monday meditation – planting, believing… and Audrey!

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

— Audrey Hepburn

Bonjour and bienvenue to monday meditation – planting, believing… and Audrey! I might be rambling a little again in this post because I’ve been a little busy working on the garden, and so not much time to think about what to write. So, since I’ve been concentrating on the garden and my plants, this Monday’s meditation will be all about that, and of course a new recipe!

Audrey

I love Audrey, she was so beautiful, inside and out. She had so many words of wisdom too! As Sabrina, she said “Paris is always a good idea.” Maybe I’ll watch that tonight. Speaking of Paris, and plants, my dear friend Amy started some plants for me – including April in Paris sweet peas. I’ll be planting those today, if there is a break in the rain. I’ll plant the wild bergomot, tomatoes, and zucchini she started for me this week too. She also shared some root potatoes with me, planting those soon!

Planting

Audrey won an Emmy for her TV miniseries Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn, I will have to find this and watch. “I’m an introvert… I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky.” Another Audrey quote, and it is exactly something I would say too. Precious princess puppy can’t do long walks anymore, but we do enjoy looking at the trees flowers and sky! My tulips are winding down, I’ll be planting some pollinator friendly wildflowers in their place this week.

Believing

I’ve read that Audrey’s favorite dish was Spaghetti al Pomodoro. I can’t wait to make her pasta sauce with my own tomatoes (and hopefully my own carrots celery, onion) and basil later this summer. I also read that she liked to have soup for dinner, with vegetables from her own garden. This week, along with all the other veggies, I’m going to plant beans again. I might start them inside this week. I believe they will grow for me this year! Along with my potatoes I’ll be able to make green bean soup, another beautiful summer dinner from my garden! I did buy some fresh green beans at the grocery this weekend. Tonight I’ll be trying to recreate (aka totally winging it) a vegetarian version of my mom’s green bean soup for Meatless Monday. Monday meditation – planting, believing… and Audrey! I’ll let you know how it goes! À bientôt!

Garden Green Bean Soup

3 cups of fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 shallot, chopped
3 fingerling potatoes, cut into 1 in. pieces (that’s what I hadon hand – feel free to use equiv. amount of what ever potatoes you have)
2 T. olive oil
5 cups vegetable broth (I made it with Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base – it’s really good)
1 T. apple cider vinegar
bunch finely chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
Hungarian paprika
salt, pepper
dash of liquid smoke (optional, to add a little ham hock flavor, which is in mom’s recipe)

In large pot/stockpot, heat olive oil. Saute onions for 3 minutes, add green beans and potatoes, saute 2 minutes more. Next add broth, vinegar, parsley, bay leaf and liquid smoke (if using), simmer until beans and potatoes are tender.
Let soup cool slightly. Put sour cream (or yogurt) in a bowl, add some of hot broth, then add back to soup (so sour cream won’t curdle). Bring soup to simmer. Add salt, pepper and plenty of paprika! – to taste and serve.