Portuguese
Kale Soup
One
of my favorites is a version of Portuguese kale soup. This is a hearty concoction that has as its
base a standard 15-bean recipe found in a bag on your local grocer's
shelf. My wife and I first tasted
Portuguese kale soup when we were visiting Provincetown on Cape Cod,
Massachusetts about 25 years ago, and we've been in love with it ever
since. Here's what you'll need.
1
bag (16 oz.) of generic 15-bean soup mix (it contains a pound of beans and a
flavor packet)
1 lb. fresh kale
1 large Vidalia onion
6 cloves garlic
1 lb. Chorizo sausage links or other spicy sausage
salt & pepper to taste (start with 1 tsp. each)
1 can (30 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 stalks celery, chopped into 1/2" pieces
2 bay leaves
8 oz. cooked tubetti macaroni
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 lb. fresh kale
1 large Vidalia onion
6 cloves garlic
1 lb. Chorizo sausage links or other spicy sausage
salt & pepper to taste (start with 1 tsp. each)
1 can (30 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 stalks celery, chopped into 1/2" pieces
2 bay leaves
8 oz. cooked tubetti macaroni
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
Directions:
Using
a large soup pot, follow the directions on the package for making the 15 bean
soup, using the olive oil to brown the Chorizo, onions, celery, and garlic (the
recipe will call for a ham hock or other smoked meat, but substitute the
Chorizo instead). Add the potato, bay
leaves, salt, pepper, wine and crushed tomatoes to the soup, bring to a boil. Lower the flame and let the soup simmer for
30 minutes. Wash the kale thoroughly at
least 2 times. Then, break apart into 1
or 2" pieces and add half to the soup *(retain the other half to serve
with leftovers), letting it continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Do not overcook, or the kale will lose its
crispness. Divide the macaroni evenly into
4 soup bowls, fill with the soup and add grated parmesan cheese to taste. Serve with grill muenster cheese sandwiches
or sourdough bread with a glass of hearty red wine, like sharaz or merlot.
*Be
sure to include all the cooked kale when you serve the soup (leftover soup can
be frozen for use later with the remainder of the uncooked kale. Simply bring the leftover soup to a boil, add
the kale and cook for 10 minutes at a simmer).
Apetite!
Broken
Promises: A Matt Davis Mystery - Joe
Perrone, Jr., Author
Broken Promises
- Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your
Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
The
man turns and starts toward her, but Maggie doesn't recognize him. As he moves forward, he trips, and suddenly
there is a flash of light and a loud crack like a tree being struck by
lightning. Maggie feels a dull thud,
then a burning pain in the center of her chest; and in just seconds,
nothing. She never hears the words the
man screams, his voice filled with anguish, "Oh, my God! What have I done?" The man shoves the still smoking pistol into
his coat pocket and rushes toward her, stumbling over the pile of rubble, but
it is too late.
Maggie
McFarland was 86 years old. She was
dressed in a textured lavender cotton dress with pearl buttons down the front
and a high collar trimmed in white lace.
The dress falls just above her satin-finish shoes with stacked heels and
laces, all dyed in matching lavender.
The dress was tailored to her perfect figure seventy years ago for a
very special occasion. It's now 9:45
p.m. and she is expected at 11:00 p.m.
Her destination - The Artemis Hotel.
Matt
Davis is the chief of police of Roscoe, NY.
When a call comes in from Nellie, Maggie's granddaughter, saying that
she is missing, it doesn't take Matt and his team long to find Maggie's 86 year
old body at the Artemis, which was nothing but ruins and had been since its
burning in 1944. Who would murder a
sweet elderly lady like Maggie? The only
thing Matt has to go on is a shell casing found in the rubble.
The
name Broken Promises fits this book
perfectly. The promises, made years
earlier, were broken by both Maggie and her Beloved. Matt Davis' problem is that he will never
solve the murder until he knows exactly what the promises were and who they
were made to. This was a book I read
late into the night. Author Joe Perrone
took you into two stories, one of the past and one of the present, as he led
you to the ending. I will say that I was
just a little surprised when I found out who actually killed Maggie. I will also say that to me the ending was
beautiful in a sad way.
I
love this character - Matt Davis - and I want to read more about him as well as
his wife. Here is hoping that the
stories will keep coming.
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