Making Use of the Farm Share

I feel much better today. I feel that I have a grasp on how to consume all these crazy vegetables. Soup is an amazing thing.

I didn't take a picture of the soup because, well, I was hungry and impatient and the soup had been cooking for an hour and a half already, and Husband wasn't really going to wait any longer.

But it was DELICIOUS. And Hub actually ate the chard and Red Russian kale that I cleverly camouflaged in the soup. I'm totally getting better at this.

Because this was so bomb, here's how to put it all together. As with all soups, it's pretty adaptable:

Step 1) Open refrigerator.
Step 2) Grab whatever vegetables need to be eaten TONIGHT.
Step 3) Throw it all together with some stock (or bouillon), salt, pepper, and some acid (preferably lemon) and cook that baby down until it's yum.

OK, here's the more technical version. I get my kick-ass soup-making skills from my Ma, just so you know.

You will need:
1) Those last few pieces of bacon that are almost freezer burned because you just didn't feel like cooking the whole package the last time you made bacon for breakfast. Like 4 pieces or so. Cut 'em up into manageable pieces (easier done when the bacon is semi-frozen).

2) A few leftover sausages from last weekend's BBQ. 4 links is perfect. Slice 'em up.

3) Some of the garlic that's been sitting on the window sill and is starting to sprout because you have been lazy and not chef-ed it up lately. If you married an Italian like me, you will be using 4 to 5 cloves.

4) You could add some diced onion. But I didn't think to do that, and I do not regret it, but it would have been better because onion adds, like, mad flavor.

5) The whole FRIGGIN bunch of chard AND Red Russian kale. Seriously, it's crazy big, but it WILL cook down. Cut it all up into ribbons. I cut out the center rib of the chard because I read somewhere that you're supposed to do that.

6) Some beef stock + some beef bouillon because you're making Big Batch Soup tonight and want lots of leftovers.

7) Maybe four red potatoes. You really don't remember how long they've been in the fridge, but you remembered to put them in your Debbie Meyer Green Bag, so they will still taste good. Cube 'em but don't bother peeling because that's way too much work.

8) Whatever pasta is in the pantry - the one where you made 3/4 of the box because it seemed like a whole box would be too much last time you made pasta but now you're stuck with only 1/4 of a box of pasta and know that it's never going to get used because you wouldn't just cook pasta for yourself and not the two of you because that would be lame. I think I used Campanelle?

9) One of the lemons you remembered to buy today. Cut it up so you can squeeze it.

10) Some red wine vinegar, salt, and lots of pepper, to taste.

11) Two drops of Dave's Insanity sauce. Do not use ONE DROP MORE or you will regret it.

12) A toasted English muffin because you forgot to get French bread today and you must have some sort of bread to dip into your soup.

OK! Here we go:

Saute bacon until browned.
Add sausage.
(Add onions if you have them).
Add garlic.
Add greens (see? told you they would cook down).
Add beef broth, 6 cups of water, and 2 bouillon cubes.
Add potatoes.
Add pasta.
Squeeze that whole lemon in there.
Season it with salt and pepper.
Add Dave's.
Let it simmer until the potatoes start to fall apart and the starch from the pasta starts to make everything all thick and good.

Consume.

Rejoice.