grey wood steel blue: homemade fall soup

its the middle of october
its time for soup
...

growing up i remember my mom's homemade chicken noodle, pea soups & beef stews
i was always impressed by the fact that she'd use all items of the chicken to make her chicken noodle soup
she'd make the broth, she'd cut the vegetables, she'd dash the spices
using the chicken bones, carcasses, ham hock &/or celery stems for flavouring

what we didn't eat, she'd can in a mason jar & freeze for another chilly day
all was handmade, homemade & delicious

i was first introduced to a 'throw it all in' type soup by tannia during
our 'lack of funds' years of college
she whipped up a hearty fall soup of lentils, brown rice, tomatoes, zucchini, beans & purple tomatoes
i believe her recipe slogan was:
'the soup for overspending struggling college students,
insufficient funded newlyweds, or those in need of good ruffage'
either way, the soup did the trick!

additional soup making inspiration sparked during

a brief bout of influenza with the in-law's,
danny whipped up a delicious 'whats in the freezer/what's in the cabinet' soup
...
despite the mid 80' degree heat
soup has become a fall/winter staple in the McGuire household
i recently made a 'we will not get sick' spicy vegetable soup
below is my making process
enjoy!

thank you martha stewart for this fabulous 7qt cast iron pot

gathered fresh vegetables
zucchini & squash are my favourite addition

heated pot, added olive oil

diced lots of garlic & onions, threw em in the heated pot & sauteed

sauteed celery & carrots till softened

added spices to sauteeing vegetables; my preference - spicy!:
ground marjoram
cayenne pepper

chili powder

thyme

oregano
course salt
ground pepper

if i had a chicken carcass, i would have boiled to make broth,
however without carcass,
I added 1 can natural chicken broth + 10ish cups of water
filled until pot was 3/4ths full
added 1 can tomato paste for hearty flavour
...
simmered for 10 minutes or so