Anne McAlpine: March 10, 2022

Brad Bell of rural Cayuga area recently gave me a sample of his homemade soup and chili. They were both delicious and so, of course, I asked him for the recipes. I have shared them here and given you the directions in much the same way he gave them to me as I enjoyed his descriptions.

If you’ve ever watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, there’s a scene where they sit down to eat an “exotic” bowl of soup … and when they dip their spoons in the pot, eyeballs start floating to the top. This is NOT that type of ‘eyeball’ soup! He just never measures anything when he is making a hearty pot of it. He just ‘eyeballs’ everything he puts into it.

Brad starts by eyeballing a few tablespoons of olive oil into a big soup pot. From there he adds a couple of big spoons full of minced garlic and a couple medium-sized minced onions. He also chops up 2 or 3 small to medium-sized peppers (generally one red, one green, one orange). Brad also throws in a teaspoon(ish) of salt and grinds in a teaspoon(ish) of black pepper. He sautés the mixture on medium heat until the onions start to become translucent. This becomes the base starter for any of his broth or cream soups, stews, or when he makes a pot of chili.