Sun-dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Soup

Our summer meals are casual, with some simple tablescaping from time to time. Unless it is raining, we dine al fresco. Sometimes, the butterflies and dragonflies join us.

This summer, the Toscano kale ("elephant kale") is the most beautiful shade of green. And very abundant. My favorite way to use the kale, is in this healthy and delicious soup. I'll be freezing some for winter use.

Sun-dried Tomato, Kale and White Bean Soup


3 TB. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground fennel seeds
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 medium potato, diced into 1/2" pieces
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned (or fresh) tomatoes
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 TB chopped, fresh, oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
6-7 large kale leaves, chopped (3-4 cups)
1/4 cup cooked or canned (rinsed, drained) white beans
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
Salt
Freshly ground pepper


Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and fennel seeds; cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add onion, potato and carrot, stirring for 5 minutes more.


Add the fresh or canned tomatoes. Pour in the stock. Stir in the bay leaves and oregano. Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat so that it continues at a simmer.


Add the kale, beans and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer until the vegetables are just tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I could eat just soup for dinner, but my DH prefers some meat on his plate. I roasted some yellow squash, onions and tomatoes and rosemary, and grilled some chicken breasts.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit!

Debbie

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. While I am not even a wee bit Irish myself, I always enjoy the festivity of St. Patrick's Day. And since a little birdie told me that my internet friend Kathleen was hosting a wonderful St. Patrick's Day dinner at her beautiful home in Long Island, I baked some Irish soda bread using her recipe. And I must confess, my favorite thing about St. Pat's, is the food. Specifically, the Guinness beef stew.



We celebrated Saint Patrick's Day with Guinness Beef Stew. I found the recipe at Elise.com and we really enjoyed it. Every other St. Pat's day, we have the stew. Next year it will be corned beef which I make using a 3 lb. flat cut. I cook it slow, and then I finish it in the oven after I rub it down with brown sugar and Dijon mustard.



Since DH has some Irish blood, I put together a little collage for him.



I wish I could have picked fresh flowers from my garden, but the supermarket had some nice ones for this celebration. We finished the evening with St. Patrick's Irish Mist brownies and Irish Coffee. I found these beautiful crystal mugs at the Village Basement.




I am so glad that my internet friend Barb shared the recipe for her St. Patrick Irish Mist Brownies. They are excellent, and will be on my St. Patty's table for many years to come. Thanks Barb! Check out Barb's wonderful blog. Foley's Follies

St. Patrick’s Irish Mist Brownies

Brownies ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs

Frosting ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 T butter, softened
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
5 drops green food color
2 drops yellow food color

Drizzle ingredients:

1 (1 oz.) square unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 350ºF. Melt 1/2 cup butter and 2 squares chocolate in 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth (4 to 6 minutes).
Stir in all remaining brownie ingredients until well mixed. Spread into greased 8 in. square baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until brownie just begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely.

Combine all frosting ingredients except chocolate in small bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Spread over cooled bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Cool completely; cut into bars. Cover; store refrigerated.

You will be in for a real treat when you check out Kathleen's Irish fare on her blog. She went all out.

click on this: Cuisine Kathleen

Irish Soda Bread....Kathleen

4 C flour
1 t salt
4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 C sugar
2 t caraway seed
1 C raisins
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2 C buttermilk
1/4 stick of soft butter

Sift dry ingredients. Mix in the seeds and raisins. Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix.

Add beaten eggs and soft butter, mix

Put into 2 greased loaf pans, or 1 10 in round. Slit the top with a knife.

Bake at 350 about 30 to 35 for loaf pans, 50 for round.
Brush with butter or milk 10 min before removing from oven.
Check center to see if done, do no over bake..

Thanks for stopping by! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you.
Debbie

Vegetarian Lentil Soup with Spinach

I made this quick soup today before we headed out for snowshoeing. It is truly a keeper! Serve in your most colorful bowl, and it will brighten any winter day!

1 1/4 cup lentils (red if you can find them) otherwise regular lentils will do
2 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
2 TB. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. anise seeds (I used fennel seeds)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp. ground ginger or 2 TB fresh grated ginger root (I used fresh)
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups rinsed, drained and chopped fresh spinach leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup coconut milk

Rinse lentils and drain. In a soup pot, bring two cups broth and three cups water, the lentils and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover and cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, warm oil in saucepan on medium heat. Stir in anise, red pepper flakes, ginger and garlic and cook for a minute, stirring constantly. Add greens and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until greens are just wilted. Stir in coconut milk and simmer for one minute. Remove from heat. When lentils are soft, stir in greens and coconut milk mixture and add salt to taste.

B-r-r-r-ring on the Soup

This is one of my favorite potato soups, a variation with parsley, onions and curry. The curry is not strong at all. Soup is perfect for winter days, and can be a standalone meal, not just a starter. It is super easy, and you can adjust any of the ingredients to your own tastes. I served the soup in small bowls as a starter, but you can throw in a crusty baguette, and you are all set for a standalone meal. In the tablesetting below, you can see the size of the bowl that I used. I found these little bowls at Anthropologie, and they are the perfect size for starters.



San's Mom's Parsley Soup

Combine and simmer for about 30 minutes:

4 C diced potatoes (3 chef’s or 5 or 6 regular ones)
1 C diced onions
1/4 C butter
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 ½ C water

After cooling the above mixture a little, pour it into a blender
adding about 1/2 C of milk and blend until it's VERY smooth.

Heat in a small saucepan:
2 ½ C chopped parsley
3 C chicken stock

Stir the parsley/stock into the potato/stock, and season with salt and
pepper. check to see if it needs thinning with a little more milk. At
this point, you can chill it or reheat just to the boiling point for
serving. This will serve 8 easily.

Some of you will recall that I host a Soup tasting each winter. I found these pictures from a few years ago, and it reminded me that I need to start collecting soup recipes for another soup tasting.

I also serve something substantial at the soup tasting, and the guys (and gals) enjoyed my Harley Hog pulled pork (recipe from the Harley Davidson cafe)



One year, I did Bloody Mary soup. I used bloody mary mix, and served in shot glasses with shrimp.


I set up a "tasting" area, with small glass bowls, etc.