Day 22: Soup for "Sunday-itis"

I get Sunday-itis. Ever since I was a kid, Sunday afternoons induce a kind of funk - a woefulness for the weekend end combined with the anticipation of the week to come. I used to tell my father that my stomach hurt or I had a headache, and he would say, "Oh, I think you'll be ok. It's just a case of 'Sunday-itis.' I have it, too."

As an adult, I try to get ahead of the Sunday-itis and do something special in the afternoon - that especially vulnerable time when you fall to hunger and fatigue. I cook a nice meal, go for a walk or play with the kids. Tonight, I planned the dinner meal and made soup as the Sunday salve. I even planned ahead and soaked the white navy beans last night.

The recipe came from a friend, and it was good, although I opted to puree the whole mixture with a hand emulsifier. I thought it would appeal to the masses more. I was over zealous. The result was a slightly lumpy tan blend with little bits of orange carrot clumps. It looked like it would be the by-product of an especially grizzly bout of Sunday-itis. I trudged on and ladled out the love for everyone.

As soon as Patrick got to the table, he grimaced. I pretended not to notice. Aidan slurped up every spoonful and wiped his bowl clean with the heel of his bread. Go figure. Patrick followed suit eventually and dipped his bread in his bowl. He's a competitor and won't be outdone so he mustered to the challenge. He ate more than half with some prompting.

The soup was really tasty. Next time, I'll be a litte easier on the pureeing, but otherwise it was a good cure for Sunday-itis - the making and eating.

White Bean Soup with Winter Greens
1 pound dried cannellini or other white beans

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 onion chopped

2 carrots diced

4 garlic cloves minced

3 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley

2 bay leaves

4 cups chicken stock or broth

2 cups water

3/4 pound winter greens (kale, chard, collard)

salt and pepper

grated parmesan to garnish

1. Soak beans overnight.

2. Heat olive oil in large pot over med. heat. Saute onion, carrots, garlic, parsley and bay leaves until slightly softened.

3. Add drained beans, stock and water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and adjust heat to maintain bare simmer.

4. Cook until beans are tender (about 1 to 1.5 hours)

5. Remove bay leaves.

6. In a blender, puree 3-4 cups of the beans and vegetables with some of their liquid and then return to pot. (You can judge how much by how thick/thin you want the soup)

7. Wash the greens and remove any thick stems. Stack the greens and roll into logs and cut into 1/4 inch ribbons.

8. Add the greens to a large pot of salted, boiling water and cook until tender.

9. Drain and stir cooked greens into soup.

10. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan if desired.

- from Fresh from the Farmer's Market cookbook

Menu:
Breakfast: Jane Fonda's multi-grain pancakes, Vermont maple syrup, apples, strawberries, OJ with fish oil and coffee.

Lunch: Leftover hamburgers, pita and hummus, applesauce, potato chips and yogurt with berries and chopped pecans and walnuts and milk.

Dinner: White Bean Soup (recipe below) with grated parmesan, homemade bread made with "Dolbeare Dough" that I doctored with flax seed meal, and we had milk and small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Nugget o' the Day: "Mom, I hate to tell ya this. That soup looked like vomit." - Patrick handing me his bowl at the sink after we ate. Point taken, I told him. It certainly did look like vomit. But it tasted great.