I’m so intently focused on unique that I sometimes forget how satisfying simple can be. Working from home today, I decided to scent the house with simmering beans, garlic and rosemary – yes, I do realize that it’s August and 110 degrees outside, don’t judge. I turned the slow cooker to “high,” smashed a few garlic cloves, added them to the cooker and allowed the cloves to sputter in a spoonful of duck fat (when you have frozen duck fat, why use olive oil?) until the garlic was just beginning to soften. To that, I added dried Great Northern beans, a sprig of garden rosemary and 2 small Turkish bay leaves. I covered the whole mess with cold water by about 2” and let the slow cooker do its work for the next 3 hours while I cranked out emails. Once the beans were soft and creamy, I liberally added kosher salt and let the beans bubble for another 15 minutes.

I transformed a big ladle-full into a satisfying and healthy soup by sprinkling chopped fresh spinach on the bottom of a bowl and covering it with beans and broth, letting the whole thing sit for a minute or two until the spinach was wilted. The soup only needed a dollop of Greek yogurt and grind of fresh pepper as garnish. And done.