From The Kitchen of The Cypress House, Jan. 25, 1978:

When it snows, the young people at The Cypress House demand “Mama’s Homemade Vegetable Soup.” Then they sing. “Mmm, Mmm,good. Mmm, Mmm, good. Mama’s homemade soup is Mmm, Mmm, good.”

With a good, rich stock and the proper seasoning, homemade vegetable soup IS good. It’s a perfect cold-weather food, and we have surely had our share of cold weather the past week.

My mother always said the secret to good vegetable soup was two bay leaves. It’s true. The broth just doesn’t have the same flavor without the use of bay. So even if you have your own recipe, try adding two bay leaves next time you fix soup. I think you’ll like the flavor. Here’s the way our soup went together this past week. Neighborhood friend Kelly Guider joined in the song; it was “Mmm,Mmm, good.”

Mama’s Vegetable Soup

1 small chuck roast or 1 to 2 pounds stew meat or boiling beef or round steak

3 to 4 quarts water

2 onions, quartered

2 stems celery, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

2 bay leaves

2 beef bouillon cubes

Salt and pepper

Put above ingredients in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and let boil gently for several hours. Skim the foam off the top periodically. Remove bones from the roast as they separate.

Remove stock from the fire; refrigerate overnight or long enough for grease to harden on top. Then remove the grease layer from the broth.

Add to the broth:

1 can tomatoes, mashed

6 to 8 fresh carrots, sliced

3 or 4 potatoes, cubed

6 to 8 pods fresh okra

Continue cooking until vegetables are three-quarters done. Break up the meat with a fork.

Add to the soup:

1 can whole-kernel corn

1 can English peas

Continue cooking until vegetables are completely done.

This recipe, of course, is basic and there are many variations. You can add any leftover vegetables or meat you have in the refrigerator — butter beans, peas, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, rice noodles, chicken, ham or the like. If you happen to have a little leftover beef gravy, several tablespoons will improve the soup’s flavor. A half cup or so of tomato juice is also a tasty addition, particularly if you need extra broth.

Serve your soup with hot buttered cornbread and a salad for a great lunch or light supper. Souper good!

In early December of 1977, food editor Laurin Stamm began a weekly recipe column titled “From the Kitchen of The Cypress House.” The column ran continuously through November of 2000, featuring one or two recipes each week, and totaling more than 1,150 recipes over the 23 years.Checkout, a current weekly column that features various food stories, events and recipes, looks back at some of the most popular recipes from The Kitchen of the Cypress House, and perhaps a newly discovered one every now and then.