Here is a newly-concocted recipe to help you use all those ripe tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and other vegetables from your gardens. I'm calling it 'Waukesha Bountiful Garden Summer Soup.'
The ingredients are: 2 lbs organic ground chicken ('Good Harvest's 'Smart Chicken' brand is best), 2 cups sliced celery, 4 cups rainbow chard sliced (stems and leaves), 6 small zucchini thickly sliced, 1 mediterranean squash or other mid-sized squash sliced, 10 large tomatoes cut in 8ths, 3 cups sweet corn, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper (all sliced into 1" pieces), 2 tsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp garlic salt, 3 garlic cloves diced, 1 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup fresh basil scissored into strips, a handful of fresh rosemary, 2 cups tomato juice or blendered tomatoes, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup water, shredded low-fat mozarella cheese.
How to: In a 4 quart dutch oven, brown ground chicken in plenty of olive oil. Add celery, peppers, zuke, squash and all seasonings -- bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer for 30 minutes. Add corn and chard, cover again, simmer 20-30 minutes. Combine cornstarch and water; stir into soup. Cook and stir until the soup thickens a bit. Serve in festive soup bowls with shredded mozarella cheese on top. Yields 12 + servings. {Note: if you do not have a tomato garden, you could substitute three 28-ounce cans of tomatoes with liquid for the fresh tomatoes and tomato juice.}
Serve with whole grain muffins or rolls with basil-laced butter. Thank goodness for summer gardens, and enjoy the harvest!