Sweltering Summer Chard Soup

Oh, the heat. Summer is so hot and there are still three months to go before cooler (highs in the upper 90's) are back. As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them. And what better way to beat the heat than with a nice bowl of White Bean Chard Soup.

Modifications Made:

Two links Italian sausage
1/2 large yellow onion, diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1 large carrot stick, diced

1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

Medium bunch of chard, roughly cut

2 T garlic

1 T cilantro

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1 can white beans, drained
Salt & Pepper

Instructions:
In large pot, sausage links were crumbled and well cooked. To sausage, onion, celery, carrots, bell peppers were cooked for about five minutes. To veggies, chard, garlic, stock, water, beans, and cilantro were added and cooked until veggies are tender. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You

To my recollection, bell peppers in a soup are never good. They become soggy and lose their flavor. This soup was no exception. Another soggy ingredient was the addition of white beans. Beans needed to be something more stought, like small kidney beans. White beans out of the can were almost self-contained paste pods. Gross.

If made again, or something similar, carrots should replace the peppers and barley could replace the beans. Instead of broth base, this soup could benefit from a flour based roux or even a splash of cream/whole milk.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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