Whiteley Creek Homestead

Dick bought me a 20-piece knife and block set for Christmas and am I loving it! I have not previously had the variety of knives that I have now, so I am learning to match each knife with their intended purpose. This chop 'n serve knife is thus far my all-time favorite. It allows me to chop, dice, slice, and mince in record time and the flat side of the knife scoops the veggies into the pot, pan, or skillet.

I made a pot of soup today using my knife to chop fresh kale harvested from a nearby farm and dice garlic cloves as well as the veggies shown on my handmade hickory slab chopping block. I normally use my mini food processor to slice carrots, but the knife works well for this purpose, too.

Kale Quinoa Black Bean Soup

So much goodness… from a free copy of Delicious Living Magazine that I picked up at a health food store this week. 

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

4 (4-inch) sprigs fresh rosemary (Instead I used 1 tsp dried basil, ½ tsp leaf oregano, and ½ tsp leaf marjoram.)

8 cups water (I used 4 cups chicken broth + 4 cups water, but you could sub veggie broth or carrot juice for the chicken broth.)

3 low-sodium vegetable bouillon cubes (I omitted.)

1 or 2 large carrots, sliced or chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 leek, diced (white and light green parts) I omitted.

1 potato, chopped (I used a sweet potato.)

1 – 2 large handfuls kale (about 10 ounces) Trim and discard center ribs, then stack leaves and chop into small pieces.

1/3 cup buckwheat groats (I subbed 1 cup organic red heirloom variety quinoa.)

1 can black beans, drained (My addition… nice. Adzuki beans, which are also called aduki beans, are another nutritious alternative.)

In soup pot, sauté onion in oil until it softens slightly and begins to turn translucent. Add garlic during the final two minutes.  Do not let garlic brown.  Add chicken broth and water to pot and heat until it begins to boil. Add remaining ingredients except beans, turn heat down to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I used Johnny’s seasoning salt and garlic pepper.)