soup weather ~ and car update

 We finally hit a balmy 13 degrees today. Feels like a heat wave compared to the sub-zero temps we'd been having.

We eat a lot of soup in the winter and I love making up my own recipes. This is the soup I made last night - Italian Sausage and Fennel soup. You won't believe how good your house smells when this is cooking. Brian walked in the door from work and exclaimed, "It smells so good in here!" We all ate two bowls full for dinner. And there was enough leftover for lunches today. If you don't want to make that much, just halve the recipe.

I absolutely love fennel. It has a strong anise (think licorice) scent and mild flavor when raw. Don't let this deter you. I hate licorice, but I love fennel. This doesn't taste anything like the candy! It's delicious sliced thinly and incorporated into a salad. As for cooking, it mellows and becomes almost undiscernible. In fact, next time I make this, I'm going to use two fennel bulbs. We loved this soup so much, we all had two bowls each last night. Give it a try. Anyone can make homemade soup. The hardest part is chopping the veggies!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE & FENNEL SOUP

1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage

1 T extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil

1 - 2 bulbs fennel (depending on the size & your preference), diced

2 leeks, diced (be sure to use only the white & light green parts &

rinse thoroughly - the layers can contain sand & grit)

3 small carrots, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes or tomato puree

6-8 cups broth (chicken and/or vegetable)*

Sprinkling of red pepper flakes

Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 tsp each oregano & thyme

1/2 cup ditalini

1 5 oz pkg baby spinach

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the olive or avocado oil (don't use toxic oils such as vegetable or canola) and add the Italian sausage. Cook on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked completely. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon, onto a plate lined with paper towels to catch the grease.

Add fennel, leeks, carrots and garlic to the pot. Cook on medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes, until veggies are slightly tender. Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of broth, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, oregano & thyme. Stir to incorporate. Bring mixture to a soft boil and add the ditalini. Turn heat back down to low and let simmer for 8 minutes, until the pasta is cooked. Stir in the baby spinach. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

*You may find while the pasta is cooking or even when the soup is done, that you need to add more broth. The pasta absorbs a lot of the liquid. I used more than 1/2 cup ditalini in my recipe and if you do the same (if you like a lot of noodles), then you will need to add more broth.

 On a totally different note, I am holding my breath until the mechanic calls me by the end of the day about my car. He called yesterday to tell me he at least knew it was engine misfire (I knew that, too - from a Google search) and that he'd be looking into why the engine misfire today. There's several things it could be; some minor, some major. We are hoping for the minor, of course. This is a Honda Accord and yes, it's old (it's a 2001) but it only has 156,000 miles on it, which is "nothing" for a Honda. To-date, it's never given me any problems except for routine maintenance. I sure don't want to be car shopping in this frigid weather...heck, I don't want to be car shopping at any time, but I know that's life. And I also dread the thought of car payments again. I wouldn't be buying a brand-new vehicle; I'd be looking for a used one. But even a good used vehicle is pricey these days. I'm getting ahead of myself, so on that note, I am going to have a cup of chamomile tea and then do my daily yoga.