German Vegetable Soup — The Soup That Says “I’m Still Here”

Post-Easter slump. The adrenaline of cooking a holiday dinner for ten containers wore off and I'm left with the reality: I'm a twenty-three-year-old alone in a small apartment with nowhere to go, nothing to do except cook, and a world outside that's getting worse. Wisconsin hit its peak — or what they're calling a peak — this week. Hospitals in Milwaukee are strained. The death toll is climbing. The news is a ticker of bad numbers. I've stopped watching it obsessively, which is an act of self-preservation, not ignorance. I'm channeling everything into cooking and content. This week I started a new Instagram series: "Lockdown Kitchen." Short videos — sixty seconds, shot on my phone — of me making simple recipes that anyone can do at home with pantry staples. No fancy ingredients, no specialized equipment. The first one: Babcia's potato and cheese pierogi, start to finish, in sixty seconds of time-lapse. It got twenty thousand views in a day. People are responding because it's accessible. I'm not a chef in a restaurant kitchen with a KitchenAid and a sous vide circulator. I'm a guy in a 400-square-foot apartment with a rolling pin and a cast iron skillet, making the same food my grandmother made. That's relatable. That's what people need right now — not aspiration, but recognition. "I can do that too" is more powerful than "I wish I could do that" when the world is falling apart. The brewery called me back for limited hours — three days a week, production only. Marcus needs help filling orders for the distributors that are still operating. The taproom is closed, but the beer flows. People are buying beer in grocery stores and liquor shops in quantities that suggest coping through alcohol is a national strategy. Kowalski Lager is selling better than ever. America needs a drink. Made something comforting and simple for my deliveries this week: chicken noodle soup. Not Babcia's rosó┼é — something simpler, more American, the kind of soup you make when you're sick or scared. Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, egg noodles, carrots, celery, onion, thyme. Nothing fancy. Everything necessary. Mrs. Wojcik's review: "This is not Polish, but it is warm." High praise.

The chicken noodle soup I described above — rotisserie chicken, egg noodles, thyme, carrots, celery — came together almost without thinking, which is exactly what I needed that week. But the spirit behind it is the same one driving this German Vegetable Soup: a big, honest pot of warm broth and vegetables that asks nothing of you except that you show up and stir. Mrs. Wojcik approved of the warmth if not the Americanness, and honestly, warmth is the whole point right now. This is the version I’ve been cycling back to — rooted, earthy, and uncomplicated in all the right ways.

German Vegetable Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 cups green cabbage, roughly chopped
• 1 cup frozen green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 cups low-sodium beef or vegetable broth
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Sauté the aromatics. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
2. Build the base. Add the carrots, potatoes, thyme, marjoram, and bay leaf to the pot. Stir to coat everything in the butter and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the liquids. Pour in the broth and the diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Simmer until tender. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are just tender when pierced with a fork.
5. Add the remaining vegetables. Stir in the cabbage and green beans. Continue simmering uncovered for an additional 10 minutes, until the cabbage is wilted and tender.
6. Season and serve. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 145 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 480mg