Before you get turned away from this post because of the title, let me explain. There aren’t actually frog legs in this soup. The frog legs simply come from what my daily life consists of, which I guess I should explain too. Currently, I am taking some “post-bac” science classes, one of which is physiology. My Tuesdays consist of going from physiology lab straight to culinary school. It definitely is a weird dynamic to go from dissecting frogs and cockroaches to making elegant Béchamel and Béarnaise sauces. It also is the coolest thing ever. I am so lucky that in one day I get to do the two things I love.
As amazing as Tuesdays are for me, they are also the most tiring. I get home late and the last thing I want to do is cook up dinner. The easiest thing would be to just get some fast food, but I think it’d be pretty oxymoronic to go from culinary school to Carl’s Jr. I decided I needed to just prepare my Tuesday dinners on Monday nights, so I came up with this soup.
Well, I didn’t exactly come up with this soup; it is heavily inspired by the O.G. Zuppa Toscana soup (O.G. = Olive Garden). The soup is super easy to make and stays really well in the fridge. It can even easily be frozen and saved for at least a month.
When I’m coming home from a long day, I crave some good music, along with good food. Ending my day with music helps me wind down and relax. It’s always tempting to come home from a tiring day and watch tv while eating. But you aren’t completely relaxing because your brain is still being actively stimulated. By switching to music, your brain is still stimulated but in a much calmer way. When it comes to ending my day, I always turn to some Pretty Lights. The organic, easy feel of his music helps me switch off my brain to the troubles of the day and just enjoy my bites and beats in the moment.
Materials:
1 uncooked Italian sausage
1 russet potato
1 cup kale (stems removed)
2 ½ cups chicken broth
Parmesan Cheese
Red Pepper Flakes
Methods:
1. Heat olive oil in a medium pot.
2. Remove sausage castings and cut up sausage into small pieces.
3. Brown sausage in pan and then remove cooked sausage, leaving oil in the pan.
4. Add chicken broth to the pan with the “sausage oil.”
5. Cut potatoes into small rounds, then cut horizontally into half circle pieces.
6. Add potatoes into the chicken broth and cook until potatoes are fork tender (to check this just remove one of the potato pieces and see if its easily cut with a fork).
7. Once potatoes are cooked, add the sausage back into the broth and then add the kale. Stir and let simmer for 2-3 minutes to wilt the kale.
8. Serve with some toasted bread and be sure to top with a bit of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes!
Extra Bits:
-This can easily be made vegetarian by using beans in place of the sausage and vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth.
-All of these songs can be downloaded for free @ http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/#/downloads
Beats:
Pretty Lights - Let the World Hurry By
Pretty Lights - Shining Bright Despite The Plight
Pretty Lights - A Million Tomorrows
Pretty Lights - Drift Away
Pretty Lights - We Must Go On
Beats:
Pretty Lights - Let the World Hurry By
Pretty Lights - Shining Bright Despite The Plight
Pretty Lights - A Million Tomorrows
Pretty Lights - Drift Away
Pretty Lights - We Must Go On
