Though we never actually call it supper, the alliteration is rather nice.  Here are two recipes that are grin worthy and very delicious together, the sweetness and crunch of the bread a perfect match for the spicy soup:

Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup

1 cup white beans (navy, cannelini, or great northern), soaked overnight in 3 cups water

1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled

1 medium onion, diced fine

2 cloves garlic, diced fine

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (don’t use regular – the flavor isn’t the same)

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/8  teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 piece dried kombu seaweed

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

Drain beans and set aside.  Heat a medium size soup pot (mine is a 4 quart), adding a teaspoon of oil or some of the fat rendered from cooking the sausage.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent.  Add the remaining ingredients, except for the salt, and cook on very low heat for three hours or until beans are soft.  Remove the kombu, add salt, and serve.

No Knead Sage, Raisin, and Pine Nut Toaster Bread

3 cups flour (you might not use all of it)

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup milk

1/8 cup water

1 package yeast

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup pine nuts

I used the sweetened condensed milk because I had some left over from another recipe.  If you don’t happen to have any, no worries.  Use 1 cup milk and 1-2 tablespoons sugar.  Grease an 8×4 loaf pan, set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, and baking soda.  Place the milk, water, sugar (if using), and salt in a small saucepan and heat until warm, about 120 degrees.  Do not allow to boil.  Pour into the flour and mix until incorporated.  Add raisins, nuts, and sage, mix well.  Add remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time until well incorporated.  You want the dough to be slightly sticky, so don’t add all the flour unless you need it.

Place in the loaf pan, cover loosely with a towel, and place somewhere warm for about 40 minutes.  It should be about double in size.  Twenty minutes before the dough is finished rising, turn the oven on to 400 and place an empty roasting pan on the lowest rack.  Once preheated, place the bread on the rack above the roasting pan.  Quickly add a cup of hot water to the roasting pan and close the door pronto!  We’re using the steam to make it extra hot and get a crispier crust.  Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow to cool for about five minutes before removing from pan.

This bread has the texture of an English muffin, so it really is better toasted, hence the name.  Before serving your soup, toast up a slice or two of the bread, and serve together.  We didn’t use any butter, but it would taste mighty fine with it.

This probably makes enough for six big bowls of soup paired with six thick slices of bread.  Happy eating.

I say Spicy Tomato Chutney!

Well, I’ve still got the canning bug.  Over the past two weeks, I’ve made pickles, pickle relish, grape jam, plum jam, and this yummy spicy tomato chutney.  Aside from the pickles, the chutney has got to be my favorite.  I am a sucker for a good one.  With just the right balance of heat and sweetness, this tastes great on a rye crisp with brie or cream cheese, used in lieu of mayonnaise on a sandwich, over steak, pork, or chicken.  It really is an all purpose condiment!

If you’d like to make some for yourself, here is the recipe.  My neighbor Katie gave me one that was meant to be kept top secret, but I misplaced it, and adapted another from Preserves, by Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew, remembering what I could from the flavor of Katie’s.  I think it is just right.

Spicy Tomato Chutney

3 1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled and cored

1 pound raisins, chopped in the food processor

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup malt vinegar

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup salt

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced

1 2″ piece of ginger, peeled and finely diced

Place all ingredients in a heavy, non-reactive pan, over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer, uncovered, and cook for 2-3 hours, stirring about every 15 minutes or so, to keep from burning, until it is very thick and about half of its original volume.

Put into warm, sterilized jars, seal, and finish in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.  It should keep for about a year.

Welcome to my stove top.  Mary, Michael, are you out there?  I’ve got the horse shoe you gave us there in the corner.  For anyone who’s interested, Chat Bizarre means weird cat in French.  Anyway, getting back to it, here’s the chutney at the beginning.  The tomatoes are still bright red and in rather large pieces.

It’s been about an hour here.  You can see that the tomatoes are no longer in chunks and that it’s cooked down quite a bit.  I’ll let it go a another hour and a half before putting it in jars.

Jar time.  Ladle it in, leaving about a half inch of head space.  This blue funnel is a life saver.  We use it all the time, and not just for canning.  Also, if you don’t want to use a canner – you could give them as gifts right away and skip that step.  It makes anywhere from 6-8 pint size jars.  Enjoy!