Snow Day

     It's snowing here this morning.  As far as winter storms go this one is unremarkable, barely more than a nuisance.  The older I get the less I enjoy the snow.  It means having to get bundled up and clear the porches and walkways and then fire up the snow blower to open up the driveway, only to have it covered again at the road by the plow trains that go by every hour.
     But the snow also provides an opportunity to spend some time inside at the stove cooking up some warming and inviting soups.  Today is a prime example of that process.  Knowing that snow was in the forecast yesterday I checked my pantry to make sure I had all the necessary ingredients.  I also paged through a couple of my soup cook books to compile a list of potential candidates for the soup pot.  But it was not from those cook books that I found the recipe I eventually chose.  It was from an old yellowed page that my mother had torn out of the January 1981 issue of Woman's Day.  There was only one item that I did not have and a quick trip to the market provided me with a head of escarole, essential for the Escarole Sausage Soup that I planned to make.
     So as the snow flakes were falling outside I was peeling and dicing and laying out all the ingredients necessary:  Italian sausage, chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped celery, diced potatoes and of course, torn escarole leaves.  Fresh tomatoes aren't really very flavorful this time of year so I used a can of Low Sodium diced tomatoes from my pantry.  The cooking liquid was a combination of Low Sodium chicken stock and water to which I added some spices: oregano, basil and parsley.

     It's simmering now on the stove and the aroma that fills the house it wonderful!  So I will make quick work of shoveling so I can get back in the house to have a bowl of warming soup for lunch!