walking in the woods and soup

There's nothing like going for a hike in the woods and then coming home to a steaming bowl of soup.

Our weather has been so beautiful lately. Clear blue skies. More and more signs of autumn. Colors. Smells. Sounds. Crunchy leaves underfoot.

Soup is such a perfect autumn food. You make a big pot of it and can eat for days, having plenty of time for adventuring. Most of the time I like to throw soup together without using much of a recipe, but there is one soup whose recipe I like to follow because it's such a good combination of ingredients. When I created it, I had something very specific in mind, but I couldn't find a recipe that I really liked, so I made my own. It's Matthias' favorite soup and I don't make it very often because it takes a lot of ingredients and a bit of time, but it's very worth it. It's tasty and healthy and a perfect post-hike meal.

Autumn Colors Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 (or more) cloves minced garlic
1/4-1/2 crushed red pepper flakes
2 medium potatoes, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 cups broth (I used chicken)
2 cups cooked cannellini beans (I used dried, but canned work fine, too)
1 bunch kale, stemmed and shredded or 1 packaged pre-chopped kale (prepackaged saves a lot of time)
12 oz. turkey keilbasa (or your favorite sausage)
1 large can of tomatoes (with juice) or equivalent chopped fresh tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion till soft, stirring, about 2-3 minutes
• Add garlic and red pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute
• Add potatoes and carrots, stir and then add broth
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender
• Puree soup (broth, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic) with a hand blender (or use a blender)
• Add tomatoes and kale to the pureed soup. Simmer about 10 minutes
• Add beans and sausage and simmer about 5 more minutes, until beans and sausage are hot and kale is completely wilted
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Serve with crusty bread

This soup is even better the next day and it freezes well. Even after being re-heated the kale still has a bit of crunch.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!