Easing into Autumn

As we passed the autumn equinox on Sept 21, we entered new produce time at our farmers markets. Gone are the Himalayan high piles of hot weather crops like eggplant and cucumbers, replaced by piles of various kale and bitter greens, mounds of orange squash and baskets of garlic, onions and leeks. So it's time to ease into cooler temperatures without blowing your winter wad of squashes and root vegetables. You don't want to be already sick of them by October, do you?

Stick to cool weather greens for now. Your body can use their super nutritional boost as it prepares for the winter slowdown. And if you cook them now, your freezer can save them for you to enjoy in February. Greens in February!

Here is a simple, tasty, surprisingly hearty and very nutritious way to do that: Kale and Lentil Soup. It uses much of what's most available just now: garlic, onion, carrots, and nicely answers the question I am so often asked: what do I do with kale? It's a very inexpensive pot luck contribution that will warm up a cool evening party. Plus it takes less than an hour to make, start to slurp.

Serves 4 hearty portions or 6 smaller ones

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp celery seeds or 1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves (available now at markets)
1 med onion, diced
3 whole cloves
2 med carrots, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2 lg garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup lentils, washed
pinch of cinnamon
4 cups vegetable broth (if it doesn't contain tomato, add 1 small roma tomato diced)
2 cups water
1 cup loosely packed chopped kale, no stems (I just now used 4 large leaves of Tuscan kale)
1-2 tsp salt (to your taste)
1/3 cup Ditalini pasta or very small macaroni
juice of 1/2 lg lemon
 a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, chopped for garnish

Heat olive oil over medium flame in a large saucepan, casserole or small soup pot.
Add spices including celery and sauté 1 minute to flavor the oil.
Add onions and sauté 2-3 minutes until they are soft. Add cloves, carrots and garlic.
Sauté 3-5 minutes to soften.
Add lentils and cinnamon and stir to blend.
Add broth, water and then the kale.
Bring the soup to a boil over higher heat, reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot and cook 25-30 minutes.
Add salt, pasta and lemon juice. Add 1 cup of water if the soup looks too thick. Stir to blend. Cover and cook 15 minutes.
That's it!  Ladle into bowls and garnish with a pinch of the chopped parsley to serve.

Serve for lunch with a simple green salad that has some cheese in it or with a cucumber salad.
To turn this into a mighty vegetarian meal, serve with a slice of tomato or green tomato pie. Or serve with a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.  If you are not vegetarian, you can add sausage to the soup, or you can serve it before the meat course.