Lady of the Lake

The winter of 1777 – 1778 was by all accounts a brutal one.  The Continental Army was fighting for the newly formed country of the United States of America during the Revolutionary War.  As they were camped at Valley Forge (a few miles from Philadelphia) on December 29th, 1777, George Washington asked the army’s chef to prepare a meal that would fill the men’s bellies, warm their bodies and boost their morale.  The chef rounded up some peppercorn, small bits of meat, tripe and other ingredients and called it Pepper Pot Soup. His dish was very well received. It’s a well-known fact that spicy foods can elevate your mood. If you’d like to sample “the soup that won the war,” you can find several versions of the recipe online (most of them without the tripe) under the name of Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup.