a soup for all seasons

You know when you have a busy day ahead and the very idea of busting out an edible dinner in 10 hours seems totally out of the question? Back away from the take-out menu! This is my simple, easy, basic soup. You can add all kinds of stuff to it, or you can take it as it is. It's great for every season, because soup is always good.

Here are the basics:
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Celery
Tomatoes (canned or fresh. no fresh tomatoes in february!)
French Lentils (the small black-green ones)
Chicken stock or water
Bay Leaf
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Salt Pepper

Depending on the season and supplies on hand, you can add:
Fresh corn (Leaving out the lentils and potatoes. Why? Too much starch)
Avocado as a garnish. So good.
Greens (Kale, Chard, etc. Add when you have about 10-15 more cooking time)
Spinach (save till almost the end or it will overcook)
Green beans
Broccoli or better yet, broccolini
Artichokes (canned or fresh)
Mushrooms (saute in the beginning with onion, etc.)
Parsnips
Poached egg
Potatoes
Canellini beans (fresh, canned, or dried. If dry, soak all day)

I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but that's my basic list of options.

I favor French Lentils because they stay firm and do not fall apart. I like that. However, you can also use any other lentil type or even a split pea. These have the advantage of being quick-cooking. If you are going to use French Lentils or dry cannellini beans, rinse them well, pop them into a pot in the morning and cover with water and a teaspoon of salt so they will cook up quickly that evening.

Okay, evening is here, time to whip this soup out. First, chop up that onion and get it sauteing with some olive oil and salt. If you are feeling indulgent, add butter too, or cut the olive oil and just do butter. I'm just saying, butter is good, but fatty. While the onion sautes over medium heat, chop up the celery and add to the onion. If you are doing a potato, chop it up into 1-inch cubes and add that too. Cut the carrots in half and chop into half moons, add to pot. Oh, throw in that bay leaf too. Garlic goes in last.

When everything starts getting soft and smelling good, you will start adding your other ingredients. If you soaked your lentils or beans, pour the water and the beans into the pot. Add chicken stock or water so everything is floating in a nice broth. Cover, bring to a boil, and then turn down to med-low heat. Cook for about 30 minutes or until beans are done.

Whatever you decide to add, make sure you add it at the right time. You don't want to overcook anything. Part of the charm of this soup is the good-tasting vegetables. Generally, 5 minutes is enough time, with the exception of heartier vegetables.

Now I know you want to know about the poached egg. I learned this from Olga's Restaurant on Orcas Island. In fact, I came up with this recipe from a soup I had there. The poached egg is so fucking good. It adds some protein, and if you are an egg hound like me, then you will be really happy. I had this soup for breakfast, which is probably why they threw the egg on. But I think it's perfectly appropriate for dinner too.

The finishing touch with this soup is crusty bread. But regular old sliced bread is great too. Or skip the bread, you don't need it!

farmer's market salad

This is an amazing salad, and it can be served as a main with a side of pasta or israeli couscous. Or, by itself. The first time I had this was at Rustic Canyon Restaurant in Santa Monica. My sister and I wrote down the ingredients in the restaurant and went to the Farmer's Market the next day and bought the ingredients. I call this salad Farmer's Market Salad because you can make this salad at any time of year, you just use seasonal vegetables.

I always start with a base of cauliflower, carrots, and fennel, three things that are almost always available. Then you add something green like asparagus, or green beans, or peas, or broccoli. It depends on the time of year. No asparagus in December!

Chop all of the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. I like to cut the carrots on a severe diagonal, nice and thin. The fennel you will saute in olive oil with garlic until it is soft. The rest you will par boil.

Start by getting a pot of water boiling. Have at the ready a bowl full of ice to stop the cooking when you pull the vegetables from the water. You want to vegetables to be tender, not soft, with just a bit of crispness. I like to boil everything separately to make sure nothing gets overcooked or undercooked (re-using the same water) but you can do it all at once, putting the heartier vegetables in first, following up with more delicate vegetables. You don't want to boil anything longer than 3 minutes. Pop them straight into the ice water.

Next, toss the vegetables and fennel together, along with a basic olive oil and vinegar dressing, or any salad dressing. Cheese is a great thing to add, like parmesan or feta. Chopped olives are also delicious, and so are toasted nuts, especially pine nuts.