The Hungry Canary

Adapted from Ideals Family Cookbook · Edith Borne

Autumn Soup

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Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 4 cups hot water
  • 1 cup celery, chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp meat extract or concentrated beef base
  • 6 whole fresh tomatoes, stems removed
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms (replaces 1 cup chopped onions)
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup potatoes, chopped
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Pinch of basil
  • Small amount of cooking fat, if needed for browning

Directions

  1. In a heavy skillet or soup kettle, slowly brown the ground beef in a little hot cooking fat if needed.
  2. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom.
  3. Add hot water, celery, salt, meat extract, carrots, potatoes, pepper, bay leaf and basil. Bring to a boil.
  4. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Add the six whole, stemmed tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes more, or until vegetables are tender and tomatoes soften. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Cookbook source

“Autumn Soup,” contributed by Edith Borne to the Ideals Family Cookbook. The original uses one cup chopped onions, browned with the ground beef for five minutes; this adaptation uses mushrooms. The original calls for six whole fresh tomatoes, added for the final ten minutes, and serves six.

Hungry Canary adaptation

Onion alternative: Replace the original one cup chopped onions with one cup chopped mushrooms for savory depth, without adding more celery to a soup that already contains it. Meat extract: A concentrated beef base can be used if actual meat extract is unavailable; adjust salt carefully because many commercial bases are salted. Keep tomatoes and potatoes as the source specifies for the general recipe.

Original contributor’s note

Edith describes this as “Nutritious for dieters” and suggests adding a hearty dessert for other diners. Yield: 6 servings.