Wintery Soup

I love soup in the winter! Especially soup that is comprised of local Farmer's Market produce. Here's a recipe that I devised over the holidays. It was a big hit with my girlfriend who came over for dinner and as I told her, it's a super "powerhouse" of antioxidants, all in one bowl!

Kale, Butternut and Bean Soup

Olive Oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large bunch of kale, chopped

½ large butternut squash, chopped into 1-inch cubes

4 cups of broth (vegetable or chicken)

1 cup water

2 cups white wine

2 cans white beans (drained)

Saute onion and garlic in a Dutch oven, using a bit of olive oil, for five minutes. Pour in broth, water and wine. Add any seasonings you like (I used a blend of sage, rosemary and thyme. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat for 20 minutes. Add remaining items: beans, kale and squash – uncovered – and cook until squash is softened.

Gretchen and Her Gorgeous Food Blog

I haven't had a lot of time lately (hello, it's December!) to do much in the way of healthy cooking and baking and my reading time has been entirely sucked up by "The Help." (Need a good read? This book's a winner!).

So, today I'm sending you off to a fabulous food blog by a talented and sweet young woman who I know from one of the clubs that I teach for. I'm also her Facebook friend, which is a really bad thing MOST of the time because she's always posting about the great recipes she makes up in her kitchen and how wonderful the results are and I'm in constant lust over whatever luscious creation she has going. I wish I knew where she lived. I'd be her biggest stalker.

Without further ado, please go see what's cooking with Gretchen:
http://www.canelaycomino.com/
And be sure to bookmark her blog. She updates it all the time!