Garden Cabbage and Vegetable Beef Soup



Garden Cabbage

I love gardening just about as much as I love sewing.  Both produce such rewarding results. Every year I try to plant something new and different in my garden.  This year the new includes cabbage and the different includes tomatillos. It hasn't been a very warm summer so I'm not sure when I will see tomatillos, however the cabbage is doing great.  As you can see from the photos, my first head harvested is a very nice size. 
So it's time to make some soup. Between my garden and the farmers' markets, I have some beautiful produce and there's nothing like a nice vegetable beef soup for a light supper. This is an easy recipe and since the soup doesn't take much more than an hour to make, the vegetables are still firm, preserving their fresh taste. I serve it with some nice artisan bread.

Vegetable Beef Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into small cubes 3 large carrots, peeled and chunked 1/2 large onion, diced 4 garlic cloves, diced 2 small bay leaves 4 cups beef broth 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice 3 cups coarsely chopped cabbage 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced 1 cup frozen corn kernels 1 cup frozen peas

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Add beef to pot; sauté until outside is no longer pink, about 4 minutes.   Add carrots, chopped onion, chopped garlic, and bay leaves. Sauté 5 minutes. Add the beef broth, tomatoes with juice, cabbage and potatoes. Bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and simmer until beef and vegetables are tender, about 50 minutes. Stir in corn and peas; simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Vegetable Beef Soup