Smoked Kielbalsa and White Bean Stew
I’ve started taking public transit almost exclusively. If I’m not on the train, I’m using my legs. It’s been equal parts refreshing and frustrating. It’s only been about a month. Nice, albeit cool and windy, weather helps. I hate having to plan my day around 15 minute increments, but I love not sitting in traffic. I hate smelly people and screaming children, but I love getting lost in a book with music in my ears. I hate showing up knowing I just missed a train, but I love randomly running into my friend Jenny. The control freak in me is learning to let go. Ask me again in a few months.
Is not using a recipe being a control freak or actually letting go? It could be both. I was inspired by the suggestion of using some of my grandma’s canned vegetables. Stew time. Canned green beans and tomatoes always go well in stew. I went off to let the store guide me. A package of smoked kielbasa and a can of white beans, we were in business. Warm. Hearty. Smokey. It was even better the next day, but that’s goes without saying.
Ingredients
- 2 cups canned [or fresh] green beans
- 1 large Yukon Gold potato, diced evenly
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4 smoked kielbasa links [pre-cooked], thinly sliced
- 1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Olive oil
- Water for thinning, if desired
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat in a soup pot or Dutch oven. When the pan is hot and water sizzles when you toss little droplets on it, add the onions. Stir to coat them in the oil and then spread them out in a nice even layer. Sauté for 7-10 minutes until soft. Add the kielbasa, allowing it to brown on all sides. Add the beans, tomatoes, and green beans. Stir to combine. Smash the two cloves if garlic and add them. Add the broth, bringing it to a boil. Stir in the potato. Bring the broth back down to a simmer and allow the potato to cook. Taste the broth throughout, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Other spices would work well too. Once the potatoes are tender you can serve, otherwise you can continue to cook it down. Add more water if you want it thinner. I definitely didn’t.
Yay train! A functional public transit system is such a relief to have. (Unlike the giant multi-system dysfunctional rats’ nest that counts as “public trans” in the bay area.) Anyway: sausage and beans! This is exactly what I want to eat all winter, with giant bouquet of dark greens on the side. Yay!
I’ve only used BART a handful of times. That’s the extent of my bay area trans experience. It wasn’t bad at all. It makes me wish ours was underground. So much faster sometimes!
Greens would have been so good here!
That’s the thing: we don’t have BART in the south bay. SF/Oakland & their immediate surroundings have BART trains and MUNI for streetcars and buses, which are fairly functional. We have Caltrain and VTA light rail for trains, and then there are two different bus systems that cover different parts of the peninsula & south bay, and none of the systems allow transfers from one to the other, and I’m probably also missing a few since I don’t go to the east bay pretty much ever. In conclusion, yikes yikes yikes.
Ok, I know this convo is basically over now, but I found a comparison of subways at scale that really makes the bay’s problems obvious: http://fakeisthenewreal.org/subway/
I’ll add my yikes to your yikes. That IS terrible. None of the them allow transfers either? That’s rough. Parts of Bangkok had that. There were two different systems, and they co-mingled, and you’d end up at a station and not know why your fare card wasn’t working.