Baby Swiss Chard, White Bean, and Tomato Soup

Remember last week when I went on and on about how great soup is? Well, today was another "yay soup" day. I was down in the dumps, it was gray and rainy outside, I was super hungry after the gym, I was out of town for the weekend so I had no groceries.... and magically, with a few moves of my knife and turns of a can opener I had delicious, nutritious soup in front of me!

Luckily, I went out to my garden today to do some weeding. In addition to pulling out a garbage can full of creeping charlie (how do I get rid of that stuff?) I also decided to do some thinning of my Swiss Chard. To quote my friend Lisa, thinning is "psychologically difficult". It was getting obvious that I had let the difficulty get the best of me because every other plant was still baby tiny. I pulled them all out and was just about to throw them in the compost when I realized that they were probably just as delicious is full grown chard. So, in the house they came, and in the soup they went!

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 2 cups baby Swiss Chard leaves and stems
• S&P
• something spicy-- I used cayenne and chili powder
• 1/2 can northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small can diced tomatoes (juice and all)
• enough chicken broth to cover it all in the pot

First, I sauteed the onion in the canola oil. Then, I threw in the chard. Most of the pieces I threw in whole, but one or two were big enough that I tore them into bite sized pieces. I stirred everything around to coat the leaves in the little oil I used. I also added sea salt and black pepper at this point, and my "something spicy" after a few stirs. The salt will draw the moisture out of the leaves and help them wilt faster (I was all about "fast" tonight-- the whole meal took ten minutes to make). As soon as the leaves were tender and the onions translucent, I added in the beans, tomatoes and broth (obviously if you used vegetable broth this would be vegetarian-- vegan, really). Then, I brought it to a boil, and served it!

I had three little crostini to dunk in my soup, and I actually ended up garnishing it with a dollop of Greek yogurt (not pictured because I ate it too fast). The soup was great. It was flavorful and had great textures. The beans were creamy, the tomatoes juicy, and the chard had just enough crispiness to make a difference. Plus, I just felt good eating this. It is full of vitamins and low in fat. After a weekend full of graduation party food, I was craving anything without frosting.

I don't know that I'll make anything exactly like this in the future, but that is the beauty of soups-- each one is special.