Soup du jour

It is flipping cold in Maine in winter.  I knew it would be when we decided to move here 3 years ago, but still.  I'm cold.  What's the best thing for cold weather?  A warm fire and soup.

I love soup and it's a lot of fun to make because you can be so creative.  4 or 5 years ago,  I made soup most winter nights (mostly to serve it with bread), but our soup intake took a hit once we started eating a little better.  But now,  we're seasoned smart eaters and don't need to take down a loaf of bread at every sitting.

Tonight's soup is a nice, simple and rustic White Bean and Kale soup, with a twist.

Recipe:

The Stock- It can be fun to fortify the stock you buy at the store and it makes it much more delicious

4 cups of chicken stock (also could go vegetable stock)
4 cups of water
2 smoked ham hocks (omit for vegans/vegetarians)
6 peppercorns
2 bay leaves

In a large soup pot or dutch oven,  add ingredients above and let simmer for as long as you can.  Mine went 2 hours.  Remove hocks, pick meat from the bone and set aside.  Strain the broth into a large bowl and set aside.

The Soup

2 tbls olive oil
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 head of red cabbage (you can use green, but the purple gives great color)
2-14.5 oz cans of garbanzo beans
1 bunch of kale, cleaned, stripped and chopped into medium sized pieces

In the same pot you used for the stock,  heat the oil on a medium heat, then add carrots, celery, onion, garlic and cabbage.  Let them cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies just start to brown.  Don't burn your garlic!  Add the broth/stock and meat and bring to a boil.  Immediately lower temp to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Add beans and kale and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread, unless you're having me over for dinner.  I'll eat the whole dang thing.