Dump Soup

The photos above were taken this morning, and Ariel inspired this post. She brought a variety of things to my bed (a ball, some blocks, paper, toys) and told me she was making soup. Things kept being added to the soup, and stirred. Also, a photo of my pantry, which is right now totally random and messy.

I learned this recipe from a music teacher I worked with when I was teaching in the public schools. She was an unusual woman, a big woman, not exactly fat (although she did talk about Weight Watchers points during lunch every day), just large and intense. She was older than me, lived alone and was concentrating on earning her Masters in Education. Her thesis was on the power of music education in increasing math test scores. She was so passionate about her vocation, that while teaching a roomful of disrespectful, wild, obnoxious kids, her enthusiasm made her sweat profusely.

I liked her a lot, and she was very smart, if a tad socially inept. The kind of person I enjoy working with, but wouldn't really want to hang out with. You know what I mean. When she told me about Dump Soup, I admit I thought it was sort of low-class. I was a bit of a food snob at that time. Nevertheless, I tried it and loved it!


The DUMP SOUP recipe is this: Dump 5 cans of stuff from the pantry into a large pot on the stove. Cook until hot enough to eat.


This is my preferred Dump Soup:

1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can chicken broth

These days, I don't keep canned corn or green beans or chicken stock in my pantry, so I have to improvise. As always, I'm not going to tell you how to improvise, because I know y'all know how to cook!

I know you don't believe me; I'm telling you: it's good! One time a few winters ago, we had a visitor stop by on a 3-hour layover. I had no time to make something elegant and fabulous for my foodie food snob friend, so I made Dump Soup and didn't tell him what it was. And by god to hell, he loved it! He said it was PERFECT! So, modestly I said, "Oh, I just whipped this up," like, "Oh, this old thing? I just threw this on." And it was true!

Dear readers, that visitor was one of YOU. Do you remember?

The moral of the story is: the flavor of food is about perception. Surrounded by loving friends and family, food can always taste exquisite. Especially if it is pretend food.