Ear­lier this week while shop­ping at Fiesta Farms, my kids declared them­selves chefs and started gath­er­ing veg­eta­bles for their ver­sion of “Red Pep­per Soup.” Nev­er­mind that they have always dis­liked all bell pep­pers, which I have long sus­pected is actu­ally a food intol­er­ance to Solanaceae, or night­shade, fam­ily veg­eta­bles (pep­pers, tomato, potato, egg­plant). Regard­less, they began dump­ing a vari­ety of veg­eta­bles in the cart and teach­ing me how to make their recipe. I con­fess I made a few adjust­ments. I wasn’t con­vinced that sar­dines were a good idea, although I reserve the right to be wrong. Maybe they would have made the soup extra deli­cious. Any­ways, I present to you my ver­sion of K & E’s recipe. (Sorry, I for­got to take a pic­ture. Din­ner at our house is often both busy and deli­cious. Instead, I offer you the cover of the book that likely inspired it all: Grow­ing Veg­etable Soup by Lois Ehlert)

Ingre­di­ents:
1 tsp coconut oil, but­ter, oil, or just water
1/2 but­ter­nut squash, peeled and chopped
1 large car­rot, chopped
2 stalks cel­ery, chopped
1/2 cau­li­flower, chopped
1 red pep­per, chopped (optional)
1 medium onion or 2–3 leeks, chopped
6–10 gar­lic cloves, chopped
water
1/2 bunch of kale, chopped
1 BPA-free can of can­nellini, or other white, beans
1 tbsp each fresh dill, basil, and mar­jo­ram
salt & pep­per to taste
sour cream or yogurt (optional as garnish)

Direc­tions:
In a stock pot or dutch oven, saute veg­eta­bles in oil or water (all those listed up to and includ­ing gar­lic) over medium heat for 5 min­utes. Add enough water to cover all the veg­eta­bles in the pot. Bring to a boil and sim­mer for 20 min­utes. Add kale, beans, herbs and spices and cook for another 5 min­utes. In a blender, mix until smooth, adding water until desired con­sis­tency is reached. Serve, topped with sour cream or yogurt if desired.

You could eas­ily switch up the root veg­eta­bles for oth­ers you have on hand like parsnips, turnip, cel­ery root, jerusalem arti­choke, rutabaga or bur­dock. Play around and have fun with the recipe. And def­i­nitely let me know if you try this soup with sardines.