Fall Soup-y Goodness

Ok, so I've been a total loser not posting in months. This is what happens when you are writing your dissertation... I have not stopped cooking though! I've been working on perfecting a Blondie recipe, but in the mean time I bought some more gorgeous black kale at the farmer's market last weekend and some organic honey cured bacon and made a lovely soup with it. This soup is HONESTLY better on day two, sounds crazy but it is true. Also, don't serve this to a date or eat this at lunch if you are going to be around people you want to impress. It is best consumed as a solo dinner, when you are in for the evening, beans and greens, need I say more? So here it is:

Kale and White Bean Soup

1/2 to 1/4 lb of bacon chopped (optional)
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic chopped
4 carrots sliced
1 large potato
1 carton of ready-made veggie stock (you can also use chicken, you just need 4 cups of whatever you use)
1 14oz can of canellini beans
1 head of kale (cut out the tough stems and ribs and then chop coarsely, you could also use cabbage if you can't get kale)
1-2 bay leaves
dried oregano
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

start by browning the bacon in a heavy soup pot, until it is crispy and gives off some fat, then add olive oil and the onion. Sweat the onion for 2-3 min and then add the garlic and cook 2-3 min longer all over a low-med heat. Then add the carrots and potato stir and cook another 2-3 minutes add some salt and pepper at this point. Then add the stock, the liquid from the beans and the bay and oregano, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the Kale and beans and simmer another 10-15 minutes until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Then take out about 1/3rd of the soup and puree it in the blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. then just add it back to the soup and season it with salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan cheese on top.