food painting | my90acres

Painting of the soup for lunch from my Food We Eat series. Served with homemade rye bread. Yumm.
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Cold weather seems to bring on an appetite for hot soup. We make a variety of soups here on the farm not only because they are tasty and filling, but it’s also a good way to add those veggies into the diets of some people who claim they don’t like vegetables. We never make small batches of soup around here either so this is as small as it gets (an eight quart pot). Plenty to eat for a couple of days and plenty to share.

The other day I made one of our favorites, Thick Kale Soup. Don’t like kale? You will love this soup. My granddaughter says this is her favorite soup. I actually posted this recipe a few years ago but it bears repeating.

Simple ingredients: smoked sausage, onions, garlic, kale, potatoes, white beans, broth and spices. That’s pretty much it. Got company coming? Add more broth, potatoes and another can of beans.

Cut the smoked sausage into bite-size pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a 6 – 8 quart soup pot. Add the chopped smoked sausage. You can use any kind of smoked sausage – regular, light, turkey, or even Polish kielbasa. Stir and brown.

Add the chopped onion and stir until clear. Add the minced garlic. Keep stirring so they don’t burn.

Strip the kale from the stalks with your fingers. Much faster. Then rough cut.

Meanwhile, wash and strip the veins out of the kale. Rough chop and add to the mixture, stirring until wilted. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and cover. Bring to simmer.

Wash and dice the potatoes. Sometimes I leave the peel on just for added texture. Add to the pot after it comes to a slow boil. Cover and bring back to simmer.

Breaking down the potatoes with my very old, inherited potato masher. This helps thicken the soup, too.

When the potatoes are cooked (about 15-20 minutes), use an old fashioned potato masher and rough mash them in the pot. This just helps the soup to thicken.

Then add the two cans of beans (drained). Frankly, I just use whatever white beans I have available. I’ve even added butter beans and it works fine.

This is the final kale soup should look like.

Add the cracked pepper to taste. You probably won’t need any salt as the sausage is pretty salty, but suit yourself. I often use a couple of bouillon cubes to add salt, plus always some garlic powder.

Serve with crusty bread for a filling lunch or dinner.