I am hard at work on Shatter and not taking a lot of time to stop and do…well, hardly anything else. But I do stop to cook. I’m a foodie and anyone reading Unbreakable Bonds will probably pick up on that. I will probably even share some of Ian’s recipes at some point. In Shiver, he brings the guys Avgolemono soup–a yummy Greek chicken, lemon and rice soup. In Shatter, we have another character who adds some of her Greek and Spanish foods to the mix. In my book Raisonne Curse, the heroine is a chef who loves Cajun food.
Sensing a pattern here? 😉
I cook. I love for others to as well and cooking me a meal is the surest way to keep me a devoted friend. LOL. So today, I thought I’d share a favorite recipe. In the winter, I make a lot of soups. Today, I’m doing a homemade chicken and noodle soup because my son has strep throat. Poor kiddo. But I thought it would be fun to share my very favorite soup recipe. It’s similar to Olive Garden Cup of Toscana.
Toscana Soup
2 3/4 chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 medium russet potato
2 cups chopped kale
1/2 lb spicy Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.
Okay, I change this up, but that’s the basic recipe. I never add the red pepper flakes and because this doesn’t make enough to feed my family, I more than double everything. I also add a lot more broth and cream to make this a full pot. You can’t really mess this soup up. I add basil, garlic, pepper–whatever is on hand. The spicy Italian sausage cooked and crumbled into the soup gives it a lot of flavor. And because we love kale, I add a lot of that as well. Some actually cook Italian sausage that you have to slice, but I prefer the crumbled kind.
So, if you’re following the basic or adding things in:
- Combine the stock and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Slice the potatoes and add them to the soup.
- Add the kale.
- Saute the sausage. Drain and add to the soup.
- Add the spices and let the soup simmer for about 2 hours
This is so easy and it smells fantastic! I even do a vegetarian version for one of my sisters which has veggie meat and broth. I sometimes post recipes with pictures on my Facebook page. Recently, I did my favorite Baked Potato Salad.