Description:
The Albigensians were a sect of gnostic Christianity that existed in the high Middle Ages. They were profound pacifists and vegetarians. I admit they would have known nothing about potatoes or tomatoes - but in my head this stew will always be called this name.
This is an excellent stew for when you are out of work, looking for work or on strike ... or, just trying to save a few pennies - your entire family can eat off of it for a good week if you make enough of it. I suggest making your own bread or buying a good dark, whole wheat bread. Something basic and hearty. This recipe comes from my mom's time. I think she made it her entire life. I have changed it over time but its basically the same thing she made during the hard days of the depression. She, of course, didn't call it Albigensian Stew.. that is my idea!

Ingredients:
Dried or fresh herbs - I usually use dried - go the Italian root : rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme even a little parsley.

Any vegetables that in stock and available this month : I usually use onions, garlic, leeks, any root vegetable, though I have never tried beets and don't think they work.

Potatoes, carrots, celery, various kinds of squash and any canned bean you would care to use. Red beans look great.

Any green herb or leafy vegetable (like turnip greens etc.) , cabbage, tops of the celery,spinach, etc.
AT least two cans of tomatoes - either sliced or whole or one of both.
3 -4 cans of vegetable broth - or make your own. You need at least 4 cups of it. You can make this more like a soup or more like a stew, its up to you.
A little wine, if you wish. Make it red.
I use a two gallon pot. You need more of everything if you make more. (or is that too obvious?)

Directions:
This is just like making a soup or a meat stew.
Start with cleaning and cutting everything up. Put the various kinds of veggies in the families that I listed them with, above.
First heat up the pan. Add olive oil. Add the herbs and stir for a minute. Add garlic cloves cut up, onions and leeks. stir until all these look translucent and sautéed.
Add the potatoes (which you might have wanted to soak in salt water so they wouldn't turn pink!) Add any vegetable that needs to cook a long time to be edible.
Stir a bit more. Add the tomatoes, wine and the broth. You could add meat broth but that is cheating.
Let things simmer for about 15 -20 minutes. Then, add the leaf vegetables.
Stir and let cook until the potatoes, carrots and celery are edible - do not overcook it ! I think it should be done in 1 hour of cooking but that is up to you.
I usually serve it the first night, put 2 cups of it in the frig for the next night and freeze the rest. I like serving hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce on it. A little Parmesan cheese goes great with it, too.
Don't be afraid of experimenting with this basic idea. I have thought of adding capers to it... though, that defeats the frugal aspect of the recipe.

As everyone  here knows by now I am a gnostic Christian. I use the word gnostic as an
adjective, meaning that I do not belong to a gnostic religious sect. No,  gnostic describes what I believe is true - the world view I hold as correct. While there are religions existing today here in the West that have gnostic aspects to their theology (Even when they, themselves don't admit it!) there is no true Christian Gnostic Religion in the early 21th. Century. The Albigenses, the Cathari have all perished, killed many centuries ago,therefore, Gnostic can no longer mean a sect of Christianity.(And I admit this is a personal opinion.)
What I mean by the word gnostic is that I believe that all good religion and spirituality is the quest for personal growth and maturity and that Wisdom (Sophia, Gnosis) is the real quarry in all spirituality. It can not given or taught, or forced on a person, wisdom is acquired by a worthy Seeker over a lifetime of effort, study, prayer and disciplined Searching for Truth.

I found recently such a perfect set of Tarot Cards based on my own world view (Finding anything that reflects my inner world and vision is very unusual.)  that I thought I would mention it, here, in case anyone is interested in such things. The set is called:
The Grail Tarot : a Templar Vision
The book is by John Matthews and comes with the cards
The cards were designed by Giovanni Caselli
That Tarot plays a functional role for the spiritual seeker - it is a road map to the higher realms on consciousness. We use our cards as a meditation device and as a way of understanding our Path -  It is also our road map to our inner realms. Each set of cards is very different and there are card sets today.
The cards cover in pictures the entire Path to enlightenment - or, in some failed attempts, at least enough of the Path that you are well on your way if you use them and go beyond their limits. I suggest that once you begin to study the cards you immerse yourself in all the world's mythology, legend and scripture - you will see connections and meanings in the cards at a constantly deepening level.

As you see above, the Magician card is correctly the Gnostic Christ. The gnostic concept of Christ differs in several important ways from the Church concept. His divinity and role as savior are less emphasized and his role of Teacher and Master of the Wise is brought to the forefront. He is what we should become if we fulfill our potential as souls.
 (Hence in this card He is the Teacher, the Magician who is knowledgeable and has already mastered the Hollows - cup, sword, stone and lance.)
 In the card Christ points towards Heaven (as above) and his other hand points towards earth... (as below). This is the great truth of Hermeticism & the Tarot - that everything is interrelated and that the entirety of creation is a Whole thing that works in concord with itself. The stars, in hermeticism can influence human life, for instance. The cards, simple pieces of paper can reflect the inner life of the Seeker. This is, for me the most important card of the set, for any tarot deck to have useful meaning for me it must have Jesus Christ at its heart as my great Master, teacher and friend and, also, the quarry of my search for he is, also, in his feminine form, Lady Wisdom - the objective of my search - that which the
Grail will teach me, and the Grail itself - For Christ is the Path,
the Quarry, the Wisdom I will earn I keep the Path.
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Light..."

This is also an interesting card.
It is the Fool card in the deck. The fool is the Seeker. He
decides for some reason to go on a journey. He takes very
little with him. A nap sack and a few possessions, perhaps
a little food. He has heard the Grail exists and he wishes to
find it and behold its' awesome beauty. The Grail is, for a
Christian seeker, always the nexus (meeting place) between the soul and the Divine ONE. It is that thing or place where humanity and divinity meet. It is usually believed to be a cup (the one used by Christ at the last supper.) such as one one that hangs in the air in this picture. As you see the road ahead is long and he must face his first challenge - cross a gorge balancing on the edge of a sword. Will he lose his nerve, his desire for the Grail at the first challenge, no, he looks ahead and he is ready to cross.
The image of crossing a gorge on the edge of the sword. You may remember the literary classic, The Razor's Edge, by W. Somerset Maugham.
It is well worth a read. It quotes an Indian text. "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."
There is also the image in the Perilous bridge in the tales of the Round Table, again the edge of the sword. You choose either courage or cowardice - not to mention that you must stay balanced and concentrate on the task below your feet! From the very beginning you realize that the Spiritual Path of Enlightenment is not for children or cowards. It takes the utmost courage and fortitude to overcome all the challenges and reach the castle of Holy Grail.

How I use the cards : I do not usually 'read' the cards or use them for divination. Instead, I use them as a language - archetypes of the spiritual path. I meditate on the images. I write about them, I work to install them into my unconscious so that my soul has an image library it can use to communicate with my conscious mind. I have even dreamed of the Tarot over the years and I find Tarot images in many places - movies, even historical events and certainly in my own inner imagination. Always study every detail of a card - the details matter, they are there for a reason.

No deck of cards made by another will be absolutely perfect for everyone or even anyone else, it is best to use a deck that speaks to your imagination and viewpoint - world view.

By the time you reach your 50's, as I have, I have been on my spiritual journey for nearly 24 years, in fact, today is one of my important spiritual anniversaries - called a conversion experience in the old mystical manuals. I could, if I drew, make my own cards and design my own deck but I am not quite ready for such a mammoth undertaking - it is a wonderful surprise to see someone has designed a set of cards that is quite acceptable.
It occurs to me you may know nothing of the Templars - they were a monastic order of priest-warriors who fought in every major crusade of the Middle Ages. They seemed to have adopted over the years gnostic tendencies and they were, in France, at least, all captured Friday Oct. 13th. 1307, imprisoned, tortured and most were executed. I suggest reading about them to learn more.
 Most confessed of horrendous actions under torture - but, in the end, I do not believe any of the church's claims - heretics, perhaps, I am a heretic and consider the word a compliment!

To buy I suggest either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com

A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.
I won't go into all the history of the event. We all know it - well, at least ones who read history and have a brain. We should never forget that surprise attacks are nothing new - they have happened before. They will always happen because they usually work well - they start wars. Its the bully's answer to starting a war or conflict. Its a play ground maneuver, the weak man's answer (NO matter how big his gun happens to be.) to a problem.  We Americans tend to start wars at glacial speed, informing our enemies for weeks even months ahead that we are slightly irritated at them and would wish them to behave themselves before we do something they wouldn't like - people usually know when the United States is upset- its in all our newspapers. We tell them. We warn them. We petition, we debate openly, we send ambassadors to talk some sense into to them...  but Our enemies don't always play by the rules that honorable countries play by. The Japanese didn't - and the Muslim extremists, didn't.
We should not forget our mistakes, the times our Intelligence doesn't work, the times we think we know what's going on and somebody surprises us. We should not forget the ones who came before and died defending our freedoms. We got hit on December 7th, 1941 and good men died, horribly. The Second World War started without us - it did not end without us.
I don't suggest watching "Pearl Harbor" today. It was an abominable, silly movie. We watched "The Battle of the Bulge" last night.

 I suggest watching "Tora, Tora, Tora" today and remember that the moment when America is caught with her pants down, America pulls her pants up - mad as HELL. I suggest watching something that is real history not Hollywood's weak answer to all of history i.e. Romance.
(Romance has it's place - both in life and in history- but it is always a personal story not a national event, not a historical event that effects all of us - Hollywood has grown old and senile and can't seem to get much of anything RIGHT any more.)

I curse the Muslim Extremists who have caught my generation by surprise. May you all rot in the deepest hell saved for men who begin unnecessary wars. I do not want this war. I do not hate your religion. (though, I hate what you do to the women foolish enough to bow before you and your god.)  I forgive the Japanese because, well, the war is over and I think you will never attack America, again, will you? I believe that when a war is over all animosity should end and friendship should be cultivated. No war lasts forever and the Japan of the 21st. Century is NOT the Japan of 1941.

 As for those who don't want to fight the Muslim extremists, in fact are delusional enough to think we shouldn't be fighting anyone, Go soak your head in some history - not that tripe that you obviously read or watch, either.

 Those who do not defend themselves when they are attacked are ignorant fools who have never read history. They are asking to become DEAD fools, at that... They are victims and Americans should never be foolish or victims of anyone. We either defend our freedoms or we will die victims of our own stupidity.
Ask the Albigensians  how well pacifism works - oh, sorry, you can't - the Albigensians don't exist any longer, do they?  So much for being men and women of Peace. I prefer keeping war in my back pocket and pulling it out when the times call for it. I love peace - but I prepare for war.