Happy New Year Friends!
I hope everyone’s holiday was enjoyable & you haven’t given up on your resolutions. I tried to keep mine really simple, be kind: to myself, to others, etc… so I will keep you posted on that throughout the year. I have been keeping myself busy trying to find a new yoga home here in Walnut Creek & planning all the travel coming up – Palm Springs next week, Philadelphia & Charleston in March, Mexico in April, Virginia Beach in May, Spain in June, and Italy in July…oh boy!! With all the travel on the horizon I have been focusing on easy, comforting, and healthy recipes while I am home. This week I have been enjoying a hearty vegetarian soup & it couldn’t have been more simple to make.
Tuscan Bean Soup
- 1 container vegetable stock
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 2 cans tuscan beans
- 1 big bunch of kale
- 1 large white onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 zucchini
- 1 bag carrots
- 1 bag celery
- 1 bag small potatoes
- 1 bunch tyme
- 1 sm. bunch sage
- salt/pepper
- EVOO
- Parmesan
Peel & small dice carrots, small dice celery, garlic, & onion, quarter and dice zucchini, tear kale from stems, quarter potatoes, & prep herbs while 1/4cup EVOO heats up in a large dutch oven on the stove top. Start with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, & potatoes in the pot and cook down for 10 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, beans (drained), herbs, salt & pepper – cook until it simmers. Mix in kale & zucchini and allow soup to cook together for another 10 minutes. Ladle into a bowl, sprinkle on some freshly grated Parmesan (optional), and enjoy!
With this recipe I have enough soup for lunches all week & 5 more portions frozen in mason jars for the next time I have a hankering for this delicious comfort dish.
’til next time, keep smiling! 🙂
Every couple years my Birthday falls on Mother’s Day! Talk about an incredible gift – I got to celebrate my birth on the day we all celebrate the women who gave us life. I was so thrilled when my mother told me she and Dad would be coming out here for the long weekend, I totally over-planned and obsessed over their visit! 
It was such a great trip – we tried new vineyards and regions that we typically don’t venture & shared some of our favorite spots too. It was nice to spend time, just the four of us, and be in such a beautiful region! I can’t even believe the weather stayed as nice as it did and everything turned out perfectly.
Now, as if I were some sort of jet setter, I’m heading to Alaska! This means I have traveled to Tahoe, Sonoma, Napa, Palm Springs, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Victoria, Juneau, Skagway, & Ketchikan all before the 6 month mark. I am so lucky to have a partner who likes to travel & explore as much as I do! 
In other news, I am going to start announcing my departure from the city to the students at the studio & my clients this week. I feel foolish leaving a place I am finally establishing a following, but it’s for the best. We’re embarking on a brand new chapter & it’s going to be amazing!!
Livingleen 