Preserving the Bounty: Kale and Potato Freezer Soup

As much as I wish it were hot peppers, our garden has been producing at least one vegetable with abundance and consistency: a trendy brassica known as kale. We've been cutting bagfuls of kale every other day it seems with no let up in sight. I enjoy kale and it's very good for you, so I'm not going to complain, but I was starting to run out of ways to prepare it: after several batches of kale chips, plenty of smoothies and stir-fries and salads, we still had several bags languishing. Kale is a terrible thing to waste, so the search began, Is there any way to preserve Kale for future use?

You can only can greens if you have a pressure cooker, so that was out. I was about to attempt freezing the individual greens when I remembered cabbage soup. My traditional m.o. when it comes to cabbage soup is to make a -huge- batch in the fall and freeze as many leftovers as possible. The result is lunches of cabbage soup all winter long. It occurred to me that something equally delicious might be created with kale.

And I was right! We were able to use up quite a bit of kale and preserve it for down the road when the greens parade has ended for our garden...and the soup is quite tasty too.

Kale and Potato Freezer Soup

inspired by Once A Month Meals

[What You Need]

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 onion

5 cups vegetable broth

4 cups chopped red potatoes

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 cup milk

7 tightly packed cups of shredded kale

[What To Do]

1. Chop garlic and set it aside to rest.
2. Heat oil in a large stock pot and add chopped onion. Saute until tender and add garlic.
3. Add broth, potatoes, mustard, oregano, and yogurt. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer until potatoes are cooked through.
4. Carefully blend about half the soup.
5. Stir in milk and kale. Allow to cook just a little while longer until the kale is slightly wilted.

Winter Vegetable Lasagna

My birthday's coming up this Saturday [today!] and my parents (and little sister) came up to visit and celebrate this past weekend. I thought it might be fun to celebrate by showing off a little: cooking something seasonal and fun. Not mention challenging. So I cast my net out for something I could create with the limited choices available in January. Winter vegetable lasagna answered the call.

I love making lasagna. If I could make only one dish to sum up the kinds of food I love to cook, lasagna would probably be it. I think that's why this dish spoke to me. It added my favorite winter squash, with my favorite starch (interesting enough in my favorite color, which is usual for it), with a new green that I have always wanted to try. All in my favorite sauce and cheese of course.

Lasagna is not an easy dish. Nor is it one for the impatient. Still, this delightful little number was perfect for our winter celebration.

Winter Vegetable Lasagna

Inspired by Frenchtown Community Garden

[What you need]

1 butternut squash
1 bunch swiss chard
3-5 blue potatoes (amount depends on size of potato. You also don't have to use blue, but they're pretty and very good for you!)
1/2 lb chorizo or Italian sausage
lasagna noodles
tomato sauce
~8 oz ricotta cheese
~8 oz mozzarella cheese
sage to taste

[What to do]

1. Cube squash and potatoes; Devein the chard and cut into strips.
2. Precook veggies and meat. I sauteed the chard, boiled the squash and potatoes in the microwave, and browned the meat on the stove. I'm certain your choice method will work just as well here.
3. Combine the veggies, meat, and a generous helping of sage.
4. Grease a 9x13 pan (Lasagna sticks. My sister buys disposable pans to make her lasagna it can get that bad.), arrange the noodles and layer tomato sauce, both cheeses, and filling mix.
5. Repeat until you have reached the top of your pan. Add one final open layer to the top. It looks pretty that way.
6. Cover and bake at 350*F for 50-60 minutes

[I find that I am slowly turning into my bisnonna as I write this recipes. I have a tendency to want to give you a list of ingredients and say "now go for it!". I'm resisting, of course.]

Comfort Food: Slow Cooker Beef Roast

I offer my apologies for the missed post last week and the lateness of this post. You see, I've been doing a lot of cooking lately, but I have forgotten to take pictures. That means we've missed out on some great stuff, but never fear. I will make them a second time, just for all of your benefit. Especially now that I've learned, thanks to Thanksgiving, that people are actually reading this. [I'm still trying to figure out the comments section. I'll let you know when I have that sorted out.]

So without further adieu, a childhood favorite and a good meal for very lazy days: The Slow Cook Beef Roast.

The best thing about this meal is not even the ease of it. It's the smell. Coming home to the smell of this delightful meal simmering away is heavenly. Even more so on freezing winter days like the past few have been.

All it takes is a few vegetables, beef stock, and a beef roast (Just about any cut will do. It will be cooking so long that it will be plenty tender. I assure you.)

Slow Cooker Beef Roast

via (to the best of my knowledge) mi madre

[What you need]

Cut of Beef

Salt

Pepper

Carrots

Potatoes

Onions

Beef Stock or Broth (enough to pretty much cover the roast)

A slow cooker

[What to do]

1. Season the Beef with salt and pepper then add to slow cooker

2. Chop up the various vegetables and add them around the roast.

3. Cover this in stock/broth

4. Cook on low for about 8 hours

5. (and don't forget this step, it's crucial) At some point in that 8 hour period, leave and then come home so you can enjoy that smell.

See? Wasn't that easy?

Potato Soup aka The Cure for the Common Cold [The Cookbook]

[Apologies for the lack of pictures. Blame the congestion brain.]

It's been a rough week. First full week back in the office after a few off and of course I come down with a nasty cold. Not able to stay home, I had to turn to more unorthodox methods to manage the symptoms. Number one of which is my Bisnonna's potato soup. This soup never fails me.

It's pretty basic: just potatoes, chicken broth, onions, carrots, and some seasonings.

The key to this soup, unlike the usual potato soups, is the lack of milk (dairy is awful when you have a cold). The potatoes are cooked until they break down somewhat which adds a level of thick creaminess to the broth.

I also recommend adding garlic and cayenne pepper to the broth (sorry, Bisnonna, but they help clear my sinuses).

Potato Soup

[via The Cookbook]

Bisnonna writes: Brown an onion. Add some water with chicken base (creating a broth), chop up a few carrots, cube some potatoes, add to the broth and let cook for a good while so that the potatoes start to break up a little and the broth thickens. The amounts depend upon how much you want to make. Use your own judgement.

Madre adds: Grandma used to laugh and say that she could tell if an American made the soup; they always add milk to it.

Bonus!

Prozia Lena's Sore Throat Cure

shot whiskey + black tea + honey