Autumn will soon be upon and so will the period of harvest and community sharing. Simple spiritual practices relate to reflection upon balancing darkness and light within us, letting go and releasing personal burdens and acknowledging the impermanence of life.

Stone Soup is an old tradition that bespeaks of community cooperation. The old folk story is basically the tale of travelling strangers who persuade townspeople to give them food during times of scarcity. If you engage a quick internet search it reveals that this story has many derivations in Northern and Eastern European countries although the basis of the story remains the same.

Here is the basic story:

Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. So the travelers go to the neck of the stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with carrots to help them out, so it gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.

Every Harvest time, the people of my metaphysical community gather to make Stone Soup as a joint effort of love and sharing.  Each of us brings a fresh vegetable to add to the very pot and our hostess (whose husband happens to be a chef) literally adds the “stone” to the brew. This is a special stone that is used for Stone Soup only. The soup is simmered over an outdoor fire for while the group shares stories of “their year” and how they have “harvested” life. Before dinner is served a ceremony of thanks is performed then we all dig in for a very fine and healthy meal.

If you would like to make a smaller version of Stone Soup, here is a guideline recipe courtesy of Mr. George Duran. Our community soup is also meatless and the only canned good is the chicken broth but included here are options to add chicken and pepperoni. You can add just about any vegetable to this soup but this recipe is particularly good.

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) stone, cleaned very well, optional
• 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut up (optional)
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped or 2-4 whole carrots chopped
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 small stick pepperoni, cubed (optional)
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoonred pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions

Fill a very large stock pot about halfway with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the stone, if using, and the chicken if using. Return this to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming any foam that may rise to the top if you’ve added chicken. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.