NAT NESTS | THE MARINER'S PEPPERPOT SOUP

I have this old recipe box I found at the Antique Mall (the Moscow Antique Mall: my reason for living). It's the perfect size for just the favorites--you know, the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, our favorite Banana Bread, the Curry of my dreams, all filed away in an easy-to-get-to and beautiful-to-look-at recipe box sitting on the counter. #clutter #i'mworkingonit 

Most these favorite recipes got a lot of play while we lived in Brooklyn and on the UWS, but then there are a few of those Holbrook favorites that only seem to happen under the right circumstances.  You know what I'm saying? Like, some feeling in the air that stirs a certain something, that then necessitates a sort of "I NEED TO EAT THIS [fill in the blank] RIGHT NOW" situation?? 

Such is the case with this forgotten old classic: The Mariner's Pepperpot Soup. 

It turns out all those certain soup-y feelings are still rocking it out here. Such is the way in Idaho. The way it feels when it's already dark at 6PM and Winter Is Coming is very soup-y. Or how when I'm at the WinCo and by muscle memory I retrace that same produce section root vegetable soup makings purchasing path that I always used to make through the store the first time around, back when we LIVED on soup, because, #students, and #poor, and because #idahoiscold. 

This has been a fantastic build up to this recipe, YOU CAN HARDLY WAIT I KNOW THIS IS THRILLING!

So here is the story of my Pepperpot Soup, and why (or why not?) it doesn't call for tripe in this version, and in fact it doesn't call for half the ingredients most other pepperpot soups seem to call for, which is confusing! The answer is: I don't know. I even had to look up "what the hell is tripe!?" after so many people on my Instagram asked me if I'd included it, and, so, I don't know what else to tell you. Except that back when I worked at Schweitzer, there was this wonderful lady who ExecSec'd with me (hahaa that sounds so fully weird), and she and I occasionally traded "Palouse Survival Tips" with each other. Such as for example: "Call your car a rig." Somehow this helps, I can't tell you why. For another example: "Simmer a pot of Mariner's Pepperpot Soup on your stove on a chilly Saturday afternoon, and you won't mind for a minute that you live in the blasted middle of nowhere and that it gets dark at 3 in the afternoon." So she brought me this recipe one day in a book that must have come from some great great aunt, it was that old and perfect looking, and then she made me up a photocopy and I've had it ever since. Well, it's always been too dark to read it very well, as well as it was printed diagonally on the page, which is MAGIC, if you ask me. Something about those kinds of recipes, you know? 

My friend recommends serving this soup with a side of sweet potato balls. Obviously I won't discourage you from that. 

MARINER'S PEPPERPOT SOUP

INGREDIENTS /
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs vegetable oil (i typically use olive oil)
2 celery stalks, washed and chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped (i usually go with 4-5 carrots!)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon (duh, i did 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. nobody ever appreciates the cinnamon enough! psh. not even a teaspoon what is wrong with you?!)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 cups of vegetable stock (it's smart to keep an extra 4 cups handy for when the soup inevitably thickens on leftovers days)

METHOD /
ONE / sauté onion and garlic in oil in a large saucepan or pot on medium high until translucent; about 5-10 minutes
TWO / add celery, carrots, green pepper and spices, stir to coat; let cook 5 minutes
THREE / add vegetable stock and tomatoes, bring to boil and then leave to simmer on low for 5-25 minutes

SERVE /
over brown rice! enjoy!

Ooooh by the wayyyy:

This time around I used some of the tomatoes I'd blanched, peeled + frozen from our day at the farm last month, which made this eeeeextra dorky and Suzy Homemaker-y and guys, that kind of thing on its own is already such a cure for whatever ails you, but next time! Next  time I'm going for 4 frozen tomatoes. Probably also even more carrots + celery.

Also worth noting: I tossed in a few stalks of frozen dinosaur kale (also from the same day at the farm), and hoooomg, I'm never making this soup without dinosaur kale ever again so long as I live.

Now that I'm here I feel like kidney beans would also have been a hit in here, too. The end.