It’s been a couple of years since I last posted this. And today is Marica Cooks Wednesday. Guess what we’re having for supper? I probably should bake bread today, too. We’ll see. A nice thick slice slathered in butter would be good.

Across the Garden Soup is my variation on my mother’s. As its name implies, the soup changes subtly with the seasons, so go ahead and stroll across the garden to create the soup you like. This is a great soup to have simmering in the background. In my humble opinion, it tastes better after it’s been refrigerated for a day.

ACROSS THE GARDEN SOUP
• Left-over meaty ham bone or ham hock; if you don’t want to make the soup within a few days of having served the ham, freeze the meaty ham bone.
• 2-4 Bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp. or more Peppercorns
• Thyme or other fresh herbs
• 2 (at least) onions
• Carrots cut into chunks
• Potatoes cut into bite-sized chunks; new potatoes are awesome
• Cabbage quartered or whole green/wax beans or both
• Celery cut into chunks
• Parsley
• Salt to taste
• Whipping cream or half-and-half

(Quantities of all ingredients vary with the size of the ham bone and your tastes. When you get all of the veggies into the stock, the pot should be packed full of veggies.)

Cover the ham bone with water. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, and one onion quartered. Cover and simmer slowly until the meat begins to fall off the bone. Add more water if needed to keep the bone covered. Remove bone and any meat that’s fallen into the stock. Also remove bay leaves and as much of the onion and peppercorns as you can. When the bone has cooled, remove meat and set aside.

Bring stock to a slow simmer and add carrots and remaining onions. When the carrots are about half cooked, add potatoes. When potatoes are about half cooked, add celery and cabbage. Simmer slowly for a long time– until the veggies are the texture you prefer.

All of the above can be down early in the day and the soup left on the stove to mellow. About 30 minutes before serving, add ham and parsley to the soup and bring to a slow simmer. Adjust seasonings
Add cream to taste in individual bowls.