I got the idea for this soup from one of my favorite websites, www.epicurious.com. I tweaked a few of the ingredients and simplified it to make a fairly quick meal. I started the meal by shopping at my local health food store and taking a clean empty glass (salsa) jar with me. I asked the cashier to weigh the jar when I first entered the store, then I filled the jar with red lentils from the bulk food section and paid for the lentils by weight, subtracting the weight of the jar. By doing so, I am reducing the waste of packaging products, plus I save a little money by buying bulk. See if you have a store nearby that sells dried food products in bulk, and take your own container to the store, rather than using their plastic bags. Our Earth is becoming more and more fragile, and we must each try to do lots of little things to preserve resources and protect the environment. Reduction of waste is a good goal for each of us to think about.
This is really delicious (I would even describe it as scrumptious!), with a surprising sweetness emanating from the onions, celery, sweet potato and miso, which complements the slight bitterness of the kale. I used lacinato kale for the first time because I saw it in the market and thought it would be interesting to try. Lacinato kale looks a little bit like swiss chard. Feel free to use regular kale instead.