Garden Vegetable Soup

I have decided that it is FALL! It's official. I'm done waiting... and sweating! I went to Starbucks this morning (as I only do from mid September-November...) and ordered a Pumpkin Spice latte and it set me over the edge! Both into fall and into an over-caffeinated, gourd-based decorating spree (there was some dried corn involved, too. After all, it is FALL!).

 

it's that time of the year!

Now, I may have a friend or two who is less than thrilled about my seasonal enthusiasm, (ahem... Marco....), which Rich calls my "seasonal affective disorder" because he says I try to bring about the changes in season through my decorating. But, here's what I have to say to you (and Marco), "Come over and eat a pumpkin whoopie pie while sitting at my lovely, gourd covered dining room table, and shut your mouth!"

I know that it is going to be in the high 80's this weekend, but I will be holed up in my house with the A.C. blasting, brainstorming for my Thanksgiving day menu. You might think that I am kidding.... I am not. Trust me, the only thing that I'm kidding about is that I haven't already started thinking about what I am going to serve on my perfectly decorated Thanksgiving table. I just really love fall!

I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but this time of year just gets me verrrrry excited! Maybe it's a little too early to talk turkey, but it is not too early to break out the fall decor. It's after Labor Day, so something has to fill the hole in my heart left by my inability to wear white jeans (which isn't a seasonal thing for me, white jeans just never work for me and that hurts my heart!)

Anyway, I made a soup a few weeks ago and, looking back, maybe I was jumping the shark a little bit. I mean, I pretty much had to strip down to my skivvies and surreptitiously sip soup slowly as I sat about 2 inches away from the A.C. (which Rich assures me is the least sexy way to see me unclothed). I did all of that just to avoid spontaneously bursting into flames from severe overheating. But, seeing as it was in the 60's this morning,  I decided to give this whole soup-making thing another try. Here's the thing, it's the end of summer vegetables and there's starting to be a (very) slight chill in the air, so take off your judging pants (or shirt... this could get fun) and give soup a chance.... I promise to hold off on the pumpkin recipes for at least another week!

Ingredients:
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed and thinly sliced
1 potato, peeled
1 onion
3 stalks celery
5 carrots, peeled
A few leaves of kale (I used curly)
1 zucchini
15 green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 gallon (or so) of chicken or veggie stock (you know me, I use no chicken- chicken broth because it is the bomb dot com)
2 28oz cans of diced tomatoes
A few sprigs of fresh parsley
A few fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

If you have some extra veggies that you are dying to add... go for it. Get crazy, be creative, the sky is your limit (I am such a motivational blogger! Woo!)

Method:
Chop all of the veggies into bit sized pieces... about 1/4 inch. Then, in a large stock pot, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and saute all of the vegetables for about 5 minutes until they are translucent, but not browned.

Add the stock of your choice, tomatoes (with their juices) and fresh herbs, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the soup, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes.

Serve. Hot. Enjoy.

Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Wheat Berries

I just ate a grilled cheese for breakfast.... and it wasn't a healthy one. Some jerk left Kraft American cheese in our fridge after our BBQ and guess who found it? Yup. The girl with a serious grilled cheese addiction. I mean, my bread did have seeds in it, so there's that, but the last time we had any kind of processed food (other than popcorn and popsicles, I apparently have a serious problem with "pop" foods) in our house really escapes my memory. The worst part? I barely enjoyed it. You see, I'm Canadian (I know, coolness points everywhere) and we Canadians put ketchup on our grilled cheese (we also have universal healthcare. We're a crazy caucasian bunch.) But since we were all out of ketchup (maybe the cheese jerk stole it) I had to suffer my way through my "breakfast" with out it. It was traumatizing. 

On another note, I also had a bite of the amazing wheat berry salad with green beans and tomatoes I made for dinner last night. I am such a fat kid in the morning. I take bites of EVERYTHING. (Rich says I'm a fat kid all day. He "may" be right.) Anyways, it was a really good bite, and as promised, I am going to share the recipe with you. (I'll leave you to your own devices re: grilled cheese, because I believe in you!)

This salad is an awesome side dish with the dry rubbed chicken that I made last night. Actually, it would be a really great side dish with just about anything (even sad, ketchup-less grilled cheese.) It's light, filling, and unlike my breakfast, nutritious! The best part is, you can totally play around with this recipe, too. We had a TON of green beans in our CSA this week but you could try adding some corn, some different herbs.... There are 44 more days of summer, so you could really go crazy. 

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, cut into thirds
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large shallot, minced
1 clive garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Basil, lots of it!

Method:
Cook the wheat berries in boiling water for about an hour or until tender. Set aside to cool.

Blanche the beans in salted water until just tender, about three minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Stem the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half.

To make the vinaigrette: Combine the minced shallot and garlic in a bowl with the vinegar and salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the balance with more vinegar, oil, or salt, as needed. Toss the cherry tomatoes in with the vinaigrette; this can sit for a while. Do not add the green beans until just before serving or they will discolor from the acid in the vinaigrette.I added tons of fresh basil because I'm obsessed with it.