Greens and Garlic Soup

Shortly after becoming vegan, I was referred to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's podcast, "Food for Thought" by a helpful poster at The Kind Life. She told me that Colleen's podcast would help me with a lot of my transitional questions and issues, and she was so right. If you haven't ever listened to the podcast, please do. You're really missing out. Colleen gives lessons about all kinds of issues concerning nutrition, talking about your veganism with others, the facts about animal suffering and farm conditions, and just so many other things. She tells marvelous stories, gives excellent recipes and meal suggestions, and is just an absolutely wonderful resource. If you're a vegan or vegetarian...and especially if you're a new veggie, well, you just have to go and have a listen. You can see Colleen's other work and ideas at Compassionate Cooks' website.

One of the first things I found upon visiting Compassionate Cooks' site for the first time was a video tutorial on how to make a Greens and Garlic Soup. I highly recommend watching that video because the recipe is super easy and very versatile. Being a huge fan of collard greens, I watched and became determined to make the soup for my family. So last night, we had Colleen's Greens and Garlic soup for dinner, and it was fantastic. With so few ingredients and with so little in the way of anything other than garlic as a huge "flavor," I honestly expected this to be bland and boring. I was so incredibly wrong. This stuff was amazing. You really do have to try it.

This is not my recipe, but since Colleen posted it on her site for the public, I'll go ahead and summarize it for you. You will need:

1 or 2 bunches of fresh, leafy greens (kale, mustard greens, collards, etcetera)

1 head of garlic (8-9 cloves), peeled and minced or pressed

4 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1T rice vinegar

8C water

1 or 2 veggie bouillon cubes

A splash (about 1-2T) of oil (we used EVOO)

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Put the garlic and onion in the pot. Stir these around until the onions soften. Add the potatoes, bouillon, greens, and water. Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until the greens are tender and the potatoes are cooked. Remove from heat and add the vinegar. Stir the soup and taste. Add salt and/or pepper to taste. Serve!

Below are pictures from the prep and a rather poorly-lit photo of the finished product, itself. I'm sorry I don't have a better photo of the soup. The lighting makes it look like an oily soup, but it was SO not. It was absolutely wonderful.