Soup: Sausage & Vegetable with Kale

Some crazy weather going on here lately ~ I spiedthe first of the daffodils in the garden. This, after a few consecutive days of nice weather andhope of an early spring. However yesterday we awoke to a thin layer of wet,heavy snow. Happily, the day redeemed itself later bringing brilliant sunshine early in the afternoon, but not before Ihad begun last evening's dinner... having anticipated a snowyday.  It was good an comforting just the same.

See the grass moss  outside the window? The snow had melted by early afternoon!


A simple pot of soup, this time with a half a bunch of choppedkale added for a nutritional boost.
I hardly make vegetable soup the same way twice, and I really never use a recipe for this kind of soup.  Ifyou've been cooking for any length of time, you probablydon't either. :)
But if you'd like a description of how I usuallymake it, (with a link to a printable recipe) please see below.




I'm ready for SPRING!  How about you? :)


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When making soup I usually follow these general steps depending upon the type of soup I'm making:
This time I started out by browning some pork sausage,(about 4 to 5 ounces of bulk breakfast sausage simply because I had it on hand.) *After it it was lightly browned and no longer pink, I drained the fat and removed the sausage from the pot.  Next I added a little olive oil to the pot, addedchopped onions (use as many or as few as you like,I like lots), cooked until translucent, then added acouple of cloves of minced garlic; stirred for a moment.Sliced carrots went in the pot next, along with slicedcelery, some Italian seasoning, a bay leaf, then added enough low-sodium chicken broth to cover the veggies by a few inches. (I used low sodium-canned, but if you have homemade, by all means use it!) I brought that to a boil, reduced the heat to a simmer, added the cooked sausage to the pot along with a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (I like Muir brand), a can of undrained Cannellini beans (white kidney beans), and some frozen petite green beans (simply because there was half a bag languishing in the freezer.)You can add a couple of teaspoons of "Better Than Bullion"(Chicken flavor soup base), to enrich the chicken flavor.
I simmer until the firmer vegetables (carrots, potatoes, orother root veggies) are just tender.
Add salt & pepper to taste, and garnish of your choice;chopped parsley or other herb, a grating of cheeseor croutons, etc.
* Beef, chicken or fish can be used instead of your favoritesausage.  If using already cooked meat, or leftover meat,add it at the end, just to heat through to avoid makingit tough by overcooking.


If you would like a printable copy of a basicvegetable soup that is very similar to mineyou can find it here.
These types of soup recipes are very versatile andare particularly helpful if you belong toa CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). You will likely will be presented with an assortment of vegetablesin your box.


Thank you for stopping by for a visit today ~Blessings to you and your loved ones.
xo ~m. 

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