Creating Land Traditions
Creating new traditions with your land is delightful way to celebrate your time together. For years I’ve wanted to start a tradition of planting daffodils every fall. This year we finally got that rolling with an enormous box of bulbs that arrived on the doorstep scented daffodils, crocuses and siberian squill…
Read MoreBees Without Winter (yet…)
My buddy at the feed store said the other day, ‘Your bees must be enjoying this warm December.’ We haven’t had any winter to mention and it’s nearly Christmas. Growing up in Alabama, that was perfectly normal. Here at 3000′ in the mountains of North Carolina it is very unusual…
Read MoreWinter Greens — Recipes
I just love winter greens. Especially when combined with cornbread and local ground sausage. Here are a couple of favorite recipes from A Larrapin Garden…
Read MoreGetting to know the land: Lichens
Lichens abound in the wet forests here in Western North Carolina with their amazing silver-grey-green colors on the tree limbs. Today I’m adding “Usnea” to my Land Life List. Usnea is the one on the left in the photo. The Land Life List is the idea of learning the names of everything I can see on the 5 acres that makes up the new homestead. Obviously this is a life-long project!
Read MoreWinter Kale & White Bean Soup
Amazingly, despite the really cold weather, the bed of kale is still green and doing well out in the garden. I was doing a cold-weather experiment in this uncovered bed. Those are Tyfon greens, or the remains of Tyfon greens, to the left. They pretty much vanish when the temps hit the mid-teens. The kale, as you can see, is quite perky despite multiple nights of mid-teens and no cover at all.
So I picked a batch and found a wonderful Kale & White bean soup recipe over at allrecipes.com by Jean Carper. You can click the the title below to go to the site.
SUBMITTED BY: USA WEEKEND columnist Jean Carper
* 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
* 8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 4 cups chopped raw kale
* 4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
* 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or navy, undrained
* 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
* 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup chopped parsleyDIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; saute until soft. Add kale and saute, stirring, until wilted. Add 3 cups of broth, 2 cups of beans, and all of the tomato, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. In a blender or food processor, mix the remaining beans and broth until smooth. Stir into soup to thicken. Simmer 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chopped parsley.
This is what became of the kale:
And WOW it is a delicious soup. I did a couple of things differently – probably used a bit more kale than it called for, added 1 tsp. of bacon drippings (I am a real Southerner…) and instead of plum tomatoes – which aren’t in season when kale it — I used a small can of diced tomatoes. It was WONDERFUL! The parsley really adds a great green flavor. Can’t wait to make more.
Hope you all are staying warm in this cold January! Here’s to warm soups and warm hearts.
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