Autumn Sweet Potato - Kale Soup

Sweet Potato - Kale Soup

As chilly nights descend, we delight in the warmth and full-bodied flavors of simple fall soups. This sweet potato kale soup in a coconut milk base is delicious fresh and hot. Later, when the flavors have had time to sit and blend, I enjoy it warmed from the refrigerator to room temperature.

Although I have yet to fully swear off the microwave--I still munch on microwave-popped popcorn--I no longer use it to reheat food. When I travel to work, I like to take a single-serving dish of food that I can eat without taking the time or trouble to reheat on a stove top. That's how I discovered just how delicious this soup is after a few hours out of the refrigerator.

The sweet potatoes in this particular soup were not from our garden; however, with the pan roasting, rich spices and milky soup base, their flavor was quite pleasing.

 Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes 
• 1 medium onion
• 6 cups kale, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4 cans water

Include ample spices, amounts are estimates:

• tumeric -- 1-2 Tbsp.
• black pepper -- 1/2 tsp.
• garam masala -- 2 - 3 tsp.
• ginger -- fresh, minced -- 1 - 2 tsp.
• parsley -- dried, small palm-full crumbled in
• oregano -- dried, small palm-full, crumbled in

Directions:
Melt coconut oil in heavy pot. Add onion, sweet potato, and kale; lightly saute until vegetables brighten with the heat. Add garlic, stir. Add coconut milk and water, then spices. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Do not simmer or boil.

Serve with fresh baked bread for a filling treat.

Refrigerate leftovers after cooling.

Enjoy!

Coconut Kale Morning Smoothie

Morning smoothie, garnished with pumpkin blossoms.

This morning we started out the day with a refreshing Coconut Kale smoothie.

The first order of business was opening the coconut. Working over a large bowl, we sawed at the coconut's seam until we could easily press a knife tip into the coconut flesh. After emptying the coconut water into the bowl, and subsequently pouring it into our Blendtec blender, we got lazy and took the mostly-unsealed nut outside and dropped it onto the driveway. It separated nicely and the hull even broke away from the meat on one side.

Into the blender we added the following:

•  a large chunk of rinsed meat 
•  two kale leaves, a handful of parsley from the garden
•  a tablespoon of raw organic maca root powder
•  a scoop of Action Whey
•  a handful of chia seeds
•  a tomato from the garden
•  a few snips from a hot red pepper
•  less than a cup of fresh kefir
•  and a tray of ice cubes

Lesson: do not put a large chunk of coconut meat at the bottom of a pile to be blended. The meat kept the other ingredients from circulating until it had been fully blended into milk. Once that occurred, the rest of the blending process went quickly.

The result was delicious! The rich, creamy, coconut-flavored drink gave a delightful start to this destined-to-be-glorious day.