Peasant Soup Anyone?

Make yourself a big batch of this soup and then throw it into the freezer in mason jars.  When you need something fast to eat for dinner, or something to bring to work for your lunch, look no further!  I skipped the pasta in mine this time, and used kidney beans as my bean of choice.  I also did not puree my beans this time around. But it doesn't matter.  Play with the recipe and have fun with it.

Pasta, cooked al-dente and set aside. (Use a small shaped pasta)

• Dried beans, soaked overnight in a large pot of water and boiled. (about 1/3 lb)
• 1 medium sized onion
• 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, smashed well
• 2 stalks of celery
• A palm full of parsley, chopped
• Tomato paste (a couple of tablespoons)
• One large peeled, chopped fresh tomato
• Olive oil
• 2 quarts of water (or more or less, its a preference thing)
• 1/4 to 1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 large bunch of spinach, Swiss chard, or lambs quarters, roughly chopped
• 1 large potato, diced
• Some strips or hunks of ham, bacon or pancetta
• Small piece of parmesan rind (optional, but decadent!)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Roughly chop the onion, celery and parsley and sauté gently in olive oil. When they begin to turn golden, add the chopped greens, garlic and potato. Season with salt and pepper and add tomato and paste, to your taste, then add some of the water you used to boil the beans, or vegetable or chicken broth to obtain a soup consistency.

Puree (or don't) half of the beans, and add these with the other half (left whole) to the soup, along with the meat scraps (and parmesan rind if using). Allow to simmer further until vegetables are cooked, then, taking it off the heat, add your cooked pasta, cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Garnish with fresh grated parmesan if desired.

A good "cold-as-hell" kind of winter day meal when served with fresh warm bread.  And those kind of days are just around the corner...

 

Time for a nap...

 

Rabbit, the other white meat...

A fresh bagged bunny for the freezer



(that's a kidney peeking out from underneath, which will become the dog's treat...)

I started raising rabbits for meat recently.  The three breeding does are New Zealand, and the buck is a Flemish Giant.  The offspring from this crossing these two breeds make really nice meat rabbits.  Mostly white meat, but very tender and ready to butcher at around 10-12 weeks. 

Roasted bunny with apples, onion and carrots

One roasted rabbit goes a long way.  Dinner for two the first night, along with roasted vegetables.  Lunches for two the next day from the leftovers.  A sandwich the next morning for my breakfast, and anything left that I can pull from the bones tonight will go into some sort of soup. Quite a few meals from one young bunny!

Roasted bunny with roasted carrot, mushroom and new potatoes

Bunny sandwich on homemade bread with tomato, lettuce and mayo

To me, the rabbits taste somewhat similar to a cross between chicken and pork, leaning more toward the side of chicken in texture.  This also makes them extremely versatile when it comes to using them in recipes.  The possibilities are endless!  Do you have a favorite rabbit recipe?  I'd love to know how other people like to cook with them. Have a lovely day ~ A

Lima Bean Soup

The WWFarmstead purse strings are pulled tighter than a frog's butt lately, due to the Vaquero (mexican for "cowboy")  being without work for the past three months.  We've been getting creative and trying to eat as low cost as we can stand. 

So tonight's dinner is a quick, satisfying, mostly healthy and mostly frugal dinner.  It's my own recipe, and is now a "keeper" in our farm house - Lima Bean Soup. 

Okay, I get it.  Most people hate lima beans.  I adore them.  And, if you don't, use some other bean.  You won't hurt anyone's feelings. It's also nice to have some homemade bread (which we all should be making anyway) to serve along with it. 

Lima Bean Soup  (Pressure Cooker recipe)
Serves 4-6, depending on how hungry your Vaquero is...

1 lb. smoked kielbasa or andouille links, sliced thick
1 tsp hot pepper flakes (or less if you're afraid)
2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1/2 tsp coarse ground, black pepper
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced thick
2-3 celery stalks, sliced thick
1/2 half of a large yellow onion, chopped
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
14 oz plain tomato sauce
6 cups of water
1 lb of Lima Beans, drained (must first be soaked for 8 hours!)

Do all of your peeling, slicing and chopping.  Drain off the soaking liquid from the Lima Beans.  Throw everything into the pressure cooker, secure the lid.  Pressure cook at 15 lbs pressure for 6 minutes.

Serve in bowls garnished with fresh cilantro or italian parsley, your choice.  Enjoy!