Disaster Soup with Kale & Mushrooms

I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am that’s Friday!

This has felt like the longest week ever. Part of it is that I’m just “not a research person” and can’t handle sitting behind a desk all day next to a space heater. Part of it was the weather. Oh, and part of it was being the first person “ever” to blow a fuse in the bionutrition lab trying to plug in said space heater, thus rendering the entire computer system dead! Clearly, I am awesome. And by “awesome,” I mean, “a disaster in the lab setting.”

Needless to say, in addition to a lot of therapeutic apartment-cleaning, I was in need of some serious comfort food—aka soup. This creation (loosely inspired by this recipe) came together really quickly and allowed me to use up a bunch of stuff I had in the fridge and cupboard.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1.5 cups mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas)
• 1 bunch of kale, chopped
• 4 cups water or broth
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 can gigante beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup red wine (optional)
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, minced or dried
• salt & pepper
• turkey bacon (optional, but good if you have a some leftover to get rid of)
• pecorino cheese, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, mushrooms and rosemary.  Cook stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have cooked down but not become soggy (~5 minutes).
2. Deglaze the pan with wine, stirring to get any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add tomatoes, beans and broth. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
3. Add kale and simmer for 5 or so more minutes.
4. Garnish with crumbled turkey bacon and pecorino cheese. Serve with crusty bread.

Do you have any favorite cold-weather foods?