Vegan Tuscan No-bean Soup Again with the Soups

Vegan Tuscan No-Bean Soup is what you get when the cook forgets the beans 🙂 It was that kind of week last week….whew…….and what better food to eat, than a huge bowl of simmering soup. Followed by a bunch of graham crackers with my Grounds & Hounds Hot Chocolate. More on that in a few…

First of all, I don’t think I’ve written about the difference between opening a carton or can of broth versus putting the TV remote down, getting out of the chair and making your own. Homemade broth is to soups what a gorgeous sunset is to a grey day; it elevates….Plus the aroma of the vegetable stock simmering away, builds a comforting anticipation. And it helps with emptying out a full crisper. Especially when your garden is producing all the vegetables you planted (that never ceases to amaze me)

Making stock has become Rick’s thing. Right now, he’s out pulling up carrots and said something about the leeks as he went out the door. So, next week if I remember 🙂  I’ll post my potato leek soup from Dining With the Impressionist Cookbook.

The beauty of making your own stock or broth is it’s one of the easiest things you’ll do in the kitchen. You can do any combination of vegetables, but I tend to go for yellow onion, shallots, leaved celery, carrots, garlic and the herbs that work with the direction I’m going. A couple weeks ago cooking for you my love blog: Clio’s Unbelievably Healthy Soup, used basically the same ingredients, but different herbs which took you on a epicurean journey where you’d needed a passport with it’s turmeric, sage, rosemary etc..this week simple parsley does the job.

Scrubbing the vegetables is the only requirement for making your broth. Peeling isn’t needed, chopping or mincing, nada, nicht, nothing… just wash and cut big pieces in half, hit your garlic with the flat of the knife and throw it in the pot. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer on medium low. The hard part comes after the broth has been cooking for at least an hour and half; scooping out all the solids and throwing them in the compost bucket completing the circle of life, or the garbage. What’s left is an aromatic blank canvas of bubbling semi-clear liquid.

My brother Greg’s wife, Alice served Tuscan Bean Soup at my 47th birthday dinner party. Along with the Acme San Francisco Sourdough and cubes of gruyere cheese, I thought I’d died and gone to soup heaven. This is her recipe sans cannellini beans 🙂   “Only the pure of heart can make a good soup” Ludwig Van Beethoven

Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co.
Yesterday, a little box was delivered to us. The return label read, Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. Rick said he didn’t order it. We ripped open the box, and found it was a sweet gift from my sweet sister Kelli. An acquaintance of Kelli’s son is the creator and owner of this thoughtful company selling gift boxes of Coffee and vegan hot chocolate mix. Their motto is; Sip Coffee Save Pups. The perfect gift for every rescue-loving coffee drinker inside.

”Our Mission; at Grounds and Hounds Coffee Co. We believe that great coffee can fuel a greater purpose. Through the sale of our organic and eco-friendly specialty coffees, we support rescue initiatives and organizations providing a second chance for pups in need of a helping hand. 20% of all Grounds & Hounds profits are deployed to our rescue organizations working to make the second-chance mission a reality.”

“To our four legged friends, each day is a new adventure, full of possibilities and excitement. Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. was born out of our passion to give back to the animals who selflessly provide us with so much happiness.”

-Jordan Karcher, Founder & CEO.

Go to groundsandhoundscoffee.com, be sure to check out the video.

I don’t know about you, but we currently have 4 grand-dogs in our life. All four of these guys have added such joy to the family. Two of the dogs were rescued, one literally an hour from being euthanized when our son, Peter saved him. The holiday season is upon us, surprise a lucky person with a gift that keeps giving. BTW: the vegan hot chocolate mix was the best we have ever had.

I’m sitting here staring at the keyboard thinking about how wonderful it is to lose myself in my little kitchen and escape from all the chaos and upheaval in the world and also in our little universe. To be able go out to the garden and breathe in the fresh air, get a nose full of the last of the basil, and dill, is pure magic. Today was a nice day 🙂

P.S. Rick just told me he missed the cannellini beans in the soup. So next time you’re at the store pickup a 15 oz. can of cannellini beans. (it’s nice to have some in the pantry) And if you make the soup, drain the liquid from can, rinse well, skip the farro and add with the chard to the soup.

Ciao for now 🙂