Hello out there. It's been a while since I've posted here, but rather than harp too much on that fact, let's just move on while I get back to posting more regularly now that I am back in town and back in business.
Last week I began teaching cooking classes again, here in my absolutely gorgeous kitchen in the home I am renting here in Berkeley, and the classes have been fantastic! Last week was a class on winter soups and then one on Indian food, a perennial favorite around here. It seems that whenever I put an Indian class on the schedule, it fills up faster than any others.
Well, this week is another soups class, though this time I'll be co-teaching with my dear friend Kait who is an herbalist. We are going to be talking about healing soups in particular, so it's all about soups around here right now, which feels just right given the gloom and chill outside. I've been thinking a lot about how soups in particular are so nourishing and appropriate for just about anyone on the healing path, which I hope is all of us always. The bone broths are especially nourishing. With that in mind, I have a pot of chicken stock on the stove right now and bought beef bones this morning from Ted from Highland Hills Ranch at the Berkeley farmer's market to make another rich base to use in our soups in the class on Wednesday, as well as to sustain myself this week, when a vast majority of folks I know are suffering from colds and the like.
The stock is simmering atop the lovely old white O'Keefe and Merritt six-burner stove that I am pretty much in love with. It's had a problem since I moved in though, with one of the double ovens very off the mark with its thermostat. Finally, yesterday, a guy showed up to repair it. He was a big old black guy who spent two and half hours bent over the stove in the kitchen while I worked before we began talking. He asked me my name, and then he looked straight at me and slowly proclaimed, Dara, you look HEALTHY! That felt great to hear, because I do consider maintaining radiant health a big part of what I am doing here. We went on to talk about the benefits of a daily dose of apple cider vinegar, how I make my own, the plight of humanity today in the face of all the really bad non-nutritive food out there now, and the strength we each possess but need to recognize before we realize the power we have to take control of our own health and well-being. It was a deep and restorative conversation and I was elated that this man and I were sitting there on my front porch really seeing each other and talking. I felt somehow more human, more real in the face of him.
It turns out he is a renowned musician who had a top hit back back in 1966 and a long career since then. He is also a passionate political activist and the passion with which he spoke infused itself into me as I stood before him. He left me with a CD that he fetched out of his old pickup, a retrospective of his 40 years of musical expression which I am listening to as I write. I'll leave you with something as well: a recipe for a simple and delicious soup that will surely restore some warmth and passion into you too if you find yourself sitting down to dinner with a bowl of it before you.
Caldo Verde (Portuguese Kale and Sausage Soup)
This is a classic and simple Portuguese soup made with chorizo, potatoes, and thin strips of grassy green kale. It's supereasy to prepare, surprisingly full-flavored for so few ingredients, and light, wintery, and rich at the same time too. You can also add some cooked garbanzos if you want, for a more hearty bowl.
1 1/2 quarts water
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled
6 oz chorizo sausage, cut in half lengthwise, casings discarded, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
i bunch lacinato or other dark green kale
1 -2 teaspoons smoked paprika (amazing stuff!), or regular paprika
1 cup cooked garbanzos, optional
sea salt and pepper
olive oil for drizzling
Bring the water to a boil, add the potatoes and garlic. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Remove any very thick stems from the kale, then stack the leaves together, roll them up lengthwise, and cut the rolls into very fine shreds. Reserve.
Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes right in the pot so they are in little chunks. Add the sliced kale into the pot, plus the sausage and the paprika and the garbanzos if you like. Turn the heat up, and cook for five minutes or a little longer until the kale is tender.
Taste for seasoning, adding salt, fresh-ground pepper, and a little more paprika if you like. Serve the soup drizzled with good olive oil.
makes about 4 servings
0 comments:
Post a Comment