Although at first glance it may not look like it, with our Northern California sunny skies and green lawns, winter truly is here. The leaves have all fallen. The fish in the pond are half asleep. Several of the lettuces in the garden have succumbed to frost, while the chard and parsley thankfully are thriving. It’s still, quiet, and chilly most days. Perfect weather for a hearty soup. Even though this bread soup is meatless (if you use veggie stock), it is thick and filling. In fact, it’s really more of a stew than a soup. The bread absorbs much of the liquid. It’s called a panade, or panada, from the Latin base “pan” for bread. The recipe is based on one introduced to me by my friend Ann Martin Rolke, cookbook author, Sacramento local, and co-founder along with Amber Stott, of the California Food Literacy Center, a recently formed non-profit with the mission to help us understand the impact of our food choices.

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