Home Garden Chards, Zucchini, Pearl Onions Soup

After a month of practically zero cooking thanks to visiting my family, it feels nice to just throw something together (as is my wont) for a quick meal back at my nest.

There is something romantic about cooking (and eating) at an odd hour late-night, especially after returning home from a long trip, and having only a few things in the cupboards/pantry - even if it is just heating up a can of beans or having fresh rice with Indian pickles.

Of course, the kitchen cupboards are usually well-stocked with spices, and the pantry has some canned essentials like beans, coconut milk etc., so, it isn't really a big deal to scrounge something up for a quick bite.

Anyway, the onion seeds we had saved from last year were thrown in a small patch in the garden and they sprouted up nicely, which I had been using before I went on the summer vacation.

Now that I am back, I see that there are a bunch of little onions all crowding together, looking like gorgeous little pearls. A bit of cleaning, no tedious skin-removing, and I have a ton of pearl onions to incorporate in my cooking. Of course, red pearl onion arachu vitta sambar is my all-time favorite South Indian dish, but these white/yellow pearl onions are great even in salads as they are not too pungent.

A large zucchini, some chards, some green chilies, mint, and pearl onions - all from our garden - came together quickly for this coconut-milk-based soup for our first brunch after we got back.

The flavoring is simple as I went with Italian spices I had handy - just dry/ground spices like garlic powder, celery seeds, basil, oregano, marjoram. I crushed some mint leaves and green chilies to keep things green for the flavoring. It is best enjoyed chilled or at room-temperature on a warm summer day.