Dark Days #2: Portuguese Sausage and Kale Soup (my take on it, anyway)

For my second Dark Days Challenge meal (make on meal a week 12/01/2010- 4/15/2011 that is sustainable, organic, local, ethical) I made my take on Portuguese Sausage and Kale Soup. I have a feeling there will be many soups made in this challenge. It is just so easy for me to use my frozen garden vegetables in this way.

All summer I save the trimmings from all of my fresh vegetable in the freezer. A few weeks ago I made vegetable stoth (technically not a stock but a lot more body than a broth) and froze it. So this was the base for my Kale soup.

Portuguese Sausage Kale Soup
1 lb homemade bulk Italian sausage
8 cups vegetable stoth
2 cups water
4 cups fresh kale, cut into small pieces
4 carrots chopped small
2 onions
1 potato chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cracked pepper

Heat oil in bottom of large pot, add onions, carrots and salt, cook until onions are translucent. Brown sausage, add stoth, water and potato. Add all seasonings, let simmer for 20 minutes, add kale, simmer another 20 minutes.