Cannellini & Kale, Italian Sausage Soup

This has been a week that needs comfort. I have been in San Marcos, for nearly 2 weeks, helping my parents get their house ready to sell. Even though I have moved and started a life elsewhere, this place is still home. This is not the hard part.

The hard part is the “getting the house ready” part. We have had several snags and road blocks along the way. From broken paint guns to incompetent and insubordinate contractors, there is nothing easy about trying to sell a house. So amidst all of the frustration of the remodeling and updating, my family needed something soothing to eat for dinner.

 So this last night, I put together a spicy and hearty soup for my overworked, overstressed, parents. It’s a soup, so... one pot meal! This means easy clean up.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian Sausage
96 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 Medium sized Onion
2 Large Cloves of Garlic
1 Large Bunch of Kale
2-15.5 oz of Cannellini Beans
3 Tbls. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 tsp. Dried Thyme
1 tsp. ground celery seed
2 tsp. Crushed Red Peppers
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg (freshly ground is best!)
Personal preference of Salt and pepper

 

Prep:

-          Dice onion in medium sized chunks

-          Smash garlic to release juices then finely dice

-          If using sausage links, remove from casings

-          Thoroughly rinse kale and tear/chop into bite sized pieces/strips

Directions:

1.       In a large stock heat the EVOO over a medium-high heat.

2.       Add sausage and cook until slightly done, stir it around and break up the sausage into small bites.

3.       Add onions then dash of salt and pepper (salt helps onions to sweat and cook) & mix.

4.       Add all spices (except nutmeg) and herbs and let cook until onions are slightly caramelized & mix thoroughly.

5.       Add Garlic and mix.

6.       Add about a half cup of chicken broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot, scrapping up all the flavorful bits on the bottom.

7.       Slowly add the remainder of the liquid so as not to cool the pot off too much.

8.       Turn up heat slightly and bring to a low boil.

9.       Add Kale and another dash of salt and pepper and stir until kale is fully submerged.

10.   Bring back to a boil then add both cans of beans (if using low or no salt added beans, add another dash of salt).

11.   Let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes

12.   Add salt and pepper to taste

13.   Sprinkle nutmeg, stir thoroughly, and serve!

            Tips:

-         Add more Red Pepper Flakes for additional heat but do so cautiously!

-         1 tsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar per bowl is a nice subtle addition

-     Use chicken or turkey Italian sausage for a healthier meal but add an additional 2 Tbls. of EVOO.

 

If you try this, let me know how it turns out. And if you have any questions, just leave it in a comment. Bon Appatit!

Comfort & Catharsis

Comfort & Catharsis....

com·fort/ˈkəmfərt/
Noun: A state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.

ca·thar·sis/kəˈTHärsis/
Noun: The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions.

     There are many things in life to cause pain or discomfort. This pain and discomfort is often hidden or shoved down. Not dealt with because people don't like the negative feelings that surround dealing with it. So people let themselves be beaten further down until they either explode or who they are disappears altogether. One can be highly detrimental to self and others, but both are certainly tragic.

      Some people can find ways to rise above that negativity and blast through it coming out stronger and more resilient than ever before. These are the people that, no matter what, will strive to find comfort, and this often goes hand in hand with a method of catharsis. 

      I have found 2 things in life that bring me both catharsis as well as comfort. One is cooking, the other is making jewelry. I want to share both with you.

Food......

     Cooking provides me the ability to be creative this provides catharsis. I can take all of the negative feelings from the day and slice, chop, puree, and boil them away. I like to eat, so I love to be able to control the flavors of what I am eating. So I dabble in creating, tweaking, or just trying new recipes. Good food brings comfort! I will certainly post more about this in the near future.

Jewelry.....

     Hammering, twisting, crimping, threading, knotting... taking boring ordinary components, that alone have no real function, and basically torturing them and forcing them into being what I see in my mind.... Now THAT is cathartic! I can take the energy of all of those negative emotions, and put it into making something beautiful and functional. No only is it cathartic, but it's also quite poetic.

     I dabbled in jewelry making while I was in high school. Until recently, I hadn't had a whole lot of time since then to explore it further. I have suddenly found myself with a lot of free time. So why not blog about the jewelry as well????

     In high school, my jewelry pretty much centered around hemp and beads. While it was cool and actually fashionable, living in a town that centers around a river, it was limited. I could not see much beyond a couple of different knots I could do with the hemp rope. So it never really went anywhere beyond dabbling.

     This past summer, while shopping in Haleiwa, HI, I saw some really cool old Japanese coins and was immediately determined to turn them into jewelry that was relevant to my non - high school going, river floating, summer camp life. Thus this was created.....

     I only wanted it to wear myself, but people liked it and even asked if they could buy one from me. So that got me to thinking, "hey, why not just make all of my own jewelry?" So, I began to play with other ideas and make things to go with certain outfits. It sure beat trying to find jewelry to match and still not getting exactly what I want. It was much more satisfying. And not to mention, therapeutic to have such a creative outlet. You can find my jewelry for sale in my Etsy shop. Please stop by!

Moving forward.......

     Future posts will include features on the jewelry I make and the latest recipes I am trying and even some cooking tips! I would also love to hear about what you are cooking up. Send me recipes, I'll try them out and if I like them, I will feature them in a blog about the food but also about the person who sent it to me. 

     My newest cooking venture is learning how to can things and so far nobody has died from it! My next venture in jewelry making..... torch work. Using a tool that can heat to over 6000 degrees should provide for some exciting stories of success as well as blunders. So join me as I continue to teach myself new techniques in all of the things that bring me Comfort and Catharsis...

What do you do for comfort and/or catharsis? Leave me a comment let's swap ideas!