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1992: CREAMED BEET SOUP 1993: NANCY REAGAN'S ONION WINE 1994: SAUERKRAUT CHOWDER 1995: CHESTNUT SOUP 1996: SWEET POTATO-PEAR BISQUE 1997: CAULIFLOWER SOUP 1998: LETTUCE AND HERB SOUP 1999: KALE-BEAN SOUP 2000: ARTICHOKE SOUP 2001: PARSNIP CHOWDER W/ SQUASH 2002: EGGPLANT SOUP 2003: AVOCADO-MUSHROOM SOUP 2004: POLISH PICKLE 2005: HUMMUS AND ZUCCHINI 2006: BRUSSELS SPROUT BISQUE 2007: RADISH SUMMER W/ BERRIES 2008: TUNA CHOWDER 2009: HORSERADISH APPLE 2010: YUCCA SOUP 2011: CREAMY TURNIP WITH PAPRIKA 2012: OKRA 2013: GREEN OLIVE 2014: CREAMY CELERY SOUP 2015: GREEN BEAN SOUP 2016: BANANA SOUP 2017: CREAMY CORN WITH CUMIN SOUP 2018: BAKED BEAN SOUP 2019: SALMON SOUP 2020: CABBAGE SOUP

Print PAST EXPERIMENTS 2014: CREAMY CELERY SOUP (Source: Everyday Food, March 2006/The Food Newsletter Martha Stewart: 11/5/2014) Choose crisp, tight bunches of celery that are free of dark spots. Or, if you prefer, buy bags of celery hearts that contain only the tender inner stalks. Prep: 30 mins Total Time: 55 mins Servings: 4 Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter 1 1/2 pounds (12 to 15 large stalks) celery, sliced 1/2 inch thick crosswise (about 6 cups), leaves reserved for garnish 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 baking potato, (8 to 10 ounces),peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes Coarse salt 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Directions 1. Heat butter in a large (4-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and potato; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. 2. Add 6 cups water to saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. 3. Working in batches, puree soup until smooth. (To prevent splattering, fill blender only halfway, and allow the heat to escape: Remove cap from hole in lid; cover lid with a dish towel, holding down firmly while blending.) Return soup to pan; stir in lemon juice, and season with salt. Serve, garnished with celery leaves. Of course, there are a lot of serious things I'm thankful for and today with the Mystery Soup a thing of the past for 2014 is one of them! The CELERY SOUP was edible, but not one person asked for seconds! I do remain grounded though…Nobody gagged!! It took about a minute before Ally's special friend, Renee, figured it out. Today's best two comments came from niece, Beth: "Renee, now you have to come every year!...and…Check the refrigerator I brought you some real soup!" Let me tell you about this four pot debacle! It started 52 years ago. I'm a freshman at UCONN taking my first Psychology Course. Piaget, a very famous guy classified a way of thinking and called it the Law of Conservation. I understand Chuck's Law of Conservation(!), but Piaget…that's a different story! You study the volume/quantity of your celery to determine what size container should be used! I still don't get it!! 1. First Mistake: I needed two pots to cook all of the ingredients. Please understand I own pots ranging from 1 quart to Grandma Goldie's 20 quart pot! 2. Celery is stringy. My immersion blender pureed everything beautifully. I used my food mill in hopes of removing the strings. I needed two more pots because it had to be milled/strained twice! 3. Woe was I or is it me! My Facebook plea for suggestions had a great response. I so appreciate those of you "messaging" me so your good ideas would not be public. I can't list your names because two of you fine folks have a real possibility as a 2015 Mystery!