Colorful Cabbage Soup

Colorful Cabbage Soup

Ok, so it went from being a couple degrees shy of the positive side of the theomometer to -30, not including windchill in less than 24 hours. There's only one solution when that happens: SOUP! And seeing as I had a couple of baby heads of cabbage in my fridge, an impulse buy from the farmer's market, I decided to try and make a cabbage soup. I know what you're thinking, "Cabbage soup? Ick!" It actually turned out pretty delicious. I ended up eating two big bowls in one sitting! It's the type of soup that you'll find yourself craving the next day while you're standing in below zero temperatures waiting for tardy transit. Best of all too, it's low in calories and is said to have certain mystical "healing properties." Either way, there is nothing like a good 'ol bowl of pipping hot soup on a cold winter's day to warm you up!

Colorful Cabbage Soup
(tweaked from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1-2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 quarts water
• 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon (homemade stock if you have it is even better!)
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• 2 baby heads of cabbage (I used one green and one red, gives a nice color composition)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, drained and diced

Directions

1. In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion, celery, carrot,  and garlic; cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in water, bouillon, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in cabbage. Simmer until cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes. Return to a boil, then simmer 15 to 30 minutes, stirring often.