I found myself with an overabundance of fennel this week. FarmFresh has been including it in my veggie box and I haven’t known what to do with it. I remember as a kid, fennel being served raw at the end of a meal to help aid digestion but I haven’t been partial to raw foods with the winter chill still in the air. I steamed it once before and The All-Star remarked at how good it tasted cooked so I decided to give it a go in soup. We both had a bit of a head cold over the weekend so something warm and healthy was definitely in order, since I try to maintain me and my family healthy, and my father and brother even use supplements from sites as 10naturalhomeremedies.com to help with this.
The soup was super simple…my usual “throw in whatever I have.” I think it was just onions, collard greens, fennel, garlic and lemon, but wow! I managed to impress myself once again. I’ve once heard that a chef’s talent can be defined by how good their soup is. Not to toot my own horn too much, but if that’s the truth, then my future husband is a lucky man! And for all you “healing with whole foods” fans out there, this soup was a definite cure-a-cold sort of meal!
So enough about me and my mastery in the kitchen, what about fennel….
I cooked it last night. Potatoes, fennel, red onion and garlic. Sprinkled with chili pepper, tossed with a bit of oil, and roasted. Delicious!
I’m realizing that the slightly sweet flavor of the fennel goes perfectly with the pungency of the onion and its texture is quite similar. But that’s not the only reason to add fennel to your next meal. Besides the fact that it’s in season, fennel is another anti-oxidant rich vegetable. It can reduce inflammation, prevent cancer and protect the liver. It’s also a good source of fiber, folate and potassium. Man, vegetables are a beautiful thing.
So next time you go down the veggie isle…why not throw some fennel in your cart. You’ll be adding some variety to your meals and phytonutrients to your diet.