SPINACH, KALE, AND SAUSAGE SOUP

Yum, soup!  Good tasting soup, in a flavorful broth. Fresh vegetables, great seasonings, delicious and wholesome flavours!!! For protein, I added chicken broth and low-fat turkey sausage. Very easy and quick to make.

Feel free to play around with the spinach/kale combination. You can use only spinach, which will give you a light and delicate green taste, or decide to mix the two vegetables with portions of each according to preference. 

Let's make spinach and sausage soup:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
about 1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into bite-size chunks
5 cups of chicken broth 
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 pound low-fat sausage 
2 cups spinach, washed well, roughly chopped, thick stems removed
2 cups kale, washed well, chopped, stems removed

fresh sage and thyme 

a squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the potatoes, the broth, the garbanzo beans and the fresh herbs.  
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 
• Meanwhile, remove the sausage from its casing, then crumble it and brown it in a skillet.  Drain as much fat as you can and set the sausage aside.  
• When the vegetables are tender, add spinach, kale, sausage, salt and pepper to taste and top off with a squeeze of lemon juice. Bring back up to a simmer, and let cook for another five minutes before serving.   

THE LOST TURKEY NAMED BOB, by ALEX

Alex, my eight-year-old nephew who is in the third grade, wrote an essay as a class assignment. It's about Bob, a turkey who escaped from the truck that was transporting him to Washington DC. I suppose Bob didn't want to join all the other turkeys that inhabit our fair capital. Good for him! You will see after reading the story, that Bob found better accommodations.

After we assembled around the table for Thanksgiving dinner, my brother read to us "The lost turkey named Bob." Alex, the author of the piece was too bashful to read it to us himself. We listened, we applauded, and filled with mirth we began our dinner. I am thankful for my family and friends and I wish that each Thanksgiving I spend on this earth finds me just a bit wiser than the one before.

And now, here is the story of...

"The Lost Turkey Named Bob:"
written by Alex, who is in the 3rd grade.

     ON a nice November night a turkey named Bob was wandering in the very creepy woods. Bob did not know what was in the woods. But one day he found a house. The owner's name was ALEX. "Gobble, Gobble," said Bob. Alex let him in.

Meanwhile at a base somewhere in Canada...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"A turkey has escaped!"

"Where is it?" asked the commander. "How did it escape?" "Did it climb out of the truck?" "NOW WHAT DO WE DO?!"

Back at Alex's house the turkey was asleep safe and sound. The agents in Canada were planning what to do. "Okay does anyone know where Bob is?"

No one had any idea!

Bob was on his way to Washington D.C. to be the guest of honor at the White House when he jumped from the back of the truck. Alex was happy to have him in his house instead. Alex was a great host. The agents searched. They never found Alex's house.

It's lucky Alex only eats chicken.

The END.

When he is not playing host to Bob the turkey, Alex loves to play ice hockey.

Alex at summer ice hockey camp, with New Jersey Devils goaltender Marty Brodeur.

Summer 2009, Alex and dad Tasos, at hockey camp, post-practice.

Bob went on to have kids! 

GIOUVARLAKIA OR... GREEK MEATBALL DUMPLING SOUP

The meatball dumplings are made delicious by the addition of rice.

My Goodness, this soup is delicious! It's a popular Greek recipe that we make often; in fall, winter and early spring we have it once a week. And no one gets tired of it! The little meatballs that go in the soup are traditionally made with ground beef, however, we've gotten used to substituting ground turkey for the beef. This makes the soup healthier and also gives it a lighter flavour. Avgolemono (or egg and lemon sauce), is traditionally incorporated into the soup before serving. We do serve the soup with avgolemono on special occasions but for weekly fare, we omit the egg and lemon sauce and instead use only lemon juice.   

Ingredients:

• 1&1/2 pounds of ground turkey 
• 1 onion very finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1teaspoon baking powder
• 2 or 3 dashes of soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice (Carolina brand or Arborio)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• flour for dredging meatballs
• another onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon farina
• 1 tablespoon rice
• juice of one large lemon
• 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix the first 12 ingredients together.
2. Cover a large tray with flour. Form the meatballs: they should be larger than marbles, smaller than golf balls. Can I be more exact? Place each meatball in the flour and roll it around, covering it with flour.  
3. Fill a large pot with 5 cups of water. Add the chicken broth, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice, and a couple of dashes of soy sauce.
4. Bring the liquid to a boil. Once it boils add the farina, the rice, and the chopped onion.
5. Drop the meatball dumplings into the liquid. 
6. Once the liquid comes back to the boil lower the heat to simmer and cover the pot.
7. Cook for about half an hour. The broth will thicken because of the addition of farina and rice. It will have a lemony aroma and taste. The rice in the meatball dumplings will have cooked, and you will see it appear soft and puffed up. At this point, the soup is ready to serve. I hope you enjoy it!