Recipe of the day ....

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Lentil and Sausage Soup with Kale (with my modifications)  ..


1  tablespoon olive oil, plus more for browning the sausages


1  tablespoon bacon fat (shudder - um, no) (or add another tablespoon of olive oil)


1  cup chopped carrots


3/4  cups chopped celery


1 medium onion, chopped


3 cloves garlic, chopped


Salt (I usually skip the salt unless the soup is completely blah without it. Try pepper first)


1 1/2  cup french green lentils, rinsed


28  ounces canned chopped tomatoes (you can use tetra-pack or do what I do and use a food processor to chop fresh organic tomatoes because I don't like to use packaged food when I can have fresh)


2  sprigs thyme (or dried)


1  sprig rosemary (or dried)


4 chicken sausages (or substitute another kind of sausage or fried tofu or a handful of chopped nuts on top of the soup after it's put in the bowl)


1 1/2  cup chopped kale (I never measure kale - I just use the biggest bunch of fresh organic kale or broccoli I can get my hands on)


Heat the olive oil and bacon fat over medium heat in a large, heavy pot and add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Add a big pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.


Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and 4 cups water. Add the thyme and rosemary and a couple more pinches of salt (or skip the salt) . Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.


Cook until the lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary to cover the vegetables.


Meanwhile brown the sausages or tofu in about a teaspoon of olive oil in a small pan and then slice them into quarter moons.


When the lentils are just tender, taste the soup and add more salt if necessary. Add the kale and cook for about 3 minutes, until the kale is tender but still green.


Stir in the sausage, make sure everything is heated through, and serve.


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