Andouille and Chard Soup with a Fennel and Green Apple Salad

As the weather starts to turn, it's time to start eating soup.  What's also important is making sure you eat something raw (like salads) on a daily basis.  I make my own stocks and then add a little of this and a little of that.  Tonight I used Andouille sausage and a little ground beef from Prather Ranch.  The beef helped soften the spiciness of the Andouille and the kids drank the bowl dry.

Andouille Sausage Soup with Swiss Chard
12 oz. Andouille sausage sliced into diagonals
8 oz. ground beef
3 carrots (Organic, California, from Whole Foods)
2 small yukon gold potato (sub 1 small Japanese sweet potato or omit altogether for paleo) cut into chunks
1/2 bunch rainbow chard cleaned and chopped (Tomatero)
3 garlic cloves minced (Organic, California, from Whole Foods)
2 shallots sliced (Organic, California, from Whole Foods)
6 cups stock, chicken or beef (you can add more water if you need more liquid)

Heat the stock to a simmer on low heat and add carrot and potato.  Saute the sausage pieces until golden and put into soup.  Brown ground beef and put into soup.  Saute the shallot and garlic then put that into the soup.  Let everything simmer together until the carrots and potato are tender, about 20-30 min.  Add the chopped chard  before ready to serve.  Add salt to your taste. 

Fennel and Green Apple Salad
1 fennel bulb
1 Granny Smith apple (Cuyama Orchards-from Whole Foods)
1/2 c quince chopped (poached in water and lemon juice until soft)
1/2 head butter leaf lettuce (Organic, California, from Whole Foods)
2 or 3 leaves romaine lettuce (Organic, California, from Whole Foods)
soaked and dehydrated walnuts (Full Belly Farm)
1/2 lemon (Rainbow Valley Orchards-from Whole Foods)
extra virgin olive oil (Bariani)
sherry wine vinegar (Napa Valley Naturals)

Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces.  On a mandolin slice the fennel thin and then the quince and apples.  Squeeze the lemon over the apples so they don't brown.  Sprinkle the walnuts on top. Drizzle olive oil over top of salad.  I usually take one pass over.  Do the same with the sherry vinegar.  Sprinkle with sea salt and then toss everything.  I like my dressing on the tangier side so I usually leave it as is.  Feel free to add more olive oil if you like it less so.