I knew this soup was going to be good, but I was unprepared for how incredibly delicious it actually was. For being so simple to make it had a surprising depth of flavor.

It's thick and creamy, slightly sweet with just enough heat from the curry to add a lovely complexity. It's topped with a drizzle of cilantro oil (just cilantro and olive oil blended together with a pinch of kosher salt) for a little bit of additional freshness. The key is using fresh ingredients and a high quality curry paste - not a powder, a paste. I like Mae Ploy's pastes and I used the yellow curry paste in this soup. They're often available in Asian supermarkets. I order mine in bulk off Amazon.

I've been seeing how I can model my meals around main ingredients from Carolina Grown (see this post for more details). Mostly because I enjoy eating locally grown, fresh ingredients and I absolutely love the idea of being able to support local farmers as much as I possibly can - but also because planning a menu and sticking with it is a great way to save money.

I already allocate more money to food that most people I know, but I'm still interested in spending as little as possible for the highest quality ingredients I can get my hands on.

Because it's still winter the produce options at CG are limited, but they've got some lovely root vegetables available - including these Carolina Ruby sweet potatoes.

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I'm pretty sure that anyone who's ever eaten at a steak house has tried baked potato soup at some point. It's creamy, delicious, and encompasses all the flavors of a piping hot baked potato with all the toppings.

This soup is a perfect way to use up leftover mashed potatoes and makes a nice first course, or paired with a nice salad, a great main. I had some potatoes that were starting to grow eyes and had already planned on making mashed potatoes to go with a pot roast I made the other night - but there were far too many to feed just the two of us. I made the extra and popped them in the fridge overnight.

The next day I combined them with a little chicken stock, bacon, onion, and garlic. Instant dinner - and crowd pleaser. The soup is just as versatile as is a baked potato. Add any toppings you normally would - chili and cheese, broccoli and cheese, green onions and bacon, sour cream, etc.

Also, if you're like me and hate leftovers, it's a great way to use up leftovers without feeling like that's what you're doing. I put chopped scallions, shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and a dollop of fat-free plain yogurt in place of sour cream and - I can assure you - it did not taste like last nights leftovers.

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One of my favorite aspects of Fall is the sudden abundance of lush, leafy greens. Collards, Turnip, Mustard, Kale - all the greens you could ever want.

I'm a huge fan of greens, evidence of that here and here.

Anything that can still prove beneficial nutritionally when soaked in bacon and cream is my kind of vegetable.

This is an alternative method of using kale - in the traditional pairing of kale, potatoes, and sausage. I used chorizo in this version, but I wasn't crazy about how it all played together in the bowl. When I make this again (and I will be making this again), I'll use a kielbasa of some sort or maybe some ham.

This soup is full of flavor and, depending on the type of sausage used, delightfully low in both fat and calories while delivering a powerhouse combination of Vitamin A and all sorts of other wonderful nutrients from the kale.

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There are few things I enjoy more than the sweet, fresh corn available each summer. I did a much more in depth post on how much I enjoyed sweet corn last year at about this time, but sadly it didn't make the transition to the new website.

Last year I tried it off the cob, sauted with butter and tossed with parmigiana reggiano. This year I've decided to implement it into a rustic soup with chicken and bacon.

Because really, what doesn't bacon make better?

I've made attempts to make this as low calorie as possible - all the better to watch our waistlines with - and managed to make each one cup serving slide in at under 150 calories per serving.

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