Kitchen Garden Journal

• 1 pound dry white cannellini or lima beans, or 2 cups fresh shelled barlotti beans
• 1 large yellow onion or 1 bunch leeks
• 1 head garlic
• 4 Tbsp good quality olive oil
• 2-4 bunches of black Tuscan kale or 2 heads escarole
• 2 quarts chicken stock or water (plus more water)
• 4 oz pancetta or bacon or sausage meat (optional)
• a few plum tomatoes (optional)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary or sage
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste

This delicious soup of creamy beans and earthy greens is sure to take the chill out of those rainy fall evenings.  Soak the beans in ample water overnight.  Coarsely chop the onion and garlic.  If using leeks, be sure to thoroughly wash them first by cutting a vertical slash the length of the shank and running water in between all the layers.  If using bacon, cut it into ¼  inch dice.  In a large, heavy bottomed soup pot (4 quart size or larger), brown the bacon or sausage meat over high heat in the olive oil.  (It is also perfectly good without the meat.)  Add the onions and garlic, reduce heat to medium, and sauté gently until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.  Throw in some chopped tomatoes if you want.  Add the beans, mix thoroughly, and continue to sauté 2-3 minutes more.  Add the stock or water, plus additional water to bring it about an inch above the level of the beans.  Add the bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to very low and simmer for 1 ½ hours.  Meanwhile, wash and chop the greens, removing the midrib from the kale if desired.  Taste the beans at this point, if they’re almost ready, add the chopped greens and continue to simmer about a half an hour more.  When done, add the salt, at least 1 heaping tablespoonful, and the pepper.  For maximum warming effect, serve over steaming hot polenta with a glass of red wine.

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• 2lbs yellow or cipollini onions
• 1/2 stick butter, or combination of oil and butter
• 1 shot Port wine
• 2 quarts homemade beef stock, or use canned
• salt & pepper
• To serve:
• 4 slices slightly stale french bread
• grated Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese, or a combination

This is an absolute classic and is actually pretty easy once you get all the onions peeled and thinly sliced. Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet or dutch oven and add the onions. When they are hot and actively cooking, reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a long time, even over an hour. What you are looking for are the various phases the onions go through as they cook: sweaty, soft, mushy, golden, deep golden and virtually disintegrating. Be sure to stop there, before they start sticking and turning black. Add the Port and stir until evaporated. (If you happen to have saved some pan drippings from a roast, throw them in now. There are few better things to use them for.) Add the beef stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. The soup is done now but if you wait until the following day to serve it, it's even more delicous. To serve: Toast the bread. Serve hot soup into individual oven-safe bowls, topping each with a piece of bread and some grated cheese. Place all the bowls on a baking sheet and stick them under a hot broiler until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

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With the air inside the house so dry this time of year, fresh bread has a life of about 12 hours. Luckily, there are many things you can do with the stale ends, like this classic Italian peasant soup.

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium leeks, thinly sliced, or 2 cups sliced onions    
• ¼  cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 quart whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 2 ½  cups cubed stale bread
• 8 large basil leaves, cut in strips, optional
• freshly grated parmigiano

Heat the oil in a pot suitable for making soup and saute the garlic until just beginning to brown. Add the leeks or onions and saute until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook 10 minutes until soft. Add stock and simmer another 10 minutes. Add bread, cover pot and remove from heat. Let stand 15-20 minutes until bread is falling apart. Add basil, and serve with olive oil and freshly grated parmigiano. Tastes even better the second day.

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This is a simple soup eaten daily in Portugal in infinite versions. There seems to be a Cape Cod Portuguese-American version as that contains beans and a different type of sausage, linguiça. Either way, the combination of rich potato broth, deep hearty greens and salty pork is perfect for those cold rainy fall nights. Try it with a wine from the Douro region!

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in 1" chunks
• 6 cups water or vegetable stock
• 1-2 bunches kale, collards, or 1/2 savoy cabbage
• Thin slices or small chunks of dry sausage such as chorizo or sopressata (optional)

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes or until potatoes break apart. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, food mill, or some other way. Return to the pan. Wash and remove the tough stems from the kale or collards and stack the leaves on top of one another.  Roll them up like a cigar and slice into very fine shreds. (They use a meat grinder-like machine for this at markets in Portugal so you can buy it pre-shredded. It looks kind of like grass clippings.) Add kale to simmering potato broth and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Serve hot in bowls garnished with the sliced sausage and a thread of high quality olive oil.

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• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 onion or leek, chopped fine
• 1 turnip, 1/4 inch dice
• 3 carrots, 1/4 inch dice
• 3 beets, 1/4 inch dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 3 potatoes, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
• 1/2 cabbage, 1/2 inch chunks 
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup canned tomato, or diced plum tomatoes
• 6 Tbsp wine vinegar, or to taste
• 2 Tbsp dill, chopped 
• sour cream 

In a large soup pot saute onion or leek, turnips, carrots and beets in butter and oil until onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add broth, potatoes, cabbage, bay leaf, tomato, and salt & pepper. Simmer 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and taste for salt. Refrigerate overnight if serving cold. Add dill and sour cream to the bowl when serving.

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Last week our assistant grower, Aaron, who is a soup master, made this soup for crew lunch. It owes its velvety smoothness to the use of russet potatoes. Their high starch content makes for an extra-rich, thick soup.

•  3 leeks, thoroughly washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp Butter
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1/2-1 cup heavy cream or milk
• salt & white pepper
• chives or parsley, finely chopped, for garnish

Saute leeks and onion in butter in a large saucepan 4-5 min until translucent. Add potatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until everything is quite soft. Puree in a blender with the optional cream. Return soup to pot and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Served cold, it is vichysoisse; hot, it is leek and potato soup. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped chives or parsley. 

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• 1 lb Broccoli
• 1 bunch Beets
• 1 Celery
• 2 lbs Yellow Onions
• 1 lb Yellow Carrots
• 1/2 lb Arugula
• 1 head Romaine Lettuce
• 1 bunch Bright Lights Swiss Chard
• 6 ears Sweet Corn (Warner Farm)
• 1 lb Bartlett Pears (Bashista Orchards)

It's starting to feel like soup weather. Not surprisingly the garden is in synch with this seasonal craving and the basic elements of soup-making are ready to harvest. Carrots, onions and celery are the foundation of most soups, and the key ingredients of vegetable or meat stock. In Italy, it's not uncommon to find the trio bundled together at farmers' markets for convenience, labeled "odori" or "aromatics". In French cuisine diced carrots, onions and celery are called "mirepoix." They are a fundamental component of the cook's "mise-en-place", or prepared ingredients, used as a flavor base not only for soups and stocks, but also for braised stews and classic sauces.

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• 1 whole (3-4 lbs) chicken, rinsed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, a few parsley sprigs, a few black peppercorns)
• 3 1/2 cups water (or more, if necessary)

Cut the chicken into quarters for quicker cooking, or leave it whole if you're lazy. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and turn the heat down so it bubbles gently every so often. Cook until chicken is done, about 40-60 minutes. Strain, pressing out all the liquid, and discard the vegetables. Pick the meat off the bones and use for pot pie, fried rice, enchiladas, in your soup, or freeze for later. Refrigerate the stock overnight and skim off any fat from the top (save the schmaltz for cooking!) and either use immediately or freeze in plastic pint or quart containers. Don't forget that this stock is unsalted so you'll need to season it appropriately when you use it.

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• 1 lb barlotti beans, shelled
• 2 slices bacon or pancetta, diced (optional)
• 1 cipollini onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped, optional
• 4-6 cups vegetable stock or water
• salt & pepper
• parsley or rosemary, chopped 
• 8 oz. pasta of choice (fresh egg tagialtelle, spaghetti broken in small pieces, or ditalini)

Shell the beans, discard the shells.  In a large pot, add the diced bacon and sauté until golden and crispy.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes.  Add the optional tomato, the beans, and the stock and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the beans are tender.  At this point, about half the beans are removed from the pot, pureed and added back.  This gives it a nice thick, velvety texture.  Add the herbs and continue simmering another 5 minutes.  Cook the pasta al dente in a separate pot of boiling salted water and combine with the bean soup just before serving. Perfect for these cool nights!

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This recipe is adapted from Clifford A. Wright, an expert on Mediterranean cuisine.

• Fish Carcasses
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 quarts water
• 1 cup white wine

Make a fish stock by sauteing the onion in the oil until translucent.  Add water, fish carcasses and white wine and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 2 hours.  Strain and reserve the stock.

• Fish fillets (preferably a mix of oily fish, such as moonkfish, tuna or mackerel, and white fish, like cod, haddock, pollock)
• 3 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• another onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large bulb fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes
• Salt & pepper

While the stock bubbles away, marinate the fillets in some minced garlic and olive oil.  Saute the onions and fennel in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, stock, salt & pepper, and bring to a ferocious boil.  Add fish fillets, cut into large pieces, one variety at a time, starting with the oily fish, which take longer to cook.  Let the stock come back to a boil before adding the net type of fish.  After all the fish is in, boil for another 10 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked but not falling apart.  Taste for seasoning and serve immediately, topped with toasted bread slices smeared with garlic sauce.

• 4 slices of baguette for each diner
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk

Toast the bread slices until crispy and set aside.  In the food processor or blender, add the garlic, oil and salt and whip together to form an emulsion.  Add lemon juice and egg yolk and continue to blend until it looks smooth.  Smear some of this sauce on a toast slice to garnish each bowl of stew.  Serve the remaining toasts and sauce at the table.

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