Homemade Soup 

February 4th is National Homemade Soup Day, and I'm ready to celebrate. I love a good, hot bowl of soup on a cold, wintry day. My favorite kinds to make are vegetable, chicken noodle, and black bean. Soup is usually a safe choice in an unknown restaurant when I'm traveling, too. I've never forgotten the delicious bowl of minestrone I had for lunch in a quaint village inn in Ireland
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Soups and stews were also common in earlier times. When cooking in fireplaces, these were more manageable than most other menu choices and allowed the homemaker to complete other tasks while the meal cooked. I use them often in writing my historical novels, whether they're set in the South, the Appalachian Mountains, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, or some other location. 

Interestingly, soups are thought to date back to at least 20,000 BC. They came as soon as man had waterproof containers, which were likely clay pots at first. Since that beginning, however, soups have become more varied and diverse. There are so many varieties of soup today, it would be difficult to list them all. Nearly every culture has favorites. So, for National Homemade Soup Day today, why don't you pull out your favorite soup recipe and celebrate?

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