Beans and Kale

Today's soup helps me to use up a couple items I generally have trouble using up. The original recipe calls for white beans, but I figured it would taste just as good with black truth beans. Actually, now that it's done, I kind of like the contrast with the green kale. I was a little worried when I woke this morning because this soup looks a little plain without the kale, but I tasted it before adding the kale and it's quite tasty. I also want to note that I did not have celery, but I had a beautiful bunch of but greens. The stems have the same texture as celery and cook about the same. I substituted the stems for the celery and that worked very nicely.

 Sausage Bean Soup with Kale
 Adapted from: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-white-bean-soup-with-andouille-and-collards-00000000052371/index.html

• 1  pound  dried beans* (I used black turtle beans)
• 1/2  pound  andouille sausage links*, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 
• 1  large onion*, chopped 
• 1 bunch stems from beets*, chopped
• 8  cups  homemade chicken stock*
• 1  bunch  kale*, stems discarded and leaves cut into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups) 
• 1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar 
• kosher salt and black pepper 

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beans, sausage, onion, and beet stems. Add the broth and stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
3. Twenty minutes before serving, add the kale, cover, and cook until the greens are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper, as needed.

  * CSA ingredients