Fennel and Greens Soup

Sometimes you just can't have enough soup. That time is all the time.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• salt and pepper
  
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 lb mixed leafy greens (kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, collards, whatever)
• 6 cups stock
• oz spinach
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• garnish of dill or fennel

Heat oil and butter and add salt, fennel, onion, and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are slightly browned, 7-8 minutes. Everything should be soft.
Add leafy greens (no spinach yet) and stock to the pot and simmer, uncovered, until greens are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until just wilted (maybe 1 minute).
Puree the soup in your blender or by using a stick blender. Return to heat and add the heavy cream and lemon juice. Heat on low until desired temperature.
Also good with Parmesan cheese.

Thoughts: Delicious, but I can't get enough vegetable soup. This is my favorite style of soup -- cook everything, blend it, return to heat and add dairy. It's a pretty simply formula, and one that yields awesome soup every time. I don't think Dan is nearly as crazy about soup as I am, so he probably wouldn't give this a 1, but it was pretty much a 1. I'll give it a 2 just to prevent arguments.

Disaster Index: 2/10

Pasta with MGC pesto

What does MGC stand for? WAIT AND SEE.

Ingredients

• 1 lb pasta (we used ziti)
• 1/2 lb collards (the C), stems removed, leaves chiffonaded and then washed
• 1/2 lb mustard greens (the MG), stems removed, leaves torn and then washed
• the juice and zest of 1/2 of a small lemon
• 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1 tbsp dried basil flakes
  
• 2 Laughing Cow triangles (alternatively, 2 oz. of creamy cheese)
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• water, until the texture is right
• 1 small tomato, chopped
  

In a large saucepan, add the collards and a few tablespoons of water. Cover the pot and put over medium/high heat. Cook until the collards have wilted, about 5 minutes.
Once the collards have wilted, add the mustard greens. Add more water, if necessary. Cover again and cook until the MG have cooked down. This shouldn't take long - keep an eye on it.
Once they've cooked down, add the garlic, salt, basil flakes, and pepper. Mix until incorporated.
Heat a pot of water for the pasta. When it's boiling, cook the pasta.
Remove the MG&C from the stove and put in a blender. To the blender, add olive oil and lemon juice/zest. Blend until thoroughly blended. Add more oil and/or water if the mixture gets too thick. Add the cheeses. Blend some more.
The pasta should be cooked by now. Drain it and return the pasta to the pot.
Add the MG&C pesto to the pasta. Stir until the pasta is thoroughly coated.
Add chopped tomatoes on top.
Devour.

Thoughts: OH MY GOD. SHUT UP. THIS IS AWESOME. But seriously, I was expecting the pesto to taste like any other pesto (we've made pesto with things like kale and swiss chard etc...), but it does not. It has this really interesting, savory flavor. We really lucked out. The greens paired really well with both the chopped tomato and the lemon. And this was hella easy. To be honest, I like this version of pesto better than traditional pesto. I would eat this all day. Sweet fancy Moses.

Disaster Index: Can I give a -1? 1/10 I guess

Pasta with Mustard Greens, Tomatoes, and Feta

So the title is pretty self explanatory.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb part pasta
  
• 1/2 lb mustard greens, ribs removed and chopped coarsely
  
• 1 medium tomato, chopped coarsely
  
• 1-2oz feta cheese, crumbled
  
• some olive oil
  
• salt and pepper
  

Boil water. Throw in some salt, and put in the pasta. In a separate pan, sauté mustard greens and tomatoes in the olive oil with some pepper. When it starts to get a little dry, add about 1/2c of the pasta water and let it cook off. When pasta is cooked, add cooked pasta to greens and tomatoes, reserving water. Add feta and about 1/4c reserved pasta water, plus or minus. Stir to combine.

And, yes, the pasta water necessary.

Thoughts: I pretty much made this up as I went along. The bitterness of the mustard greens balances nicely against the sharp flavors of the feta and the sweet and sour of the tomatoes. Next time, I'm going to add more greens and tomatoes per pasta.

Disaster Index: 1/10 - Would cook again.