Cooking isn’t the top subject on Grace Kimball’s mind. She’s the protagonist in my Endurance Mysteries, and she will be the first to tell you she’s a terrible cook. Grace has depended on her former sister-in-law, Lettisha Kimball-Novak, for her meals. (It’s a long story.) She had been stewing about how she could keep this secret from her new husband, Jeff Maitlin.

Fortunately for Grace, Lettie and her husband Del moved to the new bed-and-breakfast, Lockwood House, to be chief cook and handyman, so Grace could still hold on to her secret that Jeff doesn’t know: Grace can’t cook worth a darn.

Lettie (for short) is an amazing cook, but she lives in downstate Illinois in the small town of Endurance where exotic ingredients are not always available. By “exotic,” she means ordinary ingredients in larger cities or other parts of the country, ingredients that are exceedingly rare in rural, Midwest, small towns. Her cooking relies on the basic staples of her diet.

Since it’s Fall and soup sounds good, I asked Lettie to fill us in on her recipe for vegetable soup. Grace and Jeff love this recipe and often have it with muffins or cornbread.

First, the ingredients.

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 diced celery stalks

4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1 yellow onion, diced

4 carrots, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

(If you like other vegetables, you can add them, like corn or squash.)

3 cans (14.5 oz) of low-sodium chicken or beef broth

1-14.5 oz jar stewed tomatoes with juice

4 medium potatoes, diced into ½” cubes

2 bay leaves

1 cup fresh or frozen green beans. Cut in small pieces

1 cup frozen peas

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat.

Add celery, garlic, onion, carrots, and red bell pepper. Sauté them for 4 minutes, stirring.

Once the veggies are tender, add the broth, stewed tomatoes, potatoes, and bay leaves. Bring this to a boil.

Lower the heat, cover, and simmer. After 20 minutes, use a fork to see if potatoes are cooked. If so, go on. If not, simmer a bit longer.

Add the green beans and peas and simmer for another five minutes.

Taste for the purpose of adding some sea salt if needed. Remove the bay leaves. This should stay good in the refrigerator for 5 days, and much longer in the freezer.

Lettie added some apples and caramel from a nearby orchard. Then she cut some sharp cheddar cheese and added a glass of skim milk.

Grace thinks this soup is magic. Lettie knows it’s just her usual cooking that sustained the Kimball family through several decades while the kids lived at home and went to school. But, of course, she’ll never tell Grace. She hopes you enjoy this Fall recipe.