Hello, Flower! I hope you're feeling better. I had that cold last week. I made a white bean dish with ham and sour cream. But your spicy soup would be much more soothing for a cold. A former neighbor, who was born in Italy but grew up in France, taught me about using kale, spinach or argula in bean dishes which are soups or stews. I remember peering into her large cooking pot one day, and asking her what in the world was floating around in her beans. She said, kale, and she offered me a bowl. It was the first time I ate kale. I was sold! Another French person moved in next door. He was a shy person, but he took to dropping in for visits. One day I was cooking beans, country style pork ribs and kale--a hearty soup. He walked in the door, took a whiff of the cooking scent, and excitedly hurried over to the stove to have a peek. He lifted the lid of the pot, and backed away with tears in his eyes. I was flummoxed. I inquired as to why he was crying. He said, it is cooking just like my mother make (sic). I offered him a bowl. He sat down to eat, tasted the food, and began to tear up again. He told me it tasted just like his mother's cooking. Years later I offered the same dish to another new neighbor, a Ukrainian woman. She declared that it was food just like from back home! She demanded to know how I knew how to cook Russian food?! When I began working with the Ohlone Community Garden I took to growing kale and other greens. One of the other gardeners, of Italian descent, told me to try stir frying kale with chopped garlic. She said not to add a couple of tablespoons of liquid until the edges of the kale were beginning to crisp. She told me to serve the kale alongside, or on top of, pasta. I tried her recipe and liked that, too. Lorna

Robin - The bean soup sounds wonderful. And I love the pictures of your 'stash'. I hope to get my canning closet a little more full this year. I love soup and would like to try to can some. I just haven't ventured out into canning those types of things yet. Last year was my first year canning - I canned lots of green beans, tomatoes, and salsa. And also put up lots of jam and pickles. I've been putting chicken bits and bones in the freezer, along with onion peels, etc, in hopes to make chicken stock. Just haven't got up the nerve to try it yet. Really don't know why I'm so nervous about canning stock. But I really appreciate that you shared your whole process with us. It makes things easier for me to follow when I can compare notes along with the proper guidelines. Maybe you can give me some pointers on canning stock - I think I'm concerned that it will be too fatty and turn rancid. Ruthie - I've also been following the threads of all the exciting things you've been putting up. I think I need to just step out and give the soups and stocks a try. Keep up the good work. Happy Canning everyone!

I am truly THRILLED with my package selection! Thanks so very much for hosting and taking such care choosing varieties for everyone. You did a fantastic job! :) (I need to move near Gary tho... wow, I would love to see that sort of harvest going on! ) :)) ~Wendy

I love Lima beans! I buy them dried and frozen, although I've never had leftovers to freeze. Since they sell frozen beans that are great, I would think the soup would freeze also. I freeze all types of cooked beans, including hummus and my Texas bean dip. Today and yesterday I made burritos with my bean dip, turkey breast, and Mexican Manchego cheese on whole wheat tortillas. It's possible that the Mexican Manchego cheese disagrees with me, but I made them mostly for DB's lunch. I've been trying to find Chihuahua cheese here, but Mexican Manchego is the closest I can find - and it appears to be very similar to Jack - although less upsetting to my stomach than Jack. It's nothing like the Spanish Manchego I get that is hard and made from sheep's milk. Lars