Garden Leftovers

Let’s kick off with some imagery on this October morning with a couple stragglers of some late season blossoms occurring in the fall garden.

Yes, consider them garden leftovers because even these late bloomers shall fade very soon. So speaking about leftovers and frostier days in store, let’s do another recipe; another garden soup. What better way to use up produce in the veggie bin. This particular minestrone soup calls for a few of those fresh tomatoes that are still hanging around saying, (that is if tomatoes could speak) ‘Can me, freeze me, or place me in the compost bin.’

So here’s what you need for this tasty fall medley turned into Sausage Minestrone Soup.

Ingredients: 

6 sweet Italian Sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 yellow Onions
3 ribs of celery
4 carrots
½ bulb of fennel
4 cups of chicken stock
¼ dry red wine
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp. dried Rosemary
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. pepper flakes *(optional for heat)
4 medium size fresh tomatoes (you can also use canned tomatoes if you don’t have fresh)

Cooking Instructions:

Use a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Warm up the pot and place olive oil to coat bottom of the pan. Cut-up the sausage into 1” pieces. Brown the sausage. Add the finely chopped garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and fennel - sauté in pan until cooked down and browned (approximately ten minutes). Add red wine to deglaze the pan. Add chicken stock, herbs and chopped tomatoes. Cover and simmer away. The longer you simmer, the thicker the soup. When serving, grate fresh Romano or Parmesan cheese on the top and enjoy garden leftovers on a crisp fall day.

As Donald Trump puts it so bluntly, “Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a takeoff. Don't just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won't happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me; you'll love it up here.” When life gives you garden leftovers, it’s time to make soup.


Images by Ann Bilowz © Garden Leftovers

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