Put on the soup pot, it's raining again.

Today's game plan was to finally get out the rototiller and prep the area, in the backyard, that I wanted the vegetable garden in.  Once done with that, we were going to fit in railroad ties and build a raised bed.  Hot and sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash are the priorities; and herbs of course, can't forget those.  That was the game plan, but it's cold and rainy once again, so working outside has to be shelved.

New plan: cleaning out old cooking magazines that I don't read or refer to anymore.  Flipping through them all, I wonder why I even kept them.  So far I've gone through two years of Gourmet and Fine Cooking, and copied maybe a dozen recipes that I want to try.  Now while doing this, soup has been cooking on the stove top...a nice, hearty Tuscan inspired soup called simply "Tuscan Soup".  So, break time will involve a bowl or two of this soup, and then back to the grind of going through magazines again.  Who knows, maybe I'll find a few more inspiring recipes to try.

Tuscan Soup

Ingredients:

1 small red and white onion, chopped

½ cup olive oil

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

¼ of a white cabbage, shredded

1 cup shredded swiss chard

1 cup diced zucchini

1 cup diced tomatoes

2 (15 ½ oz) cans cannellini or great northern beans

¼ cup julienned basil leaves

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

cold water

Preparation:

In a large stockpot, heat oil on high heat; sauté onions till translucent.  Reduce heat to medium, add all vegetables, cover and let cook together for 30 minutes; or until cabbage softens.

Reduce heat to low.  Add beans, basil, salt, pepper and enough water to cover all ingredients in stockpot; cover and let cook for 1 ½ hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour