Soup and Rain

When I came back from the long weekend I had a craving for some hearty, yet fresh soup to recharge the batteries.
With so much cleaning and washing, the last think I wanted to do was leave the house for groceries. With little food in the fridge I pulled together a fantastic soup and even found some homemade buns in the freezer. What I created was satiating and nurturing- just what I was in the mood for.
I quickly added up my ingredients, rummaged through the cupboard and decided on a South Western Swiss Chard Soup. I was needing the greens, some protein from chickpeas and and a kick of New Mexico red chilli powder from Los Chilleros.

South Western Swiss Chard Soup
2 TBS olive oil
1 whole onion, thick dice
1TBS whole cumin seeds ground in mortar
2 tsp Los Chileros red chilli powder
1/2 tsp chili flakes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 celery stalks with leaves, course slice
1 bunch swiss chard, course chop fresh from the farmer's market
1 TBS tamari
2TBS apple cider vinegar (use a whole fresh lemon if you have on hand)
5 C vegetable stock
4 local field tomatoes, diced
1 can chickpeas, drain and rinse (any bean would do; pinto, black, kidney)
1 bunch cilantro, course chop
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy sauce pan heat oil
Chop onion and add to oil, let sweat for 5-10 minutes.
Add garlic and spices, stir in well
Add celery and swiss chard, apple cider vinegar and tamari
Pour in vegetable stalk and bring to simmer
Add diced tomatoes and chickpeas and simmer low for 10-20 minutes. You want the tomatoes to break down and absorb the spices as you would chilli or tomato sauce.
At the end add your cilantro and salt and pepper

Serve with buns and cheese or corn tortillas with melted cheese and green onion. This is what we did for the second night of soup and it was perfect.

It is Spring going on Summer but with the rain and drastic temperature changes, I am still interested in warm foods with as much fresh produce from the local farms.

Voila!