Melissa’s Soup Kit: A Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup Lesson
Children in this country consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food and 20 percent of all American meals are eaten in the car! The consequences are predictably unhealthy. Competing schedules in the day-to-day lives of a busy modern family make it difficult to share a home-cooked meal together, but not impossible. In fact, with a little planning, cooking together can become a fun family event and learning opportunity. This feature will focus on providing a child or a group of children, working together under the supervision of an adult, with one uncomplicated, healthy and delicious side dish recipe. The dishes will be centered on seasonal fresh produce items; the recipes will always contain tasks will allow even the youngest kitchen helper to contribute to the family meal. Parents should always read through each recipe carefully to judge the division of labor based on age and ability as well as to identify where adult attention might be especially needed.

Many of the recipes presented here will seem very basic, this is by design. It is hoped that these simple preparations will provide the culinary foundation and confidence to inspire kids to try more challenging recipes as their experience and confidence in the kitchen develops. Melissa’s encourages parents to find the time to gather as a family unit at least once a week for a dinner that everyone pitches in to prepare. It’s a wonderful way to teach a child some basic culinary skills and, more importantly, cooking with your children will build memories in all your hearts forever. Enjoy your kids in the kitchen, they will be grown & gone before you know it! “No one is born a great cook; one learns by doing” – Julia Child.
For most of the country, January is a time to enjoy the great indoors! Like hot soup around a cozy fire. The soup part of this seasonal combination also presents a great opportunity for a culinary lesson and a good way to combat the eventual boredom that comes with being a child shut in on a cold, wintry day after a time. It’s also a great way to get a finicky eater in the family to get some vegetable nutrition in a warming way!
This hearty soup is made simpler for the beginner cook using Melissa’s Organic Soup Starter Kit plus a few seasonings from Melissa’s pantry of fresh herbs. Though labeled starter kit, there are no envelopes of flavor additives in these kits; just five common fresh ingredients that are seemingly unrelated to a novice. So, a fun way to begin the prep is by removing the starter items from Melissa’s convenient package and laying them all out on a cutting board before your helpers are invited into the kitchen. The question of day, especially for first-time soup makers who may only know canned soup, is to take a guess what can be made from this group of fresh but unrelated ingredients before them!
The real lesson begins as this recipe requires some specific knife cuts for a child old enough. The difference between chopped, cubed and the dicing of each ingredient should be emphasized. While most of the veggies will end up puréed, the portion left in the pot provides texture, so the type of cut becomes important. Plus, cutting board practice time on various precise cuts is always a good exercise. A younger child can be tasked with measuring out all the ingredients as they are cut as well as removing the leaves from both herbs. All ingredients should be prepped before the cooking process begins, as the stages of this one-pot go quickly. It’s actually a very simple recipe once the “pre-prep” is accomplished. Everything goes into a soup pot in order per the directions in the recipe: simmered, a portion is then puréed, returned to the pot, mixed and served! Easy, though to a young child, cooking may seem magical—a group of very different types of fresh produce items are transformed into a singular soup like a rabbit out of a hat!
However, that transfer from the hot soup pot to the blender and back again is not child’s play. Your sous chefs can decide how chunky the soup will be by the percentage of veggies run through the blender (a.k.a. DOC – degree of chunk!). The actual transfer should be the job of the adult in the room. Once this is accomplished, there is the final stage – a child standing on a chair, mixing it all together with a wide smile of accomplishment. Enjoy and stay warm!
Winter Vegetable Soup
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
1 bag Melissa’s Organic Soup Starter Kit
- 1 Organic Sweet Onion, chopped
- 1 Organic Celery heart, chopped
- 2 Organic Carrots, chopped
- 2 Organic Russet Potatoes, cubed
- 1 Organic Zucchini, small diced
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon each fresh rosemary and sage leaves only
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons fresh Baby Dill, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
2 Bay Leaves
½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
What the supervising should do:

Before starting this recipe, all ingredients should be prepped. Oversee an older helper in practicing the difference between cubing and chopping each of the fresh ingredients; a younger child can be tasked in measuring out the other ingredients and separating the fresh herbs leaves from stems. The next step at the stovetop must be carefully guided…
What the kids can do:

Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add garlic, onion & celery. Sauté until the onions are slightly browned, for about 3 minutes. Add carrots, potatoes, zucchini and all the spices except the dill. Mix and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the dill, broth and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until veggies are soft and fully cooked.
What the supervising should do:

Turn off heat. Pull out and discard the bay leaves. In a blender, purée approximately ¾ of the veggies along with half the liquid until creamy. Return to the soup pot and mix well. Note: For a chunkier soup, purée less of the veggies.
To plate: Serve individually with a hearty slice of bread on the side to soak up the good stuff!