My maternal grandmother made the best vegetable soup I've ever had. Grandmama used whatever vegetables were available from the garden. Boy, did they have a garden!
I've never been able to exactly replicate her soup but here's a good approximation. Or you can use whatever you have available. Since I don't garden, I use a mixture of fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables.
1 ham bone with attached meat
or
country ham pieces, chopped
Simmer the ham in 2 quarts of water for at least 2 hours. Remove the bone and reserve the broth. Allow the meat to cool. Remove a meat from the bone and chop fine. Return the meat to the pot.
12 oz Corn
12 oz Green Beans
12 oz Butterbeans
2 15 oz cans of Tomatoes, chopped
1 can Rotel
12 oz Carrots, sliced
12 oz Okra, sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium cabbage, cored and chopped
Hot sauce to taste (My favorite is Marie Sharps Fiery Hot.)
Salt to taste (Be careful! The country ham provides a lot of salt.)
Pepper to taste
Add all ingredients up to the onions to the stock and ham. Add enough water or stock to cover all ingredients by 1 inch. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer at least 2 hours. Adjust seasoning. Add the cabbage and simmer another 30 minutes. Add the hot sauce and adjust seasoning a final time.
Serve with cornbread.
This makes a rather large batch of soup. Even the starving horde composed of myself and my cousins could never eat it all. Thankfully, it freezes well!