We’ve been experiencing an unseasonably warm winter here in PA…I’m not complaining.  I’m not a huge fan of the cold, but the cold weather does make warm comforting foods even more enjoyable.  This weekend I saw the first snow of the season while visiting up home in Central PA.  It was a dusting really, but a sign of the changing season.  I did find comfort in the tiny bit of snow this weekend…it felt familiar and predicable.  Seasons in life change and they are not always predicable…that’s both the beauty and struggle of our seasons.  But the difficult seasons are often the ones that produce the most beauty in the end.

We bought a fall CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this year for the first time.  I LOVE fall vegetables. We got fennel in the CSA and  while some people shy away from fennel because of the strong “licorice” scent, fennel is one of my favorite vegetables.  When it cooks, the licorice scent goes away and cooks similar to celery.  Fennel is oddly shaped.  There is a core in the center of the bulb that can be cut out and the rest of the fennel can be eaten- the bulb, the stalk and fronds.  I love to use fennel in stews, when roasting meats and in soups like this one!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped

2 carrots, chopped

olive oil

6 cups of chicken broth

1/2  cup brown rice

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

juice from one lemon

fennel fronds, chopped (optional)

salt and pepper

I modified this recipe from the book Savor by Shauna Niequist.  In a dutch oven, cook the chopped onion, carrots, fennel ( salt and pepper) in olive oil until translucent.  Add the chicken broth and brown rice and cook until 5 minutes before the rice is cooked through.  Add the chicken, lemon juice and chopped fennel fronds (optional) and cook until the rice is tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy for a light meal this holiday week!