When we were traveling we stopped at a farm restaurant where I had this soup. I liked it so much I recreated it when I came home. This is the latest version and I’m very happy with it. Now that it’s summer I’ve been eating it cold.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 big stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. Ground black pepper
1 package frozen corn
1 package frozen green beans
1 package frozen peas
28 oz. Can crushed tomatoes.
3-4 Bay leaves
1 tsp. Herbs de Provence
4 cups chicken (or veg) broth

Sauté the first three ingredients until softened. Add garlic and sauté another minute or so.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer some 20-30 minutes - until vegetables have reach the desired tenderness. (I like to have the vegetables retain some “snap”). Add more broth if you like.

Remove bay leaves. Adjust for salt and pepper.

Serve hot or cold. Freezes very well.

Can’t wait to try this with fresh produce from a farm stand!

Any soup that’s chunky with meat and/or vegetables is a bargain meal by itself. I once had gazpacho. It’s a cold tomato soup served in Spain. I would of liked it better if it was hot. Best clam chowder soup I’ve had was in the Embarcadero wharf area of S.F.