It’s just a short walk from Green Bean Casserole to St Helena Soup.
The key ingredients are the same: Ground Beef, Green Beans, Tomatoes.

Once upon a time, Carol and I were in St. Helena in the heart of the Napa Valley and needed lunch. This was years ago, shortly after we arrived in California, say 1993. We were walking up and down the street, perusing bookstores—there were two or three at that time, and it may have been the time we bought Madhur Jaffrey’s A Taste of the Far East (published in 1993)—and stopped into a lunch place. I ordered the soup of the day. It was so good, that I shared a bite with Carol. When we got home, we agreed on the ingredients, and C made a recipe. It appeared in the second volume of Eats4One (Eats4One i).

CAROL’S SOUP
Inspired by a soup in a restaurant in St. Helena on our “way to the mud” in Calistoga.
3/4# ground beef
1C dry pinto beans
1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 can white kidney beans
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 to 4 cups stock, beef or vegetable
Soak and rinse pinto beans.
Simmer beans one hour in the stock.
Sauté beef with onion and chili powder to brown beef and soften onions. Pour off fat.
Add all ingredients to soup mixture and simmer 30 minutes. Keep vegetables crisp — don’t cook too long or it’ll get mushy.

This soup was mindful of vegetable soups my mother made, but I don’t recall her using beans, if she used beans, they would have been green beans. She also made chili with ground beef, onions, tomatoes, and red kidney beans, which was a highlight of church potluck suppers. The hint of chili powder in “Carol’s Soup” harkens to that.

In any case, I made what we called “Carol’s Soup” often, and it evolved into a fresher, vegetabley soup, ultimately taking on green beans as the star. I changed the name to honor its place of origin, as well.

I never thought of the similarity between Green Bean Casserole (which appeared in the original Eats4One) and St. Helena’s Soup until I was cooking this week. I had a half pound of those fresh-frozen green beans left over. Fresh from the taste of that casserole and a need for soup for lunches, the memory of St. Helena’s Soup raced into my mind.

St. Helena Ground Beef Vegetable Soup (CAROL’S SOUP)
Inspired by a soup in a restaurant in St. Helena on our “way to the mud” in Calistoga.
3/4# ground beef
1 onion, sliced
2 teaspoons chili powder

1C dry pinto beans (lately I’ve been using Rancho Gordo Marrow Beans)
1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes with juice
1/2 pound fresh green beans (frozen in a pinch)
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
3 to 4 cups stock
Soak and rinse and cook pinto beans. (see Rancho Gordo method)
Sauté beef with onion and chili powder to brown beef and soften onions. Pour off fat.
Add all ingredients to pot with enough stock to cover and make soupy, and simmer about 20 minutes. Keep vegetables crisp — don’t cook too long or it’ll get mushy.

Just remember, it’s only soup. This is the combination of flavors that I like. If you want to use a can of white beans for convenience, go for it! (I have.) I’ve even used a can of black beans and I’m here to tell about it.

Above all, enjoy.