Winter Soup, 3 ways

Well, it's officially 3 weeks past the last Des Moines Farmer's Market, meaning I'm pretty much relying on freezer and pantry stores for the next few months. Here's a sample of what we eat around here (sorry for lack of picture).

4-5 large carrots, chopped (I cannot believe how well they CSA carrots from this fall are keeping)
1 onion, chopped
one head garlic (yes, really), chopped
1/2 head celery, chopped
1 pint bag frozen local corn
1 quart bag frozen local tomatoes
1 quart jar canned tomato juice

Put all in the crock pot on high for 8-10 hours. Then we added a bit of red wine, some local cream, loads of thyme and basil, some sea salt and cracked black pepper. That's it! it was lovely.

On day 2 we cooked up some homemade pasta and ladled some of this soup over it. Added a bit more cream, some leftover brie, and some local gouda (YUM). Pasta! We took the leftovers of THAT, added some more soup and a load of sauteed mushrooms and onions, topped it with cheese, and baked it for lunch the next day. This is how we cook - leftovers are eaten or made into something else.