Soup what nourishes the soul

Or is just plain tasty.

Ah, my gentle readers, I'm such a negligent writer. I don't blame you if you seek comfort in the blog of another. But know that I am always thinking of you.

This soup was what happened when I went shopping for Italian chicken sausage at the Korean market. I ended up with chicken thigh.

For the soup, I slowly cooked half a large onion in a decent pat of butter. I cut two chicken thighs into bite size pieces and coated them in flour laced with salt and pepper. I added that to the pot, and cut my two red potatoes into chunks. Before adding the potatoes I deglazed the fond (the bits of flour and fat that had carmelized on the bottom of the pot) with a splash of cream sherry which I had looted from my former roommate's liquor supplies (Thanks Ellen!). The potatoes went in and I simmered it with enough chicken stock to cover until they were soft. I had already cleaned and stemmed perhaps half a bunch of kale. I tore it into bite size pieces as I threw it into the pot. This is perhaps the tastiest soup I have ever made. The perfect thing after tromping about in the rain.

The Boyfriend and I ended up finishing it off that night, so I'm planning on making another pot of it tonight. I often have problems making the same dish from scratch two nights in a row, but you have to understand how delicious this soup is. I recommend it to people who have the ingredients and enjoy delicious things.

That's the long and the short of it for this post, my gentle readers. I hope you have some delicious soup after your own trudgings through autumn.

Soup, soup, soup, soup

I love soup. When I am sick, I want nothing else (except maybe some lemony, honeyed tea, but never soup and tea together).



This was a variation on a Cream, Kale, and Chicken Sausage soup. It was supposed to be Tomato, Kale and Chicken Sausage soup. But you see that distinct lack of green in those handsome soup bowls? That was my forgetting about the kale part.

To make this soup, you cut some red potatoes into slices, and you fry them with thin slices of onion and garlic until just about tender. Then, you squeeze some chicken sausages out of their casings and into little balls. Then you fry them up. Toss in a bay leaf. Then you add about four cups of chicken broth, and a can of diced tomatoes. If I had been paying attention, I would have added some kale at the very end (carefully removing the leaves from the stringy stems and tearing them into very small pieces). Add a little black pepper, and some bread and you've got a delightful meal. Don't forget to fish the bay leaf out.

Since that makes a pretty big pot of soup, I added some kale to it this morning and ate it for breakfast with the last of a multi grain baguette. Who can argue against its goodness?

I know some people who are displeased with having potatoes in with the vegetables, and then having bread on the side. A double starch combination that seems unhealthy. To those, I acknowledge their correct nutritional analysis. I also remember that need a textural counterpoint against brothy soup, something dry to keep the submerged foods from becoming monotonous.

In any event, soup is delicious.