Caitlyn's Vegetable Soup

I let Caitlyn take the reins on dinner tonight.  She's been talking for weeks about a soup recipe she's been putting together in her head, so I let her have at it.  I think I'm going to let her be in charge of dinner one night a week this year.  I have to cook with her, as she's only six and hasn't gotten the hang of reading a recipe yet, but I'll let her plan the menu and I'll step back and be her sous chef.

For tonight's dinner, she made vegetable soup (recipe below), garlic crescent rolls (crescent rolls from a can brushed with melted garlic butter before rolling and baking), and sour cream chocolate chip muffins for dessert (recipe from the Taste of Home Cookbook). She was going to make a salad, too, but we decided there were so many veggies in the soup that it really wasn't necessary.  And now, on to the recipe!

Caitlyn's Vegetable Soup
Serves Four

2 T. olive oil
4 large shallots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
7 baby gold potatoes, diced
3 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced
2 cups frozen peas
2 ears corn, roasted in the husks at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, then kernels cut off cob
15 mushrooms, sliced
1 quart vegetable broth (could also use chicken broth)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2 large leaves romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

Heat the olive oil in a 4 quart pot.  Add shallots and garlic and saute until lightly browned.  Add remaining ingredients except parsley and lettuce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are cooked through.  Add parsley and lettuce and cook five minutes more, or until wilted.

Enjoy!