril said...

Now that's impressive Karen. I have space and don't use it, and now I feel guilty. I need to get me some chickens.