Soup's On

Last night,

after sunset,

the sky lit up

with lightning,

the thunder

rolled,

 it poured rain,

and hailed for a short while.

Mother Nature

put on quite a show.

It's kind of scary,

because  we're in the middle

of fire season here.

It did spark several vegetation fires

but so far, nothing too serious.

Source <--- link here

 Photo from our local news channel.

I was staying inside

safe and in awe.

We're expecting more of the

same this evening.

These garden vegetable

 photos were taken

a month ago. 

 I'm still working on

my summer posts,

and yes ~~~

It's still summer here,

and will be for quite some

time despite the calender's

march towards fall. 

Apparently 

Fall starts in 10 days.

These peppers~

mild yellow banana and hot jalapeno,

had a sheen of their very own.

Photo below:

Home grown edamame,

(soybeans) boiled in

salted water, and then

sprinkled with sea salt.

They're so good when

fresh from the garden.

I still have a small zip~baggy

of shelled edamame in the freezer.

I should have added them to the soup ~

   

Oh yeah,

this post was supposed

to be about the soup

I made last night.

This recipe isn't

going to be an exact measure kind of

deal here.  I just used what I had

available from the garden, pantry closet,

 and the freezer.

You can use whatever you have as well.

My Soup:

In a large soup pot

saute 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

(cut into bite sized cubes) in a

bit of olive oil. 

Add one minced garlic clove.

Sprinkle liberally with salt free

Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute*,

dried basil  and oregano.

I would have added chopped onion,

but didn't have any.

I did add

4 peeled and sliced carrots

2 stalks of celery, sliced

about 10 mushrooms (baby bellas)

lots of sliced okra from the garden (15 maybe).

Meanwhile ~ Everything is cooking in the pot

while adding more and more ingredients.

From the freezer

I added

some frozen peas, 

 French green beans

and some  sweet corn.

No measuring, just add what you

think will be enough.

 Have you tried Trader Joe's

frozen haricot verts?

They're the next best thing

to home grown haricot verts. (French green beans)

I just went downstairs

to make sure I was spelling

haricot verts correctly,

and brought up a bowl of soup

for breakfast... oh yes I did.

OK then,

I chopped up 4 fresh from the garden

tomatoes and threw them into the pot.

That pot is getting almost full now.

Add chicken stock to cover, and

then remember to add some

fresh Seven Cheese Tortellini

pressing them down into the liquid.

Add more chicken stock to cover

up the new ingredients.

Now, cook for 5 minutes,

or 10 minutes,

 if you're going to

eat right away.

I cooked it for 5 minutes

and then turned the burner off

and let the covered pot sit for

half an hour while waiting for Rick to

get home.  That way the tortellini

doesn't overcook and become mushy.

There you have it.

You can add other ingredients

like a can of rinsed, drained kidney

beans.  Then you can call it

Minestrone/tortellini soup.

Wouldn't sliced zucchini be a good

addition? I didn't have any.

Oh well, Make it your own.

I think some home baked garlic bread sticks

like those at Olive Garden would be seriously

good with this soup. 

No, I didn't make those either...

*Oh and that Trader Joe's

21 Seasoning Salute.

I am happy with this salt free spice blend.

It would make good stocking stuffers

for the cooks in your family.

For comparison purposes in case you can't

get to a Trader Joe's, here are the ingredients.

onion, black pepper, celery seed,

cayenne pepper, parsley, basil,

marjoram, bay leaf, oregano,

thyme, savory, rosemary,

cumin, mustard, coriander,

 garlic, carrot, orange peel,

 tomato granules, lemon juice powder,

oil of lemon, and citric acid

You read all that?

Wow, high five to you.

You get extra points for

seeing that there were

22 ingredients in the

21 Seasoning Salute.