Red Potato & Sausage Soup

Fall is here and it has brought with it, the rain and wind. The light in the evening sky gets dimmer with each passing day and what seems to be on everyone's mind is should they or shouldn't they get a flu shot, when does daylight savings time begin and what's for dinner?

Remember when you were a child and you were gone all day, how it felt when you finally came home in the late afternoon and the house was warm with the savory smell of dinner cooking? That creature comfort repeats itself in my mind every time the Fall clock strikes five o'clock and I am making my way home from the office. Usually it is dinner waiting at home for me to make, but if you put forth a little effort on the weekend, you can have leftovers that welcome you and your family home during the week.

I first made this soup last Fall. I used to wait at my front door for my biweekly delivery of organic fruits and vegetables brought to me by one of my favorite organic distributers, Dandelion Organic (visit them at http://www.dandelionorganic.com/). Dandelion Organic delivers organically grown fruits and vegetables produced by growers that live in Whatcom County and the surrounding area to people in the community who sign up for their service. One day, they had left for me in my blue bin, organic kale amongst other seasonal fruits and vegetables. Kale used to be that 'green stuff' that I ignored at the market because I had no idea what it was or how to use it. There are two reasons that I like Dandelion Organic. One, they gave me something that I had to research in order to use which is the attraction for me with cooking. Two, their service. Remember when we had all that cold, snowy weather last Winter and the supermarkets were bare because the trucking companies failed to make deliveries? Through a winter wonderland, I made my way home, and similarly to the smell of dinner cooking in the oven when you come home after a long day, there, on my front porch was an entire bin of organically grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables delivered especially to me when all the produce markets were bare. Now that is service! So, go right now and get your kale. Your dinner awaits you!

Red Potato & Sausage Soup

1 lb Ground Sausage
1 t Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Diced Red Onion
3 T Uncooked Bacon, Diced
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
10 C. Chicken Broth OR 10 C. Water mixed with Chicken Bouillon mix
8 -10 Baby Red Potatoes, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
3/4 C. Milk or Cream
1/4 Bunch Kale, Chiffonade
Salt & Pepper

In a dutch oven, add sausage and red pepper flakes and cook on medium, stirring often, until sausage is cooked through. Remove from dutch oven onto plate covered with a paper towel. Using dutch oven, saute together the red onion, bacon and minced garlic. I usually add the minced garlic toward the end of the saute because if you overcook it, your soup will taste bitter. Add chicken broth and potatoes and cook until potatoes are cooked through. Add milk and sausage mixture to soup and stir slowly. Add kale to soup and stir until moist. Serve with a loaf of Tuscan or other crusty bread. Serves 6 to 8 people.