Vege Soup Notes

I just finished making (and eating) the Hearty Vegetable Soup recipe listed below. Here are a few notes:

1. The recipe doesn't specify this (but I'm about to change that), but you need to cook the carrots. Luckily I figured this out before it was too late. After making your puree and putting it back on the burner, add the carrots and let them cook until soft.

2. This is SPICY. Next time I'm probably going to leave out the cayenne pepper, or half the black pepper. My kids wouldn't eat it because it was too hot (and it made my nose run).

3. I wish I had potatoes! This would be great with potatoes, either simply added or in place of the beans or pasta. By the way, I used whole-wheat pasta and it worked beautifully. So yummy, so filling. A little of this soup (which is more like stew) goes a long way. 

4. It's green. The picture was just a stock photo. This soup is green, like split pea soup. That doesn't bother me and so I don't care but if you have an aversion to green soup, this could be problematic. I'll post a picture soon. 

5. I didn't use kale leaves. I've never had kale but I've heard it's difficult to get just right so I just left it out. Didn't notice anything missing. If you don't have kale, or don't like kale, just omit it. The recipe didn't suffer. Using a frozen back of mixed vegetables would also work--cutting out some of the prep work. It would still be delicious.

Overall, this recipe was easy, though a bit time consuming. I'll make it again, either as I did today or varying ingredients. I give it an A- (4.5 out of 5 stars). It would have gotten an A if my kids would have eaten it, but even as it stands, this recipe is a keeper.