Country Cabbage Soup

While waiting for the snow to visit me here in Georgia once again this winter; I thought I would prepare a warm, hearty soup to get through the snow, sleet and ice that will visit me down south this week.

Soup, is hot, aromatic and filling. Soup makes you feel good even when you are not stuffy and ailing from a cold. . Soup makes your soul feel warm and comforted.

I had a lonely head of cabbage occupying space in my fridge and decided I would give it some company with a few of it’s veggie friends, herbs, spices and smoked sausage and prepare a cabbage soup.

Cabbage soup is a family favorite, and each time I prepare it. I make a huge batch.

As if I needed another reason to prepare soup today; January is National Soup and National soup swap month!

Other Celebrations for Soup are:

February 4: Homemade Soup Day
2nd Week In November: Split Soup Week


Here are a few interesting soup facts that I found at:www.gone-ta-pott.com

Soup can be dated back to about 6000 B.C. and was first made of hippopotamus. 

Boiling was not a common cooking technique until the invention of waterproof containers (which probably came in the form of pouches made of clay or animal skin) about 9,000 years ago.

History also tells us that soup was first known as "sop,"  which was a piece of bread served with some type of liquid. (broth) People use to pour sop over a piece of bread or over broken off chunks of bread in a platter allowing it to soak up all the broth and then they would eat it.  As time went by sop was placed in deeper bowls and the liquid became the focal point instead of the bread as it once was. "Sop" soon became "Soup"  and the bread was then dipped in soup or thick stew.  In modern day the word sop is a definition of sopping up food.  Gruel is a fine example of sop which also goes back a long way in our History.

Another site that has fun facts about soup: http://www.souphoopla.com/soup-facts

The Recipe:

One large head of cabbage sliced
6 carrots peeled and chopped into chunks
6 potatoes, scrubbed and “chunked”
3 cans stewed tomatoes
2 bell peppers
1 large onion sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons butter
1lb smoked sausage (I used spicy andouille)
1 ½ teaspoon celery seed
1 ½ teaspoon thyme
1 ½ teaspoon onion powder
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
4 quarts chicken stock (this is for a HUGE batch, can easily be halved)
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm chicken stock in stock pan. Pour canned tomatoes into stock and bring to a slow simmer. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes or so.

Add potatoes, carrots, celery seed, thyme, onion and garlic powders, paprika, Continue to simmer slowly.

In skillet, melt butter and sauté sausage, bell peppers and onions until onions are clear, throw in minced garlic the last two minutes. Stir and add these to the simmering soup.

Bring back to a good simmer and add cabbage pushing the cabbage down into the soup with spoon.

Add apple cider vinegar, sugar and caraway seeds. Stir and cover with a lid and turn heat down to simmer long and slow until vegetables are fork tender.

Remove from heat and enjoy.

P.S. This soup is always at its best the next day.