Easy Vegetable Soup with Kale

I have officially become a soup snob. I didn't know this would happen when I started making all of my soups from scratch, but it did. And I'm glad.

I'm the kid that was raised on canned soup. Every day when I came home from kindergarten, my mother would have tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for me. Sometimes it was chicken noodle, or maybe bean with bacon, but the soup always came out of that familiar red and white can.

This was many decades ago, and I raised my own children on canned soup. I never had the time or the interest to make my own from scratch, and why bother when it was so easy to open up a can?

But then I started making my own soup. It might sound immodest, but I don't care when I say my soup tastes so much better than anything I ever ate that came out of a can.

I think it starts with the intention of making something delicious in my soup pot, with the olive oil, and the onions that seem to be the basis of most soups. It's homey, and it's comforting to know that with all the uncertainties out there in the world, I have made something that feels safe, feels reassuring.

That might be a lot to say about a pot of soup, but for me, it's true. And this easy vegetable soup with kale is just the soup I needed to make during the cols spell we have had the last few days.

Feel free to change the veggies up if you don't have all of them on hand. I do love adding kale to as many soups as I can because I like it and it's so good for you. Vegetable soup is one of my favorite soups to make, and this recipe is easy.

On a cold day, for me, there's nothing better than a hot bowl of soup. It's one of the small pleasures in  life that are important. And small pleasures make for a happy life.


Recipe for Easy Vegetable Soup with Kale

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups chicken stock
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 bundle kale, chopped
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery, carrots, garlic and salt. Stir occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.
Add stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, and bring back to a boil for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, kale, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Makes 6 servings.