Winter vegetable Soup

Snowy, blustery, cold winter day. Can you guess what's cooking at my house? Right! SOUP! My friend/teacher/mentor, artist extraordinaire AND excellent cook, Elly Hobgood ( check out her amazing watercolor paintings here www.ellyhobgood.com) shared this recipe after she witnessed our bumper crop of butternut squash. It is yuuuuuummmy good! Also, unlike lots of soups, it is quick and easy to make! AND it's low calorie! Win! Win! Win!


Elly's Winter Vegetable Soup

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 2 to 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced 1/2-inch
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
 pinch of cayenne pepper
4 generous sprigs fresh thyme (remove stems before serving) or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (14 ounce)  can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups packed chopped kale
1can chick peas (or cannellini beans) rinsed and drained
Parmesan cheese, optional

Sauté onion, carrot and garlic in oil in large Dutch oven. Add squash, allspice, salt, pepper thyme, broth and tomatoes. Simmer until squash starts to soften. About 20 minutes. Add kale and beans. Cook another 10 minutes until kale has wilted.  Adjust seasonings.

Sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan when serving, but even without that it's quite hearty.