Another Clean-Out-The-'Fridge Soup

6-8 lg. cloves of garlic - minced

4T butter

1 med.. onion, minced / chopped

1 lg. purple shallot - sliced

¾c dry white wine

hard vegetables - sliced or chopped

1-2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

green leafy vegetables

*cooked quinoa, rice, barley or orzo

For this soup, I simmered the corn then strained the water to use later.  Sauté' the garlic in butter over med.-high heat.  Stir and stay close.  It will go from perfect to burnt, in no time.  Once nicely browned, add a little of the wine.  Add the remaining 'aromatic' vegetables; chopped celery, carrot, peppers and onion.  Continue to stir and cook, using the remainder of the wine to deglaze the pan after each browning.  Add the remaining hard vegetables; rough-chopped cabbage and quartered Brussels sprouts. Stir these around, and use some of the corn water to keep everything from sticking.

After about 10 minutes, add the tomatoes, remaining corn water, spinach, corn and chop-sliced greens and stems from the bok choy.  Let this all simmer, covered for about an hour.  Check flavors and enhance with a little salt, black and red pepper.  If deeper flavor is needed, try a couple tablespoons of Orrington Farms Chicken or Vegan Broth Base*  Add the starch* if you want, or just keep this as a simple, clear broth, vegetable soup.  A couple cans of drained-rinsed black beans would also be an excellent addition.

This is another great make-ahead soup.  The flavors develop best after the original cooking, by chilling several hours, then reheating.  It's a perfect and quick one to make on the weekend, in preparation for a busy workweek . .Lin