Stone Soup

One of our favorite things to make in the colder months is Stone Soup. I've always loved Marcia Brown's book, Stone Soup, & for years have been making real "stone soup"... first with with my little sister when she visited us (she's 15 years younger than me) and now with my toddler. Kids get such a kick out of reading the book and cooking along with it. (and you get labor for a fun meal!! :)




We pretty much use the ingredients from the book & then just add whatever vegetables we have around. ... It's all about using what's left in the fridge for us so we change the recipe up a lot depending upon what we have. (The recipe is for a large batch that will last you the week.) First we get out a big pot like they do in the book:



Then we add in 2 large cans of chicken broth. (This is the quickie way which we usually end up doing, but it's always a tad yummier when you do homemade broth.) Next comes "THE COOKING STONE." We just keep ours in the kitchen and it's literally just a big stone I found years ago. (We put it though the dishwasher & make sure it's clean of course before dumping it in to our food ;) This is usually the kids' favotite part so if you have more than 1 child, I'd suggest getting multiple stones so no one feels left out.



Then, get the pot to boiling & start with the salt & pepper just like in the book. Next come the sliced carrots & cabbage. (We never have cabbage around so I usually just cut up a little spinach or romaine or whatever we have so there's something to toss in on this page.) Then come the potatoes and beef ( which we usually substitute with pre-cooked chicken.)

Lately I've been adding yellow squash because it's in season (and so good!) and I always add in lots of fresh garlic. (Add in whatever veggies you can here!)


Next the book calls for barley and some milk. We never have barley either, so we use pre-cooked rice (add as much or as little as you like depending upon how thick you want it.) and then add in a 1/2 cup- cup of milk or so..

We've got some rosemary growing in the kitchen & lately I've been tossing a little of that in too... I almost always top with fresh chopped basil & some shredded parmesan cheese. mm mmm goodness!!!



Christian loves his "tiny bowl" and usually has 2-3 bowls at a time of his "special stone soup."



It's so great to see your kid chowing down on such a healthy meal asking for more carrots & yellow squash. He's so much more into the vegetables when they come in his "special soup" than when we serve them normally.



Like I've said before, I love having a weekly batch of soup around for lunches & meals... It's so nice not to have to think sometimes and to have a quick & easy meal ready... all you have to do is microwave it. Anyway, since I had this recipe post waiting, it was the perfect time to join Rhoda of Southern Hospitality's RECIPE PARTY!!! There are already so many great ones up there so go check it out here: http://southernhospitalityblog.com/recipe-exchange-pasta-allamatriciana/




Hope you enjoyed!!
xoxo,
lauren

ps- Christian just saw the pics on this post and asked for some "special stone soup" so you know what we're having for breakfast! ;)

36 comments:

Grace said...

Ingenious! What a special and fun way to cook together -- and to get the little ones to eat veggies.

Unknown said...

What great memories you are making with your kiddos! I too am a big fan of this book.

Blessings!
Gail

Gypsy Heart said...

Beautiful memories indeed!

Debra from Bungalow said...

Ahh, how cute! I'll have to try this with the g'kids.

Deb said...

I forgot about the stone soup until I read your post. My girls made it in kindergarten and that was a while ago as they are now 24 and 25!

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Lauren, that is just precious!! That black stone looks SO cute there on the bowl, thanks for sharing. I can see why your son loves this one.

Brittany said...

This is sooooo cute! I can't wait to be a mom so I can do stuff like this. And...now I'm hungry. LOL!

Brenda said...

I must ry this with my toddler. She loves to help me in the kitchen. And to have any child eat there veggies is a miracle. I think you have started a movement.

sweetjeanette said...

(Stopping by from Rhoda's recipe party). I LOVE IT!!!!! I remember Stone Soup the book, had totally forgotten about it. Thanks for taking us down that road (a good road!) again.

sweetjeanette.blogspot.com

Chic Coles said...

Yum thank you for this fun recipe. Looks so good and yes it is nice to have a pot of soup around. Good idea.

Donna said...

This looks so yummy! What a fun idea for the kiddos!

Maria Killam said...

That's just fascinating. I've never heard of stone soup before, I loved this story :) You are so fun Lauren!

Carrie said...

I absolutely LOVE this story and will be using this for one of our family nights!

Thanks for the great idea!

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

LOVE IT! It was always a fave read of my kidlets...and once I helped a friend create a kids play based on it!

Great post, Lauren!

Unknown said...

What a GREAT!!! idea to combine the story and making the soup. I will have to do this with my grand-daughters. I think they will enjoy doing this.
Geri

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful mom you are! It sounds like you are instilling a love for cooking in your daughter. Ans stone soup is very thrifty!

Jane

Anonymous said...

Oops sorry I meant to say son! I have daughter's on the mind today!

Jane

Christina said...

Oh man, my kids and I loved this book with they were little. What a wonderfully heartwarming post. How fun!

Heather said...

Just found your blog and love it!! that soup looks so yummy!

nelya said...

I loved everything, everything(!) about this post. Your photos are so lovely, bright, and tempting. The idea is delightful and the icing on the cake is that you have a steaming bowl of soup to share at the end of your adventure! So fun!

LindsB said...

I loved this book when I was little too- its such a great story. Its really cute that you make it with Christian now, love that the rock goes in the dishwasher :)

HirondelleRustique said...

Oh I love stone soup! I haven't made it in so long, I'm really glad you posted about this!

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

What a wonderful idea, I'm going to do this with my kids...and the photos are gorgeous!
Janell

High-Heeled Foot in the door said...

Been having massive computer issues, but happy to catching up on my reading today!!!

Fun post!!!! Love that you make this with the little man. It looks so good!

Yum!

Katrina said...

I love that book! I think my mother still has it somewhere too.

susan said...

What a great way to instill two good habits--reading and healthy eating!

Allison Shops said...

My kids loved making stone soup in preschool, along with the book. Haven't thought about it in years. Thanks for posting.

Vanessa Stern said...

I totally remember that book from 1st grade - and I mean this is taking it way back to 1984!!! We made stone soup when it got chilly! Thank you thank you for the little stroll down memory lane!

Vanessa

www.vanessaandvalentine.blogspot.com

Catherine said...

Looks very delicious! I love that we've entered into 'soup season'...there's nothing like a warm bowl of yummy hot soup on a cool fall day. xoTrina

deliciously organized said...

What a sweet tradition! The soup looks delicious!

Thomas said...

I'd like some...right now.

Jane said...

Just found your blog, I too love making big batches of soup for the children, I don't know the book (is it a US book?) I will give it a try..xoox

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My Galveston Cottage said...

OK. This might be a dumb question but why the added stones? Does it make it cook faster by creating increased heat? Is that a stretch on my part? Well, I love soups. I could have them daily, and I like the idea of taking all the leftovers and dumping them in. Yum. (Your little guy is soooo precious!!!) cheers -s

Anonymous said...

Pretty pics but the real question: was it as good as our potato water?

LOL

xo
E + J

Maria Killam said...

I love the way you styled this stone soup post by the way. . . the baby bowl and the mama bowl. So awesome!