Karen's Lake District Soup

3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 leeks
3-4 potatoes
8 oz mushrooms
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup hard cider or white wine
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz chopped, good quality ham

Cut and wash the white and light green part of the leeks. Melt butter and oil in a large soup pan. Add leeks and cook very slowly. Peel and chop potatoes into cubes. Add potatoes to the leeks in the pan. Wash and slice mushrooms and add to pan as well. By this time the vegetables should have slowly sweated in the heat for about 10-12 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cider or wine (if not using, add more chicken stock but your soup will taste different). Bring to a gentle boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Stir in the cooked rice and chopped ham and warm through. Just before serving, stir in the cream. This soup is even more delicious the second day although you may need to add more stock as the rice will thicken it considerably.

Serves 6-8.

Kale Salad

Salad:

1 small bunch of kale
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Dressing:

1/2 cup canola oil (or other mild oil)
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 small garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbsp. apple butter, apple sauce, mango chutney, or, at the last resort, 1 Tbsp. honey

Strip the leafy part of the kale off the hard stock and shred the kale finely with a knife. Wash kale in a lettuce spinner. Toss kale with cranberries and sunflower seeds. Mix together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. This salad keeps, dressed, for several days in the refrigerator.