Today, March 22, is World Water Day. A seemingly innocuous holiday, but water, well, water (and lack thereof) as a concept is mind boggling.
I turn on my tap and, while I try not to waste it, I assume I will get fresh clean safe potable water. I mean, here in central Texas the “cold” water is pretty tepid towards the end of summer and sometimes it does taste a tad muddy, but I trust it. Why wouldn’t I?
I use it for bathing, cooking, drinking, watering my plants (which I then wash in it and eat, again trusting) and I (even though I am cognizant of our current drought situation) don’t give it much thought. Good heavens!
I try to drink a good amount every day, I keep a fresh bottle (refillable, not store-bought, thank you) in my car, I take it kayaking (never mind the water I’m kayaking *on*!); here in Texas I joke (sort of) about not going out to see if the mail has come without a water bottle!
And of course I replenish my fish tanks…
It is the base for many of my soups, I must have it to make bread, we simply cannot exist without drinkable water. OK, you know all this, as do I but how often do you think about it? This isn’t a rant of any sort, I just want to say thanks for our water and I will try to pay even more attention now.
To fete the day, here’s an easy yummy healthy water-based soup for you. Remember that smoked turkey wing I used a few posts ago? I got another one this week and here’s what I did. Mmmmm and slurp:
Turkeylicious Kale and White Bean Soup
olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 smoked turkey wing
1 good bunch of kale, rough chopped
WATER
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
Add olive oil to a deep heavy Dutch oven. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned. Add the turkey wing, kale and beans. Add water about half-way up (the kale will wilt down). Once the kale has wilted add more water to barely cover if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for about 2 hours. Remove the turkey wing, cool and remove all the meat from the bones. Return the meat to the pot and stir well to mix everything. Salt and pepper to taste but remember, this will be more flavorful (and saltier) tomorrow. Mmmm…
from this
to this!
Just add water…!
***
and then make soup 
A lovely soup recipe and a thought provoking post. Until I moved to Andalucia I am ashamed to admit I never thought twice about water, how I use it, how I waste(d) it. Living in a hot dry place where you hope for winter rains puts it all into perspective and makes you appreciate how for others it can be a case of life or death. We’re very lucky indeed.
By: Chica Andaluza on March 22, 2015
at 7:05 pm