a whim gone great

we were walking up and down the aisle at Aldi (secret one to surviving college) slightly panicking. it was one of those moments where we had a great idea on whim, went through with it, and then remembered that ideas made on whims are not always successful. 


my roommate and i had the 'great idea' of bringing the story of stone soup to life. stone soup is an old folk tale we had both grown up hearing. there are several different variations, but the gist of the tale is that hungry strangers compel the people of a town into sharing their food. our idea was simple, make a big pot of stew and ask our friends to bring an item to add to the pot. but, we didn't really think about the logistics of:

how many people are actually going to come?
what if everyone brings weird things that will ruin the whole soup?
or what if everyone brings the same thing?

all of these questions hit us as we were trying to decide how much and what type of meat we needed (who knew there were so many options!) the fact that everyone one was coming over in a little over an hour did not relieve any pressure. our conversation as we were eyeing the meat section was something like this..."wow, meat is more expensive than i thought...did we really invite everybody...oh my goodness, what if this turns out terrible...i know it worked in the folk tale, but uhhh it might not work in the real world...if this flops we're going to have an apartment full of hungry people...bread, we need bread, lots and lots of bread."

fortunately, for us we got the folk tale ending we were hoping for. our friends came bearing potatoes, carrots, celery, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. everyone clustered around our small kitchen table chopping up their items and adding them to the giant pot of simmering beef stock, stew meat, and spices. it smelled wonderful. we sat around chatting as the soup 'stewed'. surprisingly, the soup turned out to be delicious. some of our guests went so far as to say it was the best they ever had. the night turned out to be a smashing success.
the morals we learned from a modern day folk tale?

great ideas made on a whim can be successful

there is noting better to build community than stone soup

and better yet is having left-overs for days (secret two to surviving college)

Stone Soup
Adapted from: Gimme Some Oven
Serves: 15-20

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
4lbs. beef stew meat
20 cups beef stock
5 bay leaves
2 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 1/2 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
15-20 friends to bring vegetables to add

Directions:
1. In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the stew meat and cook, stirring frequently until well browned.
2. Add your remaining ingredients and bring to a boil and simmer.
3. Add friends ingredients, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the meat and vegetable are tender.