Kitchen: Kale and White Bean Soup

Kale and White Bean Soup...good on a chilly day! recipe below

What I love about making soups and stews is that although there may be general guidelines, it's fairly hard to make a "bad" soup.  What you have on hand, and what you like a lot of or less of, probably won't ruin your soup.  I am not so crazy about carrots...raw--they taste like poison to me!  I can only tolerate them if they are cooked to the point of being able to mash them like a potato.  I am very fond of celery, and onions are alright, too. 
                                                        Mirepoix

• onions (or leeks)
• carrots
• celery

Mirepoix is the French term for this combination of vegetables.  Usually these are cooked and then the solids are strained and the resulting liquid is used as a stock.  However, since these three items are also the base for many recipes...why not make a large soup pot of this mixture and freeze it in meal sized portions to prepare a nutritious soup in a heartbeat?  You are controlling the salts, sugars, and other ingredients used so commonly in most canned soups available.  You can save money by tossing leftovers into your freezer until you have enough "tidbits" to throw a soup together or you can just save steps by keeping the mirepoix ready to go.  There are no hard and fast rules to this.  If you like your veggies on the small side, cut them small...if you prefer chunkier bits..cut them larger.  Try to cut the pieces about the same size so they will cook evenly, though.  The trick is to gauge how long to cook, and then cooling the mixture rapidly to prevent over-done veggies.  With a little practice, you will find your magic numbers.  I usually begin with a large stock pot, and heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in the pan...to which I add the onions (or leeks) and slightly brown.  Then the carrots and celery go in for a quick stir, until they are ever so slightly browned.  We are looking for a little boost in flavor, and I think this does a good job of it.  Have at the ready some warm broth or plain water...and if you don't feel like warming it first...don't.  It just lets you control the "done-ness" of the veggies a little more if you are adding the cooking liquid already warmed.  (Be prepared for splattering and steam.)  Test the veggies frequently with a fork...you don't want it to be all the way cooked...'cause then you will certainly have mush.  When the pieces are just barely starting to cook, turn off the stove and remove from heat.  If you are able, set the pan in an ice bath to quickly lower the temperature and stop the cooking.  When cool, ladle the mirepoix mixture into freezer safe containers or even plastic freezer bags.  The freezer bags may be laid out on a baking sheet to keep it flat...once frozen the bags can easily be stacked.  Label the contents and date it.  Then when the mood strikes, you can pull it out and add some rice or noodles or potatoes, or what have you.  The other day, I had some leftover brown rice and  leftover chicken in the freezer, along with the soup mix...didn't take very long before we had some lovely chicken rice soup.  We could also have chosen to use noodles or potatoes instead.  Designate a special plastic container or large plastic bag to place the smaller bits you are saving for soups so they won't get lost in the freezer.  Make sure you note whether you used onions or leeks, as some recipes work better than others with each choice, and if you used broth or water.

  Kale and White Bean Soup

• 1/2 pound pork roast or boneless country style pork ribs.  Remove as much of the fat as possible, and discard.  Cut meat into small cubes.  
• season meat with celery seed, dry mustard (powder), OR whole mustard seed), onion powder and garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Place a little olive oil in the soup pot to heat, add the small cubes of meat and stir while browning, being careful not to burn. If you do find it starts to burn, add a little water and lower the temperature. Since this is pork, I usually cook the meat through before proceeding.  Add the seasonings...start out with 1/4 tsp of celery seed and 1/2 tsp of dry mustard powder, onion powder, and garlic powder...I use a little more, but you have to season to taste. You can add salt and pepper to the meat if you wish or if you are eliminating salt--leave it out altogether.  Cover the meat with water and simmer for at least half an hour to make a seasoned "pork" stock, but don't throw out the meat!  Add the vegetables, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, sliced
• (OR--1 package of mirepoix (onions, carrot and celery cooked in water) from the freezer--place in pot with a little water and heat 'til thawed.)
• 1 medium bunch of kale, de-ribbed and cut or torn in small pieces
•  1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (I use precooked organic Great Northern beans.)

I prefer to wash the kale and remove the leafy part from the stalk/stem and then tear into pieces...although you could remove the stem and roll the leaf and slice through chiffonade style.
If you already have leftover pork roast, the soup will take only as long as it takes to get the kale into the pot and cook.  When the kale is done, serve with Arizona Cheese Curds in the soup and vegetable crackers!

I keep the leek based mirepoix on the ready for quick  
        Potato Leek with Cheese Soup.

• 1 package of leek based mirepoix
• 6 medium potatoes, cubed or roughly chopped
• water to cover and an inch above that
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn (peas if you like, too)
• celery seed and dried parsley to taste
• 2-4 TB already cooked bacon bits

Cook until potatoes are done, but not mushy.

• 1/2 to 1 cup of milk

bring to boil and thicken

• thicken with cornstarch, or other thickening agents according to the package.

This also tastes really good with the Arizona Cheddar Cheese Curds...which are white, not yellow.

The mirepoix can be added to 

• rice
• stir-fried noodles
• black-eyed peas
• lentil or pea soup
• stews
• ground beef and mushrooms
• black beans and red rice with sausage

Use your imagination!!