Haven't we had a tremendous amount of snow this winter? The good thing about it that the snow is so beautiful as it is falling. I am fortunate to be able to work from home when the roads are brutally messy.
Being snowed-in allows for lots for creativity in the kitchen. It is a perfect time to make a homemade soup chock full of fresh vegetables and other nutritious foods. Cooking on a snowy day is one of my favorite things to do! When I roast a turkey or chicken I am thrilled to make a stock from the leftover meat and bones. With a few packages (usually frozen in quart size zip lock freezer bags) of my turkey stock in the freezer I am armed and ready for a snowed-in soup day.
Yesterday I started with a 12 (dried) bean mixture from my favorite local Amish market, soaked them in the morning and later started the creative development of what I call nutritious 'found-soup', meaning whatever I can find in my freezer, refrigerator, and pantry can/may/will be used for the soup of the day. It is a culinary challenge and lots of fun! The results are usually delicious.
The soup ended up with leftover sausage (from the Super Bowl party), lots of tomato sauce, and chicken stock (both from the freezer), fresh garlic, carrots, celery, basil, parsley, splash of Worcestershire sauce (from the fridge), and chili powder, Butt Rub (my favorite slightly spicy seasoning combination purchased in the Outer Banks, NC). The end product was a very thick and hearty high-fiber soul satisfying dinner served with arugula salad with grape tomatoes, cucumber and very nutritious red pepper. The meal was finished off with a section of toasted sandwich roll (leftover from the Super Bowl). Pairing the meal with our homemade wine was spectacular! What could be better?
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