MORE FOOD TO "TALK OVER"

Summertime may seem like a strange time to be making soup with root vegetables.  However, this one is such a great "medium" for kale, one of those "deep green" greens I like to get lots of,  that I've done it anyway.  The soup's name, not surprisingly, is Sweet Potato and Kale Soup.

The recipe follows:

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 onion, chopped (about 1 c.)

1 c. chopped carrot

1 t. finely chopped garlic

8 c. vegetable stock

5 c. or so of chopped kale (de-stemmed)

freshly ground pepper

sea salt (optional)

hot pepper sauce (to taste)

1.  Put the first five ingredients into a large soup pot (one that will hold the kale, too), bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the root vegetables are cooked, around 20 minutes.  Puree the contents in a blender and return to the broth.   

2.  Cut up the kale.  (To do this, I used a 4mm blade on the blender.)  Combine with the rest of the soup, return to a boil, cover and simmer to the desired degree of tenderness.