Italian Chard Soup

Well that week flew by! Seriously, where did the time go? I was busy the beginning of the week with meetings with my new coworkers and the rest of the week was just as busy as well! I'm loving my new job, it's seriously one of the best decisions I've made in my life.

Yesterday I decided to make some raspberry cream scones and deviated from my usual scone recipe to try another one and it was a disaster. Boo. The dough was too wet and they just didn't take like a traditional scone. I was disappointed since I spent a good 30 minutes picking raspberries from our CSA on Friday afternoon. I also burned them slightly since I was holding Cooper and getting my husband to take them out of the oven on time. My husband is still eating them though!

Swiss chard was another item from our CSA this week. Everything was unlimited and I'm not a huge fan of chard, but I picked up some and figured I could find a way to use it. After looking through several cookbooks and online, I settled on this recipe. It was simple and the only thing I need to pick up at the store was an lemon...everything else was in my pantry!

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cups frozen leeks (I find them at Trader Joe's)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp minced flat leaf parsley
2 Tbsp minced fresh basil
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 pound plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 pound Swiss chard, coarsely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp pepper
salt
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic, cook until softened. Add the parsley and basil and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes and bring to a low boil. Add the Swiss chard and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and pepper. Taste and add salt if desired. Sprinkle Parmesan on soup right before serving.

Source: The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook