Soup weather

Let me preface this by saying that I understand the value of rain.  I understand we are in a semi drought and that there are many ecological benefits of weather change.  Still I am not a rain person.  I dislike how it keeps you inside, make people drive like 2 year olds, gets in the way of my current backyard project, gets things dirty and muddy, often bring with it good ole windstorms and flooding, makes it so I cant wear my cutest shoes, etc. 

Rain makes me want soup.  I have always liked soup and each season brought with them a different soup that I would make over and over again, each time a bit different depending on what I was wanting or had in my fridge at the time.  Today, it was kale, corn, and ground turkey soup made with a base of ham hock for stock.  I always add some red peper flakes because life is always better with a dash of spice.  Here is the quick recipe--I always forget to measure or take in between pictures!

You need:
- kale, chopped and cleaned
-carrots and celery for starting the base broth, diced
-2 small ham hocks (I've also used leftover ham bits)
-1.5- 2 cups of uncooked lean ground turkey
-1-1.5 cups frozen corn
-red pepper flakes
-S&P
-korean beef broth seasoning

This is so easy even a beginner can do this.  The trick is not to rush any of the stages.  Start by cooking the carrots and celery with a bit of oil at the bottom of a large pot.  I know this is only 2 of the 3 trinity in cooking but I left onions out since I dont really like to cut it.  Cook slightly until a bit softened.  Brown hocks for several minutes on each side.  You dont want to really cook either of these steps thoroughly at this point as you will be cooking this soup for about an hour or more.  Add ground turkey and cook partially.  Add 6-8 cups water and bring to boil.  I let it boil for about 45 minutes before I add the kale.  Add corn at the very end along with the pepper flakes to taste.  I love korean da-shi-da for my magic ingredient for many of my dishes so its a staple in my kitchen.   You want a savory flavor here so use it!  

I didnt add potatoes in mine this time because I knew I wanted to freeze the majority of the soup for reheating later.  Potatoes get funky for me as reheated ingredients so I wouldnt do it.  If you are planning to feed an entire family and not planning for lefties (leftovers), go ahead and toss them taters in--probably before the kale.  I have also made this soup in the past with collard greens and white beans....it went over very well too. 

The first picture is what the soup from today looked like.  As you can see, the colors give a nice presentation to the soup, even when shown in cheap plastic tupperware container.  You will be satisfied with the soup as a meal but it can also pair nicely with some toast or rolls.  The second one is the collard green version.  I wanted to use black eyed peas so that it would be like a twist on collard greens and BEP side dishes that usually is eaten in the south, but I didnt find any at Albies (Albertsons). 

Stay warm my pretties! xx