Soup for Sally: Four-Bean and Kale

I love my slow-cooker. I love that I found it at a garage sale along with my pocket knife, tea pot, and lazy Susan that inspired Will to make me an amazing rotating Scrabble board. I love that it is huge and that one batch of soup made in it produces about 3 quart-sized containers. But what I really love is the whole idea of a slow-cooker: Throw a bunch of delicious things into it, put on high for a couple hours, and return home from a long day to a house that smells of pure delicious. My slow-cooker saves me money by allowing me to use dried beans in soups instead of canned - just soak them overnight (or cover with water, bring to a boil, then kill the heat and wait an hour). The flavors of the food are better - more beany goodness! - and nothing falls apart because there's hardly any agitation during the cooking process.

As a result of the "throw everything in and wait for the yum to happen" mentality, I hardly ever make the same soup twice (or most other foods, for that matter!). The beans are always a mixture of whatever I have on hand - chickpeas, red beans, black beans, kidney beans, maybe lentils - while the vegetables always include the staples - onions, carrots/celery, garlic - with whatever needs to be used up. I've learned from experience that it's best to keep it simple where spices and herbs are concerned. Bay leaves are a must, as is cumin for most of my bean soups, while dried oregano or thyme go well in tomato-based soups. Salt and pepper are usually best saved until the end, along with vinegars or lemon juice, since they'll toughen the beans' skins.

This bean soup combined all the different beans I had with what was left in my bare storage room - some onions, garlic, a big can of tomatoes. I put in close to a cup of nutritional yeast to act as a thickener - that extra vitamin B-12 won't hurt ya either - and used a dash of vinegar at the end. The final addition, after the soup was basically done, was 2-3 cups of kale that I had blanched and frozen this summer. The result was a delicious soup packed with healthy vitamins and minerals for mama and the baby :)

Slow-Cooker Bean Soup with Kale

1 1/2 cups dried beans (any mixture will do)

Soak the beans overnight - make sure they are covered by about two inches of water, since they will expand. Alternatively, cover them with at least two inches of water and bring them to a boil, then take them off the heat and let rest for at least one hour.

Drain and rinse the beans and empty into the slow-cooker. Add:

1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
4-6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 jalapeno peppers, minced (more to taste, the heat develops as the soup ages)
2 bay leaves
1 28 oz can of diced/crushed tomatoes
1/2-1 cup nutritional yeast
enough water to cover everything

Set the slow-cooker on High and let it work its magic until the beans are cooked through (I left mine on while I was at work, so 8 hours, but it could go even longer). Once the beans are cooked, add:

2-3 cups (as much will fit) blanched kale or collard greens
more nutritional yeast if needed
salt and pepper to taste
balsamic or sherry vinegar to taste

Turn the slow-cooker off or to Low and wait until the kale or collards are tender enough to eat. Taste again for seasoning and serve hot.