Ever heard the story of “Stone Soup” when a hungry man wandered into a town and asked people for something to eat?  No one had anything to give him, so starting with a stone, he got one person to contribute an onion, another a parsnip, then a carrot…someone had a bone with a little meat still on it…you get the picture! Pretty soon there was a big pot of soup for the town after someone contributed a big pot and someone else some water.

Things are not THAT desperate now, but every once in a while you look into your refrigerator and start putting things together making your own “stone soup”.  Such is the case with this Kale-Zucchini soup. A couple of weeks ago I was tidying up the refrigerator and thought that the vegetable bin absolutely needed some attention.  There was some kale I had meant to use, 3 zucchini left over from a farmer’s market basket, lots of jalapeño peppers, and some cilantro among a couple of other veggies.

I decided to make a soup with my old wilted kale and  used the vegetables I thought would go with it.  It turned out to be delicious and “a keeper”.

This week I went to the store and bought the ingredients that had worked out so well for me and made the soup, this time, with a plan and a purpose.  Again, the soup was delicious getting the thumbs up from my husband, Jack.

Ingredients

1. Bunch of green onions
2. 3 zucchini
3. Bunch of lacinato kale
4. 1 jalapeño pepper
5. Bunch of cilantro
6. 2 tablespoons olive oil
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 6 cups of water
9. ½ cup 10 minute farro*
10. 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Wash all the vegetables.
2. Slice the green onions and zucchini
3. Seed the jalapeño pepper & chop
4. Chop the cilantro and the kale
5. In a stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the green onions, the salt, and zucchini and cover the pan.
6. Sauté the vegetables for about 8-10 minutes, until soft.
7. Add the chopped kale and cilantro.  Continue to cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.  Stir.
8. Add the ½ cup farro and the six cups of water. Bring to a boil.
9. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for another 10 minutes.  If the farro is not quick cooking, you will need to cook longer.
10. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a creamy consistency.
11. Add a little acid with the two tablespoons of lemon juice.
12. Adjust seasoning adding salt & pepper to taste and more lemon juice if desired.