Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat; add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Add stew meat; cook, turning occasionally, until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add tomato paste, diced tomato, broth and soup bone; stir well. Bring to a simmer; cover with lid, reduce heat to low and simmer 1½ hours, or until meat is tender. Remove bone, picking off any lean meat and adding it back to the pot; discard bone. Stir in tomato juice, increase heat to medium and return soup to a simmer and cook 3 minutes. Taste; adjust seasoning.

Add remaining vegetables, starting with those requiring the most time to cook and ending with those requiring the least time; simmer until vegetables are tender, skimming any foam or fat the rises to the surface. For best results, chill overnight. Serve hot with cornbread or corn fritters.

*Prepared beef broth, tomato, and V8 juice most likely contain salt. Be sure to taste before adding additional salt.

Note: I make the soup year round these days using good-quality frozen vegetables, but it’s best made with those picked fresh out of the garden or from a local farmer. For a heartier soup, add a handful of elbow macaroni, barley, or diced potato; thicken it a bit by slicing just the tops off corn kernels, then scrape the rest of the corn off the cob using the back of a knife. Leftovers freeze beautifully.