PRE-FROST HARVEST AND MAGIC SOUP

With the first hard freeze coming, some last minute harvesting had to be done.  The main things to pick were a lot of hot peppers (mostly still quite green) and a few green tomatoes.  There were of course, a few other odds and ends.  Little bits of things like okra, beans, and such.

What should I do with these last minute harvest items?  The peppers can be dried or pickled and some eaten fresh (though carefully because they are all rather hot).  The tomatoes can mostly be put aside to ripen, or fried green.  The odds and ends are a different story.

Since it is Halloween, I decided that they would go well in a common garden variety "magic soup" (often referred to as stone soup).  With this goal in mind, soon I had thrown a handful of green beans, a few scraggly carrots, a few pods of okra, a turnip top, and a handful each of kale and chard leaves into the old magic cook pot.  A bit of pork shoulder for flavor and it was on its way.  Some potatoes, onions, garlic, and of course, a couple of green habaneros and it was up to the fire and the magic pot.

While I waited, I mixed up a batch of sour dough cornbread to cook in the big skillet when the soup was finished.  By the time the soup was done, the fire had died down just enough for making the cornbread.

The finished product was quite tasty, and yes, two habaneros (even green ones) really spiced up the soup.   A really nice warm up on a chilly evening, with lots of flavor and nutrition.  No, the flavors were absolutely NOT "layered".  They were perfectly blended as only a real fire and cast iron pot can blend them.  It is magic after all.  Sorry, I couldn't resist the reference, it being Halloween and all.

I hope you all had a wonderfully spooky and magical evening.  Stay warm.