Every recipe has a story, and this one is no different. You have to read to the end to see how this dish got its name.
This is another no-recipe recipe. When the greens are overflowing in the garden, this is what I do with them.
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
garlic, crushed and chopped – to taste, which is 2-3 cloves for me
1 quart vegetable broth (Water saved from steaming greens and/or cooking potatoes. I save it in quart containers and freeze it.)
1 bay leaf
3 med sized potatoes, quartered
4-5 carrots chopped
2 huge bunches Swiss Chard, chopped or torn (You can use kale, spinach, beet greens – whatever is in abundance)
herbs (I like sage, tarragon and savory with this, and I add cayenne to everything!)
Saute the onion in olive oil. When it is translucent, add the garlic and stir so it doesn’t burn. When it smells really garlicky, add the broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, add the potatoes, carrots and herbs, turn the heat to medium, and cover. When the potatoes and carrots are almost cooked (15- 20 minutes), add the chard. Simmer with a lid on until everything is cooked through (maybe 15 minutes).
Remove the bay leaf, and buzz the soup in a blender bit by bit. Put in a cup or so, and buzz til it’s blended. Pour that batch into a separate pot. Add another cup or two, and buzz. Do this to the whole pot of soup, and you’re done! Serve with grated parmesan or jack cheese melted on top. Dunk bread or crackers in it.
You can exchange the potatoes for cooked brown rice, which you would add after the carrots are done. You can saute zucchini or add grated beets. The only thing you have to be sure of is that everything is cooked thoroughly so it will buzz well. The soup should be a thick liquid.
I put this soup into quart yogurt containers to store. One night, Daniel breezed in on his way back to the farm from town. It was dinner time, but he didn’t have time to sit and eat, so I gave him a container of soup to take home and heat up. He called me later to tell me he drank it in his truck on the ride home.
When I told Kevin Gilkes this story, he called it Portable Soup.
