White Bean Soup with Kale

YES MORE SOUP. Stop complaining and eat your dinner! No laughing at the dinner table!

Ahem. In the interests of transferring the recipes we use most often to this blog, here is what I daresay is Our Favorite Soup. It is infinitely variable to use up whatever mountain of obscure CSA vegetables you may or may not have on hand, and always delicious no matter what you put in it. I present to you:

White Bean Soup with Kale
adapted from allrecipes.com

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
• 8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 large fennel, chopped (optional)
• 1 or 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cups chopped raw kale (can use spinach, swiss chard, collards -- any green)
• 4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or navy, undrained (or 1 cup dried white beans, cooked)
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped (or 1/2 to 1 large can tomatoes)
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning (or just whatever herbs in the oregano/basil/marjoram family you feel like eating)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped parsley (I only put this in once in a while)

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add fennel, garlic and onion; saute until soft. 
2. Add carrot, bell pepper, saute until soft. 
3. Add kale and saute, stirring, until soft.
4. Add broth, tomato, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes, or until you think greens are cooked through and tender enough. 
5. Add cooked white beans, simmer 10 minutes, until flavors are melded and that tomato scummy sign of a finished soup rises to the top. 
6. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, mix it all together.  
7. Eat! Or wait until the next day, when it gets even better.