Does Anyone Know How to Make Stone Soup?

I had never heard of stone soup until sometime in the late 1980s.

When I first encountered the recipe, I was reading an elementary school book to my son who was in kindergarten or first grade.

In the story, a poor, old lady was struggling to keep enough food to keep herself alive and healthy. It was not because she did not know how to cook. In better times, she had been the envy of the community for her delicate blends of herbs and spices and the superb vegetables she kept growing in her garden almost year round.

Aging slowed her down and eventually, she was no longer able to plant and harvest her own crops.

To make things worse, a long-lasting famine made the land very hard to till, and water to sustain the soil was in short supply.

Some vegetables could be bought at the outdoor fresh market, but these had been shipped in and were very costly.

In better times, she had purchased a huge cauldron-type pot and placed it in her front yard over a fire pit she used to boil large amounts of vegetables to can for future use.

One day, in desperation, she decided to clean up the big pot. She had an idea she wanted to try out.

Using water sparingly, she got the pot squeaky clean and began to haul water from the well to fill up the pot.

When it was almost full, she chose a large, smooth stone from her flower garden and proceeded to clean it up, too. She dropped it into the bottom of the pot.

What else would she do then but get some kindling and matches and start a fire under the pot.

By this time neighbors were gathering around to see what she was up to. As the water began to simmer, a neighbor asked her what she was making in the pot.

She told the neighbors that she was making stone soup.

“What in the world is stone soup? You can’t make soup out of water and a stone. She said actually she could. She reached into a basket beside the cauldron and pulled out a bunch of carrots. She peeled them and sliced them into the simmering water.

Now, she said….that will be fine. But it would be better with a few potatoes in it. A neighbor said, “Wait, I’ll be right back”.

A few minutes later, the old lady had gratefully received the potatoes, cut them up and added them to the pot.

“Oh, my, that will make it really good!”, she said. I wish my cabbages were ready in the garden. I planted some but they are not doing very well this year”.

Her next-door neighbor, an elderly man, walked back into his house and returned with a big head of cabbage, handing it to her with a big smile.

Cutting and chopping away at the cabbage, the old lady grinned from ear to ear.

A delectable aroma was wafting from the huge pot and everyone was moving in closer to see the contents. The more the lady stirred the contents of the pot, the more wonderful it smelled.

Soon, everyone in the little neighborhood had gone back into their kitchens and found some fresh vegetable, herb, or spice to add to the pot, along with a bowl and spoon for their serving.

The last ingredient was one medium-sized onion, which the lady peeled and chopped, adding it to the wonderful concoction of stew.

No one in that village went to bed hungry that night. They lingered in the front yard around the big cauldron, talking and laughing like they had not done in many months.

The famine, for the first time, could not steal all their hope.

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Times are hard all over the world at this time. People need to work together and pull together like never before in recent history.

We must believe and remember that we are "better together".

We all have something to contribute to the greater good.