End of Summer Soup

This recipe is meant to use all the bits of vegetables left in your garden at the end of summer. Amounts are general and you can season to taste before bottling or at the time of use. (I prefer to do it at the time of bottling.)

1. Cook up the last of your tomatoes - about 1/2 to 3/4 of a bushel; juice them and start the juice boiling in a large canner kettle. (I prefer to cook my tomatoes with skins and seeds and juice them because I think you get a much better flavor.)

2. Then I add the vegetables: (all vegetables are cut into large chunks, about 1 inch)
a. 3 or 4 large onions
b. 1 stalk of celery (this can be sliced thin if desired)
c. 8-10 cups of yellow summer squash
d. 6-8 cups zucchini squash
e. 4 cups carrots
f. 2 or 3 cups mushrooms
g. 3 cups green beans
h. 3 or 4 red and green peppers (any mild variety)

3. Simmer the vegetables until they become tender. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Again, you will want to taste and adjust. Add 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Taste again and adjust.

4. Bottle in clean mason jars and pressure cook for the vegetable that takes the longest length of time. (I did mine at 12 pounds for 35 minutes.)

5. This can then be used for a good soup, just from the bottle, or add macaroni, browned hamburger, or left-over meat. It's also good to simmer a pot roast for a tasty and moist roast.

6. You can put basil with this soup to give it an Italian flavor, garlic is also good in it. Adding shredded cabbage and a little Parmesan cheese is good too. Blending it up will give you a home-made V-8 juice.

7. Again this soup is using all the bits and pieces from teh summer garden. On a small scale, it could be left-over soup using the bits and pieces of vegetables from a week of cooking. Enjoy!