The best vegetable soup EVER

Well, maybe not EVER, but it's pretty darn good.

This one came about after I found fresh lima beans at the Escondido farmers market last week. I don't know about you, but I love lima beans.. I know they're one of those things from childhood that a lot of people hate (like brussel sprouts, which I also adore) but really, if you haven't had them for a while, give them another chance. They are soo good and buttery just steamed with a little salt, or you can saute them with some corn and tomatoes for a nice succotash.. Or you can get all ambitious and spend an hour chopping up veggies for this amazing soup I discovered earlier this summer.

It's a little labor-intensive, sure, but I swear it's totally worth it.

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 large shallots, sliced thin
• 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup potatoes, 1/4 inch dice
• 1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup parsnips, 1/4 inch dice (you can use carrots if you like, but I think the parsnips add a certain something)
• 1 quart chicken stock*
• 2 cups tomatoes, peeled and seeded**
• kernels from an ear of corn
• 1 cup lima beans
• a couple of tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• a few sprigs of thyme, minced
• juice from half a lemon

*I use better than bouillon fake chicken broth- just so I can share with my veggie friends. It can be a bit salty, so be sparing, although this soup can stand up to a strong salty stock better than most.
**plum tomatoes are great for this, or if you can find Japanese sweet tomatoes, even better.

This is one of those recipes that works best of you peel, dice, and chop everything first, then add as you go. I usually arrange things by bowls of what goes in when- shallots and garlic in a little bowl, potatoes, green beans, and parsnips in another, and the tomatoes, corn, and limas in another... But I'm a little anal-retentive that way.

Aaaaanyway, here's how it goes: heat the oil, then saute the shallots and garlic until the shallots are soft and translucent. add the potatoes, green beans, and parsnips and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. add the stock and the tomatoes, corn, and lima beans, bring to a simmer, and cook for about half an hour. toss in the lemon juice and herbs, leave on the heat for a few more minutes, and voila! It'll take less time to cook than it did to chop the vegetables :)

This is a soup that's extra-rad the next day, after the flavors have had time to smoosh together, and it's extra-EXTRA rad if you make these magical little croutons to go with it:

• Good crusty sourdough bread, sliced thick
• thyme, basil, rosemary, whatever fresh herbs you have lying around, minced fine
• a few tablespoons of olive oil (depends on how many you're making)

Mix the herbs in with the oil, then brush onto the bread slices. Throw 'em on a baking sheet and into a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Put them together with the soup and make some serious magic...

This soup recipe makes a lot, so plan to share.. And enjoy.

(I'll write some stuff on here besides just recipes soon. I'm just too tired to rant and rave today.. But I have some good stuff to tell y'all about).