A dinner to simmer...

Today I thought I would put together dinner early in the day....a hearty soup sitting on the back of the stove, simmering away until dinner time. I started it around one'ish...after lunch.
First I went out to the garden just as it was beginning to rain to see what I could find herb-wise. I came back in with some sage, thyme, Italian parsley, margarita mint, oregano, and rosemary......and after washing and trimming they looked like this

and then after chopping .....they looked like this....

 

While I was outside...I also picked some spinach and chard... and Russian Kale (which I have never tried before ), washed and chopped them up
 

Add to that, carrots, panacetta, garlic, leeks, celery, red pepper, some poblano pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, a large can of tomatoes (that I smushed with my fingers a la Jamie Oliver), a can of mixed beans and  some low sodium chicken broth....and at the end I added some cooked chicken thighs that we had in the freezer (chopped up) and the finished result (after much simmering....looked like this
 

and this
 

....and served up with some Olive Ciabatta Bread.......it was quite a tasty treat!!

I actually managed to get something done downstairs whilst it was simmering away...and...there is enough left for dinner tomorrow night and to put in the freezer for a quick lunch some day.

Today was a good day....rainy though ...and although I never thought I would say this.....I WANT SOME SUN!....if only for my poor basil. On the upside though...our rocky, root infested front lawn has never looked greener!!

Slainte!!