Ingredients

• Chard soup, like cabbage or lettuce soup, can be made from nothing more than chard, water, and salt, But this recipe is a bit fancier—it adds a couple of eggs, a small onion, and some pepper.

Ingredients

• 3 parts finely sliced potatoes; use boiling or Yellow Finn potatoes, scrubbed well.
• 2 parts sliced leeks (or onions); use only the white parts.
• Milk or cream
• Seasonings
• Oil or butter

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons butter (use 3 tablespoons butter if you do not use sunflower oil)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 6 cups pumpkin cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks (about 1 pound pumpkin)
• 3 cups sliced potatoes (or 1 pound tart apples such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and chopped)
• 2½ cup vegetable stock (best warmed)
• A big pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
• 2½ cups milk (or 1 cup heavy or light cream)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 5-6 medium ears yellow corn, husks and silk removed (1½ pounds)
• 4¼ cups of water
• Salt and black pepper

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped or 3 scallions white bulb and 3 inches of green cut into ¼ inch slices
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 pound baking potatoes such as Yukon Gold (3 medium potatoes), peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
• 6 cups chicken stock or canned broth
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
• 1 cup half-and-half or ¼ to ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
• Meaty option: 4 cups shredded cooked chicken (from 2½ pound roasted hen)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Add-ons for summer flavor

• 2 ripe medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

Ingredients

• 2 medium or 4 small cucumbers
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 shallots or green onions or 1 small red onion, minced (or 2 garlic cloves minced)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill (or you can use basil, chervil, tarragon, or mint)
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup plain yogurt or heavy or sour cream (you can use low-fat yogurt)

Ingredients

• 8 cups beef stock (or you can use chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1 pound or so rice noodles
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into batons
• 2 head of broccoli florets, separated
• Seasonal alternate ingredients, choose two or three: bok choy leaves (3 cups coarsely chopped); Tatsoi and Chinese broccoli (4 cups, coarsely chopped); green onions or scallions (2 or3 trimmed and thinly sliced); turnips (2 or 3 medium size; beans sprouts (2 cups); shitake mushrooms (3 finely sliced)
• Spicy add-ons: Try finely grated fresh ginger (2 teaspoons); 1 garlic clove, thinly slice; Sriracha chili sauce or toasted sesame oil to taste.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1½ cups dried cannellini beans or other white beans
• 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 1 carrot, grated or diced
• 1 celery rib, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ cup chopped prosciutto (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Grated parmesan, Gruyère, or Cheddar cheese

Ingredients

• 2 pounds tomatoes, that’s 3 or 4 medium to large globe tomatoes (1 pound of tomatoes, peeled and seeded with yield about one cup of pulp; a 28 ounce can of tomato sauce is equal to almost two pounds of whole peeled and seeded tomatoes).
• 1-4 tablespoons of olive oil, divided (use extra-virgin olive oil if you can).
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, or minced or use 1 shallot or green onion, finely minced; for a spicy sauce add 2 or 3 dried arbol chiles (or dried chile flakes) with the garlic, but be sure to remove the chiles before serving.
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice (optional) or ½ cup red wine (optional).
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, about ¼-½ teaspoon of each should be about right.
• Herbs for flavoring, use herbs to taste—choose one or two from ½-1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½-1 teaspoon dried basil, ½-1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½-1 teaspoon dried marjoram, ½-1 teaspoon dried rosemary (if you use fresh herbs finely chop them and add them just before the sauce is finished cooking—not too early—a handful or ¼ cup of the chopped fresh herb you choose will be about right—other fresh herbs could include cilantro, Italian parsley, Bay leaf, or cumin).
• Vegetables optional, choose one or two: 1 yellow onion, diced; 1 peeled and chopped medium eggplant; one bell pepper, cored and seeded then sliced; 1 small or medium zucchini or crookneck squash, thin sliced or chopped; a handful of green beans.

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds stewing beef cut into 1 or 1½ inch cubes (use chuck roast or sirloin tip—try grass fed beef)
• 2-3 carrots peeled and cut into 2- or 3-inch lengths (or use baby carrots)
• 1 or 2 yellow sweet onions peeled and cut into quarters or coarse chopped (or use 4 or 5 small white onions or 4 or 5 medium leeks—white part plus 1 inch of green)
• 1 turnip cubed
• 2-3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2- to 3-inch lengths
• Optional vegetables, choose from: 2 ribs celery, sliced; 1 cup mushrooms, sliced, quartered or halved depending on size; 6-8 small new potatoes, unpeeled halved or whole depending on size; ½ cup sundried tomatoes (add the last 10 minutes of cooking)
• Stock: 4 cups beef stock + ¼ cup Burgundy wine OR combine 1 cup beef stock + 1 cup water + 2 cups dark beer or brown ale
• 3 teaspoons mixed herbs (use three of these: oregano, marjoram, thyme, or dried basil—if you use sprigs tie stems with kitchen twine)
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional: 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• ⅓ cup or so fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley chopped—as a garnish or add to slow cooker last 10 minutes of cooking and stir in