Hello, Flower!

I hope you're feeling better. I had that cold last week. I made a white bean dish with ham and sour cream. But your spicy soup would be much more soothing for a cold.

A former neighbor, who was born in Italy but grew up in France, taught me about using kale, spinach or argula in bean dishes which are soups or stews. I remember peering into her large cooking pot one day, and asking her what in the world was floating around in her beans. She said, kale, and she offered me a bowl. It was the first time I ate kale. I was sold!

Another French person moved in next door. He was a shy person, but he took to dropping in for visits. One day I was cooking beans, country style pork ribs and kale--a hearty soup. He walked in the door, took a whiff of the cooking scent, and excitedly hurried over to the stove to have a peek. He lifted the lid of the pot, and backed away with tears in his eyes. I was flummoxed. I inquired as to why he was crying. He said, it is cooking just like my mother make (sic). I offered him a bowl. He sat down to eat, tasted the food, and began to tear up again. He told me it tasted just like his mother's cooking.

Years later I offered the same dish to another new neighbor, a Ukrainian woman. She declared that it was food just like from back home! She demanded to know how I knew how to cook Russian food?!

When I began working with the Ohlone Community Garden I took to growing kale and other greens. One of the other gardeners, of Italian descent, told me to try stir frying kale with chopped garlic. She said not to add a couple of tablespoons of liquid until the edges of the kale were beginning to crisp. She told me to serve the kale alongside, or on top of, pasta. I tried her recipe and liked that, too.

Lorna

I'll bet that this soup is delicious, and I am SO jealous that you can grow your own bay and rosemary! (way too cold here)

I went to the Azores once and the first meal I had there was a red bean soup that was fantastic. I was curious about the "greens" in the soup, so we questioned the waitress and were able to learn that it was kale. Thanks for reminding me about it -- I'll add kale to the grocery list. :)

The soup sounds delish, FlowerLady. I've made a copy for my mom and myself. Thanks!

Hope you feel better soon! I'm FINALLY getting over the rotten cold I've had for the past week+. Ugh!

Patti

Flower I hope this heals you quickly. We must be on the same wavelength as I made minstrone and put fresh spinach in it. I love your recipe and have c and p'd it to my file. The Dutch ( see my other thread with Steven) do a stamppot that is kale and sausage and mashed potatoes...you have to get past having green potatoes but the taste is out of this world. c

Thank you all for your well wishes. I feel like 'crapola', but will survive. I'm taking herbs, vitamins, eating ginger, using essential oils, resting, drinking herbal teas.

If any of you would share kale recipes here I would be pleased. I am trying to make more nutritious meals for DH and myself.

Lorna ~ Hope you are feeling better yourself. I loved your stories about your cooking adventures. How wonderful to make others remember their homelands. You are a treasure. I found some good sounding recipes for kale online this morning and look forward to trying them.

PartyMusic ~ That soup was delicious. Think we'll have some for lunch today since it is chilly out and I feel yukky. It is a real treat to be able to grow bay and rosemary. The bay I got as a tiny plant about 6" tall I don't know how many years ago. I enjoy picking fresh leaves and using them. The red bean soup with kale sounds good.

Pattioh ~ You and your Mom will love this. Glad you got over your cold too. I'll be ready for a nap after lunch.

Caroline ~ Do you have a recipe for the stamppot it sounds yummy.

I'm starting to get hungry talking about this soup again.

Have a nice day.

FlowerLady

Flower I am so sorry that you are feeling so "punky" it sounds as if you are doing all the right things though. The recipe for Stamppot is pretty easy. Cook 2-3# cleaned and chopped kale about 40 min til tender. Add 2-3# yellow potatoes about 1/2 way thru and finish all til tender , it will almost be dry in the pot. Add a good amount of butter and warm milk and salt and pepper and mash together. Does not have to be really smooth. Serve with a good kielbasa on the side. You can add the kielbasa to steam on the top of the dish toward the end of the cooking time of the pot. and kale if you wish. Use a thick enough pot so it doesn't stick. We love this dish on a cold day. c

Flower, I haven't really done much else with kale. Except that I often use it when I make vegetable juice. I have used kale as garnish for platters of raw vegetables. The vegetables look terrific arranged on a bed of kale, or colorful savoy, with a small glass bowl of dip in the middle.

Creamed kale would probably be good; using a recipe for creamed spinach but substituting some pre-cooked kale. For me, the sturdy sort of greens need some fat to make them tasty, like olive oil, cream or meat fat. The Dutch stamppot sounds good.

Lorna

Sorry I should have said that the initial cooking of the kale and then the potatoes is in salted water...enough to cook them but you want it mostly gone by the time they are done. Hope that makes more sense. c

I do hope you are feeling better soon. It sounds like you're doing all the right things. Get plenty of rest.

Cameron