Tomato-Vegetable Soup

This nutritious soup can be served hot or cold. 

Ingredients (6 to 8 servings):

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium potato, cut into small chunks
1 medium sweet potato, cut into small chunks
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes w/juice
5 to 6 cups vegetable broth
1  6 ounce can tomato paste
2 1/2 cups kale
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a heavy duty pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring until the onion is basically softened (do not let the onion/garlic brown).  Add the tomatoes, both types of potatoes, vegetable broth and tomato paste. Stir well. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add the kale, salt and pepper, and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, making sure the kale is well mixed into the soup. Serve hot, or let cool, then chill before serving. NOTE: If the soup is too thick for your preference, add some tomato juice or just water.

WORD HISTORY:
Kettle-The origins of this word are unclear, but it goes back to Old Germanic "katilaz" ("kettle, vessel that holds liquids, especially water"), but where Old Germanic got the word is very much in question. It could be a borrowing long ago from Latin, as that language had "catillus" ("small dish") a diminutive word derived from "catinus," which meant, "bowl, dish, pot." But as with the Old Germanic word, where Latin got their word is also unclear. Modern Greek has "chýtra," which also means "kettle, pot," so it is possible that there were varied forms derived from a common Indo European word or root. Anyway, the Old Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "citel/cytel," which meant "kettle." This then became "ketel," in some English dialects, with the change in initial consonant a likely influence from Old Norse (another Germanic language) "ketill," also meaning "kettle." Other English dialects spelled it "chetel," but in the end both forms became modern "kettle." Other Germanic languages have: German "Kessel," ^ Low German Saxon "kätel," Dutch "ketel," West Frisian "tsjettel," ^^ Danish "kedel," Icelandic "ketill," Swedish "kittel," all meaning "kettle," and Norgwegian "kjele," meaning "boiler" (a vat/vessel for heating and storing water).

^ As I've noted at times before, the high Germanic dialects underwent a sound shift, where often "t" or double "t" became and "s" or double "s." English, Low German and Frisian, all close relatives of German, did not undergo this same sound shift.

^^ The "tsj" of the West Frisian word is pronounced similarly to the English "ch" of "cheese, Charles;" which puts it very close in pronunciation to the one previous English dialect form of "chetel."