Braised Fennel and Tomato

Serves: 4 (soup crock/bowl size)

Ingredients:
2 whole fennel bulb, diced
1/3 whole onion, chopped
4 whole tomato, chopped...more or less to taste.
1/3 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth...more or less to taste
2/3 tablespoon fennel, chopped leaves
1/3 dash tarragon (marjoram is an ok substitute)

Directions:
1. Chop all into bite sized pieces*

2. Saute onion, garlic and fennel about 5 minutes.
The onion will be softer than the fennel, which may remain quite crisp.

3. Add tomato and broth - simmer about 20 minutes.
The broth should be just enough to cover the veggies. If you would like a more soup-like dish, just add more broth.

4. Add Fennel tops** and tarragon - simmer another 10 minutes


Nutrition:
Per Serving: 254 Calories; 4g Fat (13.6% calories from fat); 1g Saturated Fat; 10g Protein; 50g Carbohydrate; 13g Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol; 1365mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

And for those of you who read this and said "huh? What the heck is fennel?"
This is Fennel: (also referred to as Anise sometimes)

*And this is how to chop it up....**Save the fuzzy top bits to add at the end. Simply chop them like you would any herb.

First, chop off the stalks:

Next, cut the bottom part of the bulb off..you can see it in the picture above
(it looks like a round bit, like an onion end does).
And stand it up to chop in half.

Then cut each half again. Set the cut halves down & chop crosswise into bite sized pieces.