Cowboy Soup Recipe

The anchor position that Danny held in this family has been redistributed without a formal announcement, the way these things happen in families. Danny was the point everything oriented to. The house in Turley, the Sunday dinners, the phone calls. Terry is still in the house. Sunday dinners continue at Terry's, because stopping them would be a different kind of loss. But the weight of the center has shifted — it is not one person now. It is the table itself. The food is the center. I am the one who feeds the table and I am beginning to understand that this is not a role I fell into accidentally.

Danny built me for this. He built me for this specifically and over years and with intention, the way you build something that needs to be there when you cannot be there anymore. He taught me to hunt so the table would have meat. He taught me to cook over fire so the meals would have depth. He taught me the words so the table would have language. He died in the kitchen because the kitchen is where everything is, and everything includes me, and I am going to be in this kitchen for the rest of my life cooking the food that feeds the people that are still here. That is what he built. I can see it now.

I made a full Sunday dinner this week, at Terry's, with Terry, for the family that could come. Lily drove from Tahlequah. Caleb came. Hannah and the kids. I cooked: venison and bean soup, kanuchi, bean bread, grape dumplings because the kids asked for them. I did not say anything dramatic about the meal. I just made it and set it on the table and the family sat down. That is all it is. That is all it has ever been. The table and the food and the people who sit at it. Danny built this. I will keep it going.

The soup I made that Sunday at Terry’s was venison from a deer Danny and I hunted together three seasons ago — meat from his teaching, cooked in his kitchen, set on his table. Not everyone has that, and I know it. But the bones of it, the structure of it — a pot of meat and beans simmered down into something that feeds a room full of people — that is something you can build anywhere, with what you have. This Cowboy Soup is that structure. It is not kanuchi. It is not bean bread. But it is the same idea: a single pot, honest ingredients, the stove doing the slow work while the family finds its way to the table.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or ground venison, if you have it)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1/2-inch pieces)
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Rotel), undrained
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Brown the meat. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and no pink remains, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the pot and cook until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring so it does not burn.
Build the base. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant and the paste has darkened slightly.
Add liquid and vegetables. Pour in the beef broth. Add the cubed potatoes, both cans of diced tomatoes (with their liquid), and the drained corn. Stir to combine.
Add the beans. Stir in the pinto beans and kidney beans. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
Simmer until tender. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender and the soup has thickened slightly. Stir occasionally.
Season and serve. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve hot. Good with cornbread, bean bread, or whatever bread is already on the table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cowboy Soup Recipe — The Table Danny Built