Garden Freestyle

Today's bounty

Wandering through the garden each morning with an eye toward what will be for dinner is one of the great pleasures in life.  Gardens often offer up bountiful surprises in some years and disappointment in others.  Zucchini seems to be one of those bountiful crops and so I ponder new ways to use this beautiful vegetable.

I love soup and it's something we sometimes don't think about as a summer meal, but this one will surprise you with it's light, savory, fresh from the garden flavor.

Garden Freestyle - Soup
 This recipe makes a good sized pot of soup and the variations are endless.

Start with:

Saute the onions in olive oil until translucent

3 quarts of chicken stock (you can use Better Than Bouillon Chicken or Veggie for the stock if you wish) 
2 cups onion chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
8-10 slices of bacon cooked, drained, chopped
2 cups half and half or heavy cream


From the garden - co-op - farmer's market:
4 - 5 cups chopped zucchini (1" pieces) or cauliflower or cabbage or a combination
4 cups chopped kale or chard or spinach or a combination
1/2 - 1 cup of chopped fresh herbs - usually basil and thyme, sometimes a little oregano or sage. If you don't have fresh herbs, use about a teaspoon each of dried basil and thyme.

I wash, stack, and roll the kale and basil leaves and slice them.

If you have a few potatoes, a little corn or peas, let your intuition and garden dictate what you will make today.  I've tried a number of different combinations, but my favorite is still just the zucchini and kale which are always abundant.  The amounts are just guidelines.  If you chop up 5 zucchini and get 6 cups, use it, it's no problem with this Freestyle soup.


Step 1 - cook the bacon and set it aside to cool, drain, and chop

In the pot ready to simmer.

Step 2 - saute the onions in the olive oil until they become mostly translucent
Step 3 - add the garlic, chopped veggies, and the stock
Step 4 - add the bacon (additional meat is optional - in this photo you see a little chicken that I picked from the bones when I made my stock from a chicken carcass. 
Step 5 - add the herbs and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 15-20 minutes depending on the veggies you

are using.
Step 6 - stir in the half and half or heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve this Garden Freestyle soup for lunch or dinner with a crusty bread if desired. 

If you have left overs, they get even better the next day as the smoky flavor increases.  This is an amazingly delicious light summer soup, made with the freshest ingredients your garden or farmer's market can offer!

Enjoy!