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Annie
Ratliff's Vegetable Soup
Being
a descendant of a mixed heritage makes for
interesting stories – and a pretty wide
palate. My father’s German grandparents
arrived in
America
around 1906: ambitious and exacting, talented
and creative. Grandma served their Danishes,
their candies, sourdough breads, and roasted
meats.
My
mother’s family and all of my husband’s
family as far back as is possible to trace,
come from the Pine Belt - rugged and stern
people; yet, generous and richly steeped in
Christian faith.
My
husband’s grandparents, Annie and Willie B.
Ratliff, lived the hard-won, farming life on
100 acres they saved for and bought in just
two years. Although he occasionally worked
“public” jobs at the box factory in
Columbia
or with the State Highway Commission, Willie
loved farming. He plowed acres of garden
behind a mule named Emma Gene, that my husband
says was still alive and plowing when he was a
little boy. Willie grew his own hay and mended
his own fences, too.
Annie
kept the geese that ate down the weeds in the
cotton. She also kept a meticulously clean
house and served food that tasted so good,
it’d make your head spin. Hailing from
Annie’s kitchen are heavenly biscuits,
dumpling soups, and farm-raised meats and
vegetables unlike any on the market today.
Growing
up, my husband’s
mother, Wilda, didn’t get much of a
chance to learn how to cook from her mother.
Annie, like most gifted cooks, liked to be
alone in her kitchen. But after she’d grown
up and moved out, Wilda often visited in the
kitchen with her mother – and began to watch
and take notes.
One
of our family’s favorite dishes that Wilda
makes after her mother’s tradition is
vegetable-beef soup. Though Annie used the
tomatoes and chilies she canned out of her
garden, Wilda uses substitutes we all have
access to.
We
all look forward to Wilda’s making this
soup. It’s a sure-fire comfort to anyone
needing a hearty meal or just something to
warm their tummy. Wilda serves it with
cornbread. But it’s good with just about
anything – especially on a cold, winter
evening after being out with the cows, mending
fences all day.
Annie
Ratliff’s Vegetable Beef Soup
1
– 2 pounds beef stew meat cut in small pieces
1 large, yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
Salt & pepper
1 Family-sized package Veg-All frozen
vegetables
1 10-oz to 14-oz can of Rotel tomatoes with
green chilies
2 14-oz can tomato sauce
1 20-oz can crushed tomatoes
Cook
meat, onion and seasonings in a slow-cooker on
medium setting for about six hours.
In the meantime, mix all 4 cans of
tomatoes (Do not drain the tomatoes.) with the
vegetables in a large sauce pan and heat until
the vegetables are just tender. Pour vegetable
mixture into the crock pot. Add more salt and
pepper and seasonings to taste. Cook on the
medium setting for two hours more.
Ready to serve.
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