souper hero + sidekick

Ladies and Gentlemen… may I present ‘Soup-teen’ and his sidekick ‘Basil Boy’? Last night, Dane helped make dinner for us! As the official Grubmaster in his boy scout troop, one of his goals is to introduce 4-5 staple meals to the younger patrols. Since the meeting is tonight, he needed a sample of his most famous campout dinner, Sausage and Bean Soup.

Though there have been a few mishaps along the way (namely the mirepoix ending up in the dirt on at least two campouts) he has persevered in perfecting this dish. By the way, in true ‘dirt&sunshine’ fashion, he simply rinsed off the vegetables and put them back in the pot both times!

Tate was a willing taster for Dane’s latest effort and suggested panzanella as the salad to accompany his brother’s soup. In our house, Tate is famous for his love of basil. He invented his own version of ‘Florentine-style’ steak by adding a chiffonade of fresh basil to the olive oil/lemon juice/salt/pepper combination we typically employ. And he is definitely on a basil kick as the herb-growing season comes to a close. He keeps reminding me to get fresh French feta from the Rose Market in Mountain View so we can repeat my friend, Nina’s, cherry tomato-feta-basil-balsamic appetizer. Soon, Tate, soon!

Here is the soup recipe if you (or your children!) would like to try it (courtesy of Dane); the panzanella recipe may be found at http://dirtandsunshine.com/panzanella.html

Sausage/Bean Soup

Ingredients:
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large orange carrot, chopped
1 large golden carrot, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion (Maui sweet or Walla Walla)
5 links sweet Italian sausage
32 oz organic chicken broth (you can add a cup or two extra if you like more broth)
Pinch or two of Italian seasoning (basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley)
1 can organic cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can organic garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Break or cut apart sausage links into small pieces and place in a large soup pot or saucepan on medium high heat. Brown sausage, then remove from pan. Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and saute onion, celery and carrots for about 10 minutes. Add sweet potato cubes and season with salt, fresh cracked pepper and a pinch or two of Italian seasoning. Add stock and return sausage to pan. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for one hour. Just before serving, add cannellini beans and garbanzo beans. Enjoy!