Adaptable Bean Soup

I've wanted to go to the Eveleigh Farmers Markets at Carriageworks for a long time now, and yesterday, I finally got my act together and went! I'm glad I did, as it's a very tidy operation, and all the stall holders are polite & eager, and the produce is super diverse. It's not all about fresh fruit & veg though, there is ace coffee, and any number of tasty treats to eat for breakkie...young master Wolfe scoffed a banana bread star from bird cow fish, and Mez & I shared some Billy Kwongs steamed egg & veg pancakes and a serve of pork dumplings too. We were particularly hungry and so we also polished off a steak sambo each.

As we made our way around, I couldn't take my eyes of a big bunch of rainbow chard, and in the end bought a couple of bunches, thinking we might have it braised with chilli & garlic with some polenta for lunch. In the end, I couldn't be bothered with standing over polenta for an hour, and whipped up this "adaptable bean soup" I'd once seen on a Nigel Slater show.

I used:

1 brown onion

3 carrots

one big bay leaf (or two smaller ones)

a bunch of rainbow chard (divided into stems & leaves)

1 litre chicken stock

2 cans of cannelini beans

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

parmesan

And this is how it's done:

I chopped up the onion and sweated it in a glug or two of olive oil til the onions were translucent, then I added the carrots, chopped chard stems & the bay leaf. I fried these off for a minute or two before adding the stock (I used to always make my own, but since Wolfe came along, AC Butchers stock is my standby, and it's really good!) and the beans. Bring up to the boil, then lower heat so it simmers away. After about 15 mins or so, I add the shredded chard leaves, and allow them to wilt. That's it. Season to taste, and serve with a grating of parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil, and maybe some crusty bread! Yum.

You could omit the carrots, and add a head of cauliflower instead, and maybe a leek, and it'd still be as good. Sometimes I swap chard for cavolo nero and add bacon to the onion, and that is super tasty too. See it IS adaptable!!!

No! Not like THIS!!!!

Soooooooo....

My friend Stasia said that she was talking to her dad (a VERY clever & worldly man) about my blog the other day...his response to the blog name was rather unexpected...I think his reaction was somewhere along the lines of "oooooer!!!", you see, turns out that MY HUSBANDS LUNCHBOX has a rather saucy double meaning! Oooer indeed! As it so happens, MY HUSBANDS LUNCHBOX could also be referring to his man bits!!! 

Soooooooo....just to clarify, this is a blog about my husbands dorky tupperware containers, that I fill, with food, and that he takes to work, and that he has asked me to label because people at his office may or may not be stealing them (it's VERY hard to find round food containers, so I understand his co-workers having container envy and knicking his...it's far more appealing to eat from a round food vessel as opposed to a square/rectangular one!)

NOT HIS MAN BITS!!!

Are these guys twins?

Don't die wondering...try something new...TODAY!!!

I have a very good friend called Emily, who sadly lives far, far away, in London...a few years back, we were mucking about, and came up with a philosophy that has served us well, thus far anyway! Don't die wondering...try something new! It can be applied to all sorts of things, from jobs, to friendships & relationships, you get the picture right? I'm urging you to try it out for yourself, who knows what you may discover! 

What has this to do with my husbands lunchbox? And what is that odd thing I am holding in the picture? It looks like a shark or sting ray egg, you may have seen them at the beach, washed up on the shore? In fact it's a delicious tropical fruit, known as DRAGON FRUIT! Most summer fruits are well & truly over by now, and with the cooler months ahead, we're staring down the barrel of a lot of apple & orange action...pretty boring. 

Luckily for us Aussies, some of our country is tropical all year round, so we can get fruit like the dragon fruit, and at least pretend that we're somewhere warm...

These interesting fruits come in 2 varieties, and have a half sweet and half savoury taste. It can be potluck as to which colour they'll be inside...white or red! And yes, the red one's go in red...and come out red too!!!!

So...in the lunchbox today?

A fruit salad of pineapple, red & white dragon fruit and mandarins...almost looks too pretty to eat! And leftover singapore-ish noodles, adapted from a recipe from UK chef Ching He-Huang ...the recipe can be found at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/singaporestylenoodle_89281.shtml 

I added heaps more veggies to it, and I really enjoyed the subtle curry flavour and beautiful sunset yellow colour from the turmeric... give it a go!

A warm bowl of porridge for a wet morning...

It's wet and miserable in Sydney at the moment...good for the gardens, but sucky if you have to wake up at 4 to go to work!

I figure that a bowl of steamy porridge with poached pears is a pretty decent way to start your morning if you MUST get out of bed...

Oats are so good for you, are great for digestion and have been proven to help with depression. Pears are pretty easy going on your digestive tract too, and this is how I make mine:

3 or 4 pears, peeled & cored, and cut in half

(it's best to buy them a few days before you want to poach them, so they ripen a bit)

4 cups of water

1 and a bit cups of caster sugar (a proper sugar syrup is 2 parts sugar to 4 parts water, but I try to use less sugar)

4 cloves

juice of 1 lemon

half a vanilla bean (or if you prefer, half a stick of cinnamon)

Bring the syrup ingredients to a simmer, and once the sugar has dissolved, plop the pears into the liquor for a half hour or so. It may take longer or not as long, depending on how ripe they are, and I usually let them cool in the poaching liquor too...your home will smell super special whilst these puppies are doing their thing!

They can be served with some plain yogurt & raisins, with porridge or if you're feeling a bit naughty, with vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate sauce. Yum!

Because my husband works weird hours, by 9 or 10 am he's ready for lunch...tomorrows lunch is a healthy baked veggie, brown rice & goats cheese salad. It takes very little preparation, and can be as varied as you like. Here's how I did it:

Pre-heat oven to 180

Cut up a couple of courgettes, a carrot, a capsicum, an eggplant (you can salt it, or not, up to you!) a red onion and a few cloves of garlic

Toss together with salt, pepper & olive oil

Pop in the oven, turning occasionally, for an hour or until cooked through

(in the meanwhile prepare some brown rice...)

Toss veggies with brown rice, season with a little more salt & pepper, drizzle with olive oil, squeeze some lemon juice over, crumble goats cheese, and perhaps rip some basil or parsley over, whatever tickles your fancy!

Done! 

This is the easiest, laziest meal, and you can change the seasoning according to what international vibe you're in the mood for...for example it's also delicious with roast pumpkin & chickpeas & coriander for a more Moroccan vibe, or you can substitute brown rice with Freekah, or couscous...up to you!