Mother's Vegetable Soup Recipe

I have been doing more cooking.

I ask Amy and Alane for some recipes for the freezer—you know, make ahead, freeze, then just pull out, thaw and reheat, also for some new soup and stew recipes.

In discussing good soups and stews, my eldest sister, Amy, ask me if I had Mothers Vegetable soup recipe. My reaction was, “I didn’t even know mother HAD a recipe?!” I thought she always just ……made it. Amy said she had a recipe for Oxtail Soup that was the closest thing to Mothers vegetable soup recipe she had ever found and sent it to me.

I made it yesterday, tweaking it just a bit, as I didn’t use Oxtails or turnips, I didn’t even taste it through the process, but it smelled remarkably familiar.  This morning when I pulled it off the stove to cool, I did taste it, and was instantly transported back to childhood. It tastes EXACTLY like Mother’s vegetable soup.

I have written it and titled it Mother’s Homemade Vegetable Soup, because I have made the changes from the original Ox Tail Soup recipe that make it so……hope you will try it. 

Mother’s Vegetable Soup

2 ½ lb. beef back ribs

½ c. regular all-purpose flour

1 tsp. seasoned salt

3 Tsb. Shortening or salad oil

½ c. minced onion

1 Tsb. Salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

3 bay leaves

4-5 parsley sprigs       

1 1lb 13oz. can tomatoes

1 ½ qts. Cold water

12 3-in, diagonally-cut celery slices

½ c. diced celery

4-5 small to med. Potatoes cut in med chunks

½ c diced potatoes

12 3 in., diagonally cut carrot slices

½ c. diced carrots.

Few drops Tabasco

Day one:

1.In small bowl combine flour and seasoned salt; use to coat rib backs evenly.

2. In large Dutch kettle, in hot shortening or oil, brown meat pieces well, a few at a time; drain off excess oil, then brown onion.

3. Return meat to kettle with onion; add salt, pepper, bay leaves, parsley, tomatoes, and water. Simmer, covered, 2 hours until fork-tender. Cool; refrigerate overnight.

Day 2:

Skim any fat from the surface of the soup. Remove meat from bones, discarding bones. Bring remaining to boil; add celery, potatoes, and carrots. Simmer, covered, 45 minutes, or until large pieces of vegetables are fork-tender. Now add Tabasco.

The whole reason this is a two day process, is simply to let the fat rise to the top, cool, so you can skim it off. Otherwise you could do it in a day. But I also believe that letting it set overnight just enhances the flavors.

Also, don’t think that you don’t need the diced vegetables, because you do. They actually thicken the broth, adding more flavor.

I was afraid that 1 whole tablespoon of salt was going to be too much, but it actually could have used more salt; if I would have added home-canned tomatoes like Mama always used, I’m sure it would have been just right.

Now for the disclaimer……….as with most if not all the recipes that my mother ever made, this seemed to be a labor intensive recipe. Nothing my mom ever made seemed to go together quickly or easily, my mom struggled with taking shortcuts, in cooking especially, but it was always supreme in flavor; Anita said Mother “massaged the food”, which is why it always tasted so good. I know she was right. So if you have the time, I highly recommend it, and if you were ever fortunate enough to have had my Mother’s vegetable soup, you will know that it was worth every bit of time, effort and love she put into it.

If you choose to not actually make it, just consider it family history, like Grandma Wolf’s bread recipe, and the Meatloaf recipe.