Stone Soup

This recipe my mother told me about when I was 5 years old and I am passing it down to you all. The key ingredient is the scrubbed stone which is to be placed in the boiling water. Zaar won't recognize the ingredient so when you scrub yours along side the river bank, just plop it into the pot of boiling water. ONCE UPON A TIME,,, there were two unemployed and very poor men who decided to become beggars so they shouldn't starve to death. 'Well', they thought,'this will be easy'. They were turned down at every door and tavern and were shooed out of town. 'Eureka! I have an idea' said one fellow and he proceeded to fill his pot with water from the nearby river. He asked his companion to find a large rock and to scrub it on the rivers edge. The companion did just so and brought it to his friend just as the townspeople were drawing water from the river. The friend put the stone into the boiling water. 'Hey there, you two, just what are you cooking"? The fellow shouted across the river. "Why it's just stone soup! Please my friend, have a taste." So the new friend waded through the water and dipped his spoon into the stone soup. ''Gracious me, this is the best stone soup I have ever tasted! But you know, I have some onions and some beans in my kitchen that would make your stone soup taste spectacular. Would you mind?" ' Why no kind sir if you think it would help my meager soup'. Soon the laundress came over with an apron full of potatoes. 'Excuse me sir but if you are going to put his onions into your stone soup you surely would want my new potatoes to sweeten the taste." ''Well yes, we would...'' One by one the villagers dropped in their offers, a pheasant plucked clean, celery and radishes, rutabagas and turnips and even a haunch of beef. Finally after adding a bottle of fine wine the pot was filled to the top. "Patience dear villagers. As you all know stone soup cannot be rushed, It must simmer the full two hours''. While they waited some went home for honey cakes and loaves of bread and some went for cheese and fruit and even tables and chairs. Soon the hour arrived and the villagers dined on Stone Soup to their hearts content. No one could recall ever eating such delicious stone soup. As dark fell upon them they asked the beggar-men if they would serve stone soup again next midday. No, they lamented, they would be making coin soup and they would love to invite the villagers to dine. Hu-rah! They would bring coins, meat, fowl and cockles and perhaps bread for the coin soup and went home sated and content that they would dine better the next day.

• Ready In: 4 hrs
• Yields: 1 village full

Ingredients

• 6  gallons water, river, boiling (add the large scrubbed stone at this point)
• 2  cups  beans
• 1  pheasant, plucked clean
• 1  haunch beef
• 1  bunch onion
• 1  bunch celery
•  new potato, peeled (1 apronful)
• 2  rutabagas
• 2  turnips
• 1  liter wine (fine)
•  salt and pepper
•  herbs, and
•  spices, to taste

Directions

1. Put everything into the boiling water and simmer for at least two hours.
2. Serve to villagers.