Soup's On!

I enjoy making soup.  I don't do it often, though, because of the time committment.  Boiling a whole chicken until the meat falls off the bones, then adding vegetables and a starch (my preference:  rice or noodles) makes your whole house smell fantastic!  But the time it takes to boil away the meat, the chopping of the vegetables...it's substantial.  However, I do find the chopping, stirring and tasting to be somewhat meditative.

So when I saw a recipe in Cooking Light for Escarole, Bean and Sausage Soup with Parmesan Cheese, I thought, hey, I can do that!  One of my favorite soups growing up was my friend Heather's mom's Escarole and Meatball Soup, so I knew that I would like this.

Shopping for it was a real who's who in the produce aisle:  the recipe calls for fennel, garlic, onion, white beans and escarole.  Happily, my local market had it all and I was soon on my way home.  It comes together rather quickly too, and doesn't make so much that you have way more than you could ever possibly eat.  I think I went a little heavy on the fennel, but the end result is delicious.  Which brings me to another thought:  I need to do this more often.  Making homemade soup is good for the mind, and good for the soul.