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Once upon a time, a hungry traveler happened upon a small cottage in a small village. He knocked on the cottage door and asked the peasant that opened it if he could have some food.
The peasant said, “I’m sorry, but we’ve already eaten dinner and have no food left to cook.”
The traveler said, “Well, could I borrow a soup pot and some water and I’ll make Stone Soup.”
The traveler sat outside by the fire and the soup pot stirring the stone in the water. I passer-by stumbled upon the traveler and said, “Mmm, that smells good. What are you making?”
“Stone Soup,” replied the traveler. “I’d be happy to share it if you could lend me an onion.” The passer-by returned some minutes later with an onion.
Another passer-by noticed the boiling pot and said, “Mmm, that smells good. What are you making?”
“Stone Soup,” replied the traveler. “I’d be happy to share it, if you could lend me a carrot.” And this passer-by returned some minutes later with a carrot.
And so went the evening, with many people returning with different ingredients to contribute to the Stone Soup and at the end of the night, the traveler had made a big pot of Stone Soup to share with the village and they all enjoyed the warm meal together by the fire.
This is a classic children’s story about sharing. It’s also a story about delegating and leadership. All the ingredients were scattered among the villagers. It took the traveler to tell each villager exactly what they could contribute in order to bring the final dish together.
With Covid19, I went from Head Chef at The Farm Table to Headmaster at “Maylen’s Quarantine Learning Center” (No joke, this is my title with the State of CA). Like many parents at home with the kids during this crazy time, I am always in search of ways to incorporate both skills, academics, and moral lessons into everyday life.
My daughter May learned this story in preschool years ago. I don’t know if she is nostalgic for more normal times…. when she had to share with other kids in a school….but this story has been in her head recently and she wanted to make Stone Soup. I had a fridge full of vegetables that needed to be used up. Some floppy celery, the end piece of a cabbage, minced onion left over from taco night. We threw everything in the pot and ate the soup for lunch. I helped her season it with salt (her own instincts are to go way overboard in this department) and we all ate it for lunch. The soup was delicious and she was super proud of herself!!
Cooking the soup from this fable together gave me an opportunity to give my 6-year-old daughter a lesson in using the vegetable peeler and chef knife to chop the vegetables and mince the garlic and herbs. How to adjust the burner flame and some kitchen safety skills. We incorporated some math and measurements and she practiced writing by recording her recipe in her composition book.
This is her recipe.
Please feel free to share it with all the mommas and papas you know looking for things to do at home with the kids. Also, if you have fun cooking projects to do while homeschooling, I’d love to hear about them in the comment section!
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May’s Stone Soup
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Kids
- Method: boiling
- Cuisine: N/A
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This recipe is for a vegan “Stone Soup.” This is a great way to teach children basic cooking and kitchen skills while incorporating a story and an important lesson in sharing. This version is delicious but feel free to modify this recipe to use anything you find in your fridge.
Ingredients
6 cups water
1 clean stone
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 celery stalk, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/4 cups diced onion
1 beet, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves
3/4 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped kale
1 large oyster mushroom, torn into pieces
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Tablespoons chopped dill
Instructions
Place the water and stone in soup pot and bring it up to a boil.
Add all the other ingredients as they are cut, tender vegetables and herbs last.
Simmer until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Serve and enjoy!
Equipment
| Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, 5 Piece Stackable Measuring Set |
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| Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Double Dutch Oven With Loop Handles, 5 qt |
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