It's fre-e-e-e-zing! Time for Soup!

When the temperatures stay under freezing point for more than 24 hours, the only time you are really warm is  under the comforter(s) or in the steamroom. So today, looking at the snow and the wind which kept blowing the snow from the branches, I felt the need for a hot and satisfying soup I could eat by the spoonfuls. Not being one to follow recipes (except for baking), when I can I try to cook with my senses and desires. This time I knew I wanted to chew (pureed soups are great as an appetizer but they leave me hungry on their own), see multiple colors, smell a bit of the Mediterranean, and feel nutrition going to my cells to keep them warm and happy. A quick mental inventory of the kitchen led me to this luscious and wonderful soup which satisfied all the above...

CHICKPEA & KALE SOUP

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
dash of turmeric
dash of curry
2 roma tomatoes, chopped in small cubes or 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes
1 can cooked chickpeas, rinsed well
3 cups of water or stock
4 cups of kale, chopped
salt, pepper

To finish: Good olive oil, crusty bread, cayenne

Drizzle the oil or butter (I used rice bran oil because it is light and doesn't have flavor) in the soup pot over medium heat and when warm, add the onion, saute until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for about 20-30 seconds, add the tomatoes, curry and turmeric. Stir and cover until it comes to boil. Add the chickpeas, salt, pepper, and water or stock. Let it come to boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes (this depends on how mushy you want your tomatoes to be, I like mine still visible and intact so I simmer only about 5 minutes). Add the kale, stir, and turn off the heat (I like my kale vibrant and slightly wilted as opposed to very soft, you can cook for another couple of minutes if you like but the color will fade a bit.) Serve in bowls drizzled with a good amount of fruity, pungent olive oil (I use Trader Joe's Sicilian Olive Oil) - this is a very important step that gives the soup a wonderful aroma and compliments the flavors of the soup, so please don't skip it. I sprinkle my soup with a dash of cayenne but you can leave it out for those who don't want the heat. Ideal accompaniment would be crusty bread toasted until crisp, and rubbed with garlic. Yum!

Update: This soup was exactly what my senses desired, so I had a second bowl and had a very happy afternoon :-)