I got trashy again today, and made another \”junk soup\”. Sometimes that\’s the best way to use up odds and ends.

For previous cooking projects, I had used dried black beans, and dried pinto beans; two cups of each. That left me with a half-cup or so of each kind of bean. I had put them all in one bag to save myself a bit of clutter.

I wanted to use them up, so last night I put them to soak. This morning I drained them, and then put them in the freezer. Several hours later, I went to work to make the soup.

I put the soaked and frozen beans in a pot with some water. Last time I visited the salvage store, I found a small can of matzo balls in chicken broth. I opened the can and added the broth to the pot; I put the matzo balls aside to eat later. While the stuff in the pot was heating up, I chopped celery and red onion and dumped them in.

When I made Hoppin\’ John, I had the liquid left over from a 15 ounce can of tomatoes. I froze it for the next soup, and early this morning I took it out to thaw. Into the pot  it went.

Then I let the beans, onion, and celery cook while I sliced two small carrots, and diced two small potatoes. I had canned peas in the fridge, and measured out a half cup for the soup. I also had some cooked brown rice in the freezer; another  item for the soup pot.

I wanted a variety of veggies in this soup, so I opened cans of sweet corn and green beans. What I didn\’t put in the soup went into the freezer for a future soup pot. Earlier this week I opened a can of Taco Complete, and needed to use up what was left; most of it went into the soup.

I don\’t know how good this jumble tastes; I haven\’t tried it yet. I\’m going to freeze most or all of it for later. Even if it isn\’t terrific, I\’ve never laid claim to being a gourmet cook. Besides, trashy cooking can be a lot of fun.