This recipe is really a celebration of what is at the heart of Canadian Thanksgiving, being thankful for the harvest. It features carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and mushrooms all from my local farm and herbs from my backyard. The only vegetable I picked up at the grocery store was a yam. Most of this should be in season across Canada right now and at their peak freshness.

Will repel all vampires in a 10km radius.

Personally I think it was the perfect amount of garlic. But I give you this warning to say, if you’re the type of person to automatically double the amount of garlic in any recipe… maybe don’t do that this time.

This is not my mother’s cabbage roll soup. She wanted me to make that clear because I changed the ingredients. And the order I cooked them in. And made it vegan.

So it’s definitely NOT my mother’s cabbage roll soup, but it is part of my own project to make a vegan version of my favourite comfort foods and family recipes.

First up preheat your oven to 375F and find a glass or ceramic casserole dish that’s around 9x13 inches (yes, I’m Canadian and using inches we are a complicated people when it comes to our methods of measuring).

Next you’re going to deal with the fruit. By mixing the fruit ahead of time it gives it time to macerate which will make the blueberry filling more jammy. In a big bowl or measuring cup add 4 cups of freshly washed blueberries, 3 tbsp of lemon juice (it’s about 1 squeezed juicy lemon), 1 tbsp of mint tapioca, and 3/4 cup white sugar. Give everything a big stir and set on the side.

Now comes the part where you measure olives with your heart, both literally and figuratively. If you have high blood pressure and need to watch your sodium intake perhaps dial it back. If you’re madly in love with olives and will eat them straight from the jar like me… 17 seems like a good number.