Tuscan White Beans and Swiss Chard

This is fresh, healthy, quick, and just yummy satisfying...  Using the Swiss Chad stems seems odd, but it works beautifully.

1/2 vidalia onion, chopped

large bunch of Swiss chard, stems chopped off
1 teaspoon minced garlic
15 oz. can diced tomatoes (or 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered with juice)
15 oz. can cannelloni beans (or any white beans). drained and rinsed
4 large fresh sage leaves, minced
 salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Wash chard and slice off stem ends.  Dice stem ends--approximately 1/4 inch dice.
In wok or large frying pan, warm olive oil.
Once oil is warm, vidalia, chard stems, sage and garlic. Sauté until soft.
While chopped veggies are sautéing, roughly chop remaining chard leaves and drain and rinse beans. Add both to pan, dump in contents of diced tomatoes (including liquid) and cover.  Once chard is soft, stir it up and add salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Serve hot with rice!

LOVELY Lima Bean Soup

Lima beans are no longer yuck.... This soup will change everyones perception of what lima beans are all about.

2/3 cup diced onion

3 TBSP soy margarine

1 TBSP olive oil

1/3 cup diced carrot

1/3 cup diced celery

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups lima beans

1 apple, peeled and sliced

4 cups veggie broth

salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large pot, saute the onion in the margarine and oil over medium head until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, and garlic and cook another 5 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, boil the lima beans for about 10 minutes to make them extra soft. Drain the lima beans and add them to the pot with the veggie stock and apples. Lower the heat and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Puree with a hand blender and season with salt and pepper! Mmmm...