Watch what you scoop up or you might chip a tooth.
Not really, the name Stone Soup doesn’t mean there has to be a stone in it.
But that is the origin of the soup made by Susan Spencer for this week’s Cook’s Corner.
The soup (really, it’s vegetable beef) stems from an old folktale where a poor and hungry man makes his
way into a village and no one is willing to share food with him.
“So he tells them he is making ‘Stone Soup’ and puts a stone in an empty pot. One by one the curious
village people each bring one item and before you know it, there’s a great big pot of soup for everyone
to share,” Spencer explained.
As director of the Community Learning Centers for the Wood County Educational Service Center, Spencer has
plenty of time around the youngsters at the center’s nine county sites.
She made this recipe and shared the story with the kids at the Crim Elementary site.
She said the soup is a great meal for parents to leave in the slow cooker.
“As the parent of two kids (17-year-old Julie and 6-year-old Jack), I totally understand the rush to get
a good, healthy meal on the table at the end of the day. As they were growing up, I wanted them to have
their vegetables and something warm to come home to,” she said.
After watching a movie last week explaining the folktale, the youngsters got to try the soup.
A few of them shared what they liked about it.
The corn and the broth, said third-grader Jermain Polk. When told he could have a second serving, he
fist-pumped the air with a “yes!”
Kindergartner Jack Spencer said he liked it “a lot. I like the carrots.”
Fourth-grader Darius James liked the beef while first-grader Jonah Daley liked “everything.”
“Because it’s part of a story, kids love to eat it,” Spencer said.
Spencer told the group after the movie that by sharing, you can make something beautiful.
Sharing is caring was their response.
Spencer, who learned to cook from her mom Mary, got the recipe from her Grandma Eckel.
“It’s really wonderful to have and very nutritious.”
An added bonus is the chopped vegetables can be frozen until needed.
The versatility also appeals to her. Add zucchini or extra tomatoes from the garden and leave out the
green beans, Spencer said.
She’s thankful her kids are not picky eaters. Nutrition is a must — which means no pizza and no chicken
nuggets.
“They’ve always had what I had.”
Daughter Julie has “picked up a lot of my skills in the kitchen.”
With her German family, there was always a Sunday dinner with all the food from scratch.
“We always took the time to sit down on Sundays.”
Spencer has been CLC director for more than a year.
“I love it,” she said about the job.
“At the Community Learning Centers, we take a holistic approach to extended day,” she explained. “Along
with academic and behavioral intervention, we support kids by proving fun enrichment activities,
physical exercise, positive youth development and a fun and safe place to go after school.”
This week, the Community Learning Centers started partnering with “Connecting Kids to Meals” to provide
the Crim Bobcat PAWS and Rossford Canine Crew kids a hot dinner every day along with their extended day
learning.
A 1997 Eastwood High School graduate, Spencer earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State
University in geography with a specialization in geospatial sciences, then received a master’s degree
from the University of Toledo in geography and urban planning.
She was the site supervisor of the community learning centers at Luckey Elementary and Otsego Elementary
for six years before taking her current post.
