Hearty Kale & Mushroom Soup

I hate being sick, even if it is just a sore throat.  A sore throat means I can't thoroughly enjoy the food I usually eat, which puts me in a crappy mood :-/

Whenever I start to feel remotely ill I get to the market ASAP and throw a ton of veggies in my basket.  I get home, start choppin', and pretty much just come up with some kind of hearty veggie concoction.

Last week's concoction consisted of the following:

1 bunch Kale

1 package Shiitake mushrooms

3 carrots chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

2 small golden potatoes

1/4 red onion diced (chop more if desired)

2 Roma tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 garlic cloves thinly chopped 

Juice of 2 1/2 limes

Himalayan pink salt to taste 

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Step 1 - Grab a fairly large pot throw in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté mushrooms with diced garlic cloves.  After about 5 minutes throw in the celery and carrots and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

Step 2 - Throw in chopped kale to the pan of sautéed veggies.  When it is wilted after a few minutes I put in about 3 1/2 cups of water (add more or less to your liking).

Step 3 - Add some Knorr Chicken Bouillon, about 1 tablespoon (again, more or less to your liking).  I also added some salt free Fresh & Easy herb and spice mix, about two teaspoons (Mrs. Dash would work as well, and ground ginger.

Step 4 - I added the diced gold potatoes just a few minutes after I added all the seasonings.  I should have sautéed them along with the other veggies, but I was just going with the flow and forgot that I had potatoes.

Step 5 - Let soup simmer for about 15 minutes or so, until potatoes are soft.  While you are waiting on the soup to simmer, you can start on the aji (which is a similar to a pico de gallo, except I married a Colombian and they call it aji).

Instructions for Aji

Dice tomatoes, red onion, chile

Chop cilantro

Juice the limes and mix all together

 Add salt to taste

Step 6 - Serve a bowl and add as much aji as your heart desires (but don't hog it all! ;-) ... Enjoy!!

Yum!!