Screw the weather, let's talk soup

Exactly what I needed today

I spent some time today working on another blog post about the weather, OMG it's snowing, hoo-boy it's getting cold later this week, isn't it great to have another good winter for testing hardiness, yada yada yada.  Screw it, I'd rather talk about soup.

After plants, my passion is food.  I love food of all kinds, I like to eat, and I like to cook.  So on a cold winter day like today, what could be better than a nice big pot of hot soup?  Today's soup was kale with Italian sausage and canellini beans, loads of onions and garlic, in a chicken stock.  The stock was thickened slightly with corn meal, which gives it an extra layer of flavor and texture.  Top with a bit of grated Romano cheese, with a nice crusty bread on the side, serve with a nice glass of red wine, and all is right with the world.  When I have food like this in front of me, I don't care how cold it gets outside.


Kale soup with sausage and cannellini

I do cheat a bit, and use store-bought chicken stock, but otherwise my soups are from scratch and I like to experiment.  Last week it was zucchini and chick pea with chopped Romaine lettuce (because I can never find escarole around here), invented on the spot, and it was one of the best soups I've ever made.  When I'm really feeling ambitious, I'll bake my own bread, usually focaccia.  Are my Italian roots showing?


Zucchini and chick pea soup


Two kinds of focaccia

Maybe I'll write about the weather tomorrow.  Or maybe I'll just make another pot of soup.