Season of Zucchini -- Fall Garden Soup

This is truly my favorite soup. It takes a while to cut everything up, but it's really great. I've made it since I got the recipe from my friend, Betty Valle, in 2001. I generally make pots and pots of it in the summer, freeze it, and we have it all winter. Yum.

Fall Garden Soup

1/4 c Olive Oil
2T Unsalted butter or margarine
1 yellow or white onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
4 Yukon Gold, Red Rose (that's what I use because I grow them) or small waxy boiling potatoes, cut into 1-in cube
2 C trimmed cut up green beans (frozen green beans work great)
4 Zucchini cut into 1/2 in. pieces
8 Tomatoes, coarsely chopped (or two cans of diced tomatoes)
6 C chicken, beef or vegetable stock
2 T chopped fresh marjoram (in crockpot, 2 t dried marjoram)
1 T chopped fresh thyme (in crockpot, 1t dried thyme)
Salt and pepper to taste

4 C coarsely chopped Spinach
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese (optional)

For crockpot - Chop and pile into the crockpot. The crockpot will be very full. Lay the lid on top of the vegetables. The vegetables will cook down and settle the lid. Cook at high for 6 hrs. If you're home, shift it to low after 4 hours or so. Add spinach near the end or 1/2 way through so it doesn't over cook. (Can take about 1 hour to do all the chopping but it's totally worth it)

On the stove - Put olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. When butter is foaming, add the onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the color changes. Add potatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes longer. Continue adding vegetables one at a time, then sauteing each for 1-3 minutes before adding the next. Once the tomatoes have been added, pour in the stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 -2 hours, or until all vegetables are tender and the flavors blended. Serve with cheese on top.

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