Foodie Friday : roasted squash, kale & bean soup

Curious as to what WESTies are making outside the craft room? Let's step into Caitlin (Real Swanky)'s tiny, wood-paneled kitchen today..

As the weather slowly gets more and more lame, I'm taking a short hiatus from my usual overnight oats & cold Tofurkey sandwiches, and am utilizing that great big, stainless steel pot that's been in this dapper house long before I came along. I really wanted to make something with roasted vegetables and kale. Roasting a whole bulb of garlic with the squash is probably the best thing you'll do this week. Thanks to the roasted vegetables and garlic, there's a sweetness to this soup, so going easy on the salt shaker isn't a bad idea. You'll probably need a cute set of shakers anyhow, so I'd scoop up Lisa's Dachshund shakers, if I were you!

Serves 8

Ingredients I

2 butternut squash, cubed

1 small bag baby carrots (or 2 cups), chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 head of garlic

Olive oil for drizzling

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients II

1 - 14oz can of diced tomatoes

10 cups of water or vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

Ingredients III

1 - 14oz can of white kidney beans, thoroughly rinsed

1 bunch kale, chopped into bite size pieces

Method

Place your chopped batch of Ingredients I on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil and seasonings. Bake at 425F for 40 minutes, stirring about half way through.

Remove garlic from bulb. For more on roasting your own garlic, head here.

Toward the tail end of roasting, put all of Ingredients II -except the bay leaf- in a large pot, and blend with your handheld immersion blender*. Then, bring to a boil. Don't season this just yet - your roasted vegetables will add all sorts of flavour once added to your broth. Right, now add your bay leaf.

*Fun side note - it took me a few years of cooking to realize I can blend things on the stove in my cutoffs without getting burn marks permanent stories if I'd just blend things before turning on the stove.

Add your roasted vegetables to your new broth. Then, add in all of Ingredients III. Continue to boil for ten minutes, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes (or until your kale and beans are soft enough for you)

Now that your soup is done, give'r a taste a see if you'd need to add any seasonings! By now, the flavours have started blending nicely together. It's just up and up from here.

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Digging these posts?
Caitlin blogs adaptable, vegan recipes
at TheHardcoreHerbivore.com

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