Spoonman!

So I have been a slacker lately, having not contributed to the blog.  The other week we had winter in Florida.  That's right..the other week.  Not a couple weeks, not even a month.  Just a week.  More like a few days, really.  Anyway, it was long enough to justify making hearty meals, like homemade soups.  And, as luck would have it, the Fine Cooking we had just received contained a number of homemade soups - specifically tomato soups.  
Shelby decided to take charge of the soups and became a soup-making machine.  She started first with the traditional classic tomato (of which I never got a taste!) but then moved on to heartier soups like Southwestern tomato and leek and tomato soup.  After awhile (homemade soup lasts a surprisingly long time) we had to move onto something else - like kale!
Kale's been in season lately and although it usually has a fairly bitter taste, when boiled into soup it becomes surprisingly sweet and rich.  Made with pork or sausage and other vegetables, it provides a very hearty, heartwarming meal for those cold nights in the dead of winter (especially Florida's winter...).  


P.S. Vanilla update - it's definitely looking like vanilla extract.  One more week until taste test!