There's a mini war going on in our garden. It's the Snails vs. Us.
Who can eat the most Swiss Chard first, before the Chard season is over?

I broke off a dozen leaves Thursday then patiently removed about three dozen little white snails and a few earwigs before bringing them inside to wash and chop, which revealed even more little white snails.

I think we're losing.



Cate from Sweetnicks has kindly offered host this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen. Cate will have the full WHB round-up posted on Sweetnicks this Monday.

So I've got all this Swiss Chard that must be eaten as quickly as possible if we want to win a round or two against the snails.
I love it simply sautéed with olive oil, garlic and spicy red pepper flakes but we're still having a streak of cool weather thus soup sounded like a good option.




Yes, we're still eating steaming bowls of soup. You would think it would be too warm in the south of France by now for soup, wouldn't you?
Nope.

Swiss Chard, Smoked sausage and Potato Soup
serves 2 hearty appetities

4 ounces smoked, cooked sausage (such as kielbasa), sliced into rounds
3 cups chicken broth
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups thinly sliced trimmed swiss chard leaves
1 star anise, left whole

Sauté sausage slices in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until they start to brown, about 3 minutes.
Remove the sausage pieces to a plate.
Sauté the onions until they are soft and have begun to lightly caramelize, then stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the chicken broth, sliced potatoes, sautéed sausage and white wine and bring mixture to boil.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the Swiss Chard and star anise to the pot.
Simmer uncovered until potatoes and Chard are very tender, about 10 minutes more.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately.