There are a million things to love about San Francisco, but this is one of my favorites:
We’re members, and this weekend, we gave Ellie her first science museum experience. Our first stop was the living roof, which is covered with native plants and absorbs 98% of the water that falls on it!
Next, we walked through the rainforest exhibit, which felt like Hawaii and had lots of birds and butterflies.
Ellie slept through the whole thing.
But she woke up when we got to the aquarium!
SO many cool fish!
And jellyfish.
The only disappointment was the penguin exhibit, which is usually my favorite. The penguins were all just kind of flopped around on the rocks, not doing anything. I guess we’ll have to go back very soon (this weekend, maybe?)
One thing I like almost as much as science museums is soup (worst tie-in ever? Oh well). This soup has it all – healthy beans and grains, cheesy pasta, and a spicy, fragrant tomato broth. The small changes I made to the original recipe were to reduce the liquid (I like my soups kind of stew-like), replace herbes de Provence with dried oregano and basil, and use kale instead of chard. It’s perfect comfort food!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 6 oz. dried cheese-filled tortellini
- 1 bunch kale, chopped
- shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large pot.
- Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes and cook an additional minute.
- Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans, dried herbs. Bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the kale and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the tortellini, cover, and simmer until the tortellini is done, about 15 minutes.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese to serve
(adapted from Elly Says Opa)
This soup looks great. I am a huge fan of hearty yet healthy soups and this is one of them. I cannot wait to try it. Thanks!
I haven’t been to the Academy of Sciences since it first opened!
Awww, what a fun activity! I love the photo of the two of you…so cute!! Plus, this soup looks great – great way to lead it in from your story. I still laughed.
You look like such a happy mom.
That picture of you and Ellie is adorable, and the soup looks delicious. I love tortellini in soup, and kale is still my green of choice since our kale plants are going strong. It’s been months now and there are still tons of kale leaves to choose from every day outside.
When Chris was in contstruction his company worked on the AOS and we got to go to the VIP opening before everything was open and before it was open to the public – it was so fun!
I have been in such a soup mood lately and that one sounds right up my alley… yum.
CA Academy is a Curtis household favorite!! That pic of you and Ellie is adorable and the soup looks delish.
i have the app on my phone that’s attached to the penguin cam. so you can watch them 24/7. i assume at SOME point they do something funny.
Also – you have popup surveys on your page? is that blogher?? i just got a “one second site survey” – weird!
I just got the app! I thought I checked “no pop-ups” on my blogher preferences page – I’ll have to go back and look.
I made this tonight, and it was fantastic! Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow.
[...] slightly adapted from Cate’s World Kitchen who cites Elly Says Opa Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]