I enjoy walking down the hill in my neighborhood to go to the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays. Sometimes I have a plan and other times I choose things on a whim. The weather was particularly beautiful this week and I found myself choosing gentle green flavors that celebrate the simplicity of the season. When I got back home I had several bags of vegetables and no firm plan. So I did what I usually do in that situation. I laid out my knife, a vegetable peeler, my favorite veg only cutting board, a big bowl for scraps, and a dozen little bowls for my handiwork. The resulting mise en place became the inspiration for this Spring Vegetable Soup.

Mise en place literally translates as "put in place", but I've heard it described as "take time to save time". For me mise en place is also a cathartic time. A time when other stresses are set aside and kitchen creativity flourishes. The very process of washing, peeling, cutting and measuring helps me organize my thinking. By the time the mise en place is "in place" I usually have a plan and the final preparation becomes simple.

Spring Vegetable Soup

This Spring Vegetable Soup is one of those free-form affairs, so feel free to make substitutions based on whatever you have on hand or according to the season and your tastes. This Spring Vegetable Soup leaves plenty of room for you to "feel" your way through the preparation. The only hint I have to offer is to sort the vegetables you choose for this soup according to their cooking times. Some vegetables are sturdy enough to handle a sauté, others may need to be pre-cooked or blanched. In this recipe I blanched the fava beans because I didn't want to overcook them. Everything else I diced small or sliced thinly so they would cook quickly and maintain their individual textures and flavors. Taking my time with the mise en place made it simple to make this soup by instinct rather than by rote. GREG

Spring Vegetable Soup

Spring Vegetable Soup