Potato soup with kale and bacon

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02
  
       Title: POTATO SOUP WITH KALE AND BACON
  Categories: Soups/stews
       Yield: 1 servings
  
       2 lb Boiling potatoes
     3/4 lb Bacon
       1 lb Kale
       2    Cloves garlic
            Salt and pepper
       1 c  Heavy cream
            Chicken stock as necessary
       5 ts Balsamic vinegar
       1    Bunch chives
            Diced green onion tops/botto
  
   Peel potatoes and put in a pot with cold, salted water
   to cover. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat
   and simmer, uncover, and cook until done, about 25
   minutes. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Break up the
   potatoes with a potato masher (they should be quite
   lumpy, not smooth). Meanwhile, cook the bacon over low
   heat until crisp, turning often. Drain and chop into
   1/2 inch chunks. Pour off all but 2 TBS of the bacon
   fat, and, reserve extra fat. Stem and chop the kale.
   Mince the garlic. Put half the kale and half the
   garlic into the frying pan. Season with salt and
   pepper and cook over medium heat until kale is wilted,
   about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat using more
   bacon fat as needed. Return all kale to the fry pan
   and add the heavy cream. Simmer over very low heat
   until the kale is tender, about 10 more minutes.
   Combine potatoes with about 3 cups of the potato
   cooking liquid and 1 cup of the chicken stock. Add
   more stock if needed to get a good consistency. Add
   kale mixture (with the bacon) to the pot and bring to
   a simmer. Season to taste with the vinegar and salt
   and pepper. This is up to you as to how much vinegar
   you use. Mince the chives or green onions and place in
   an extra bowl to top the soup. I hope you find this
   excellent soup. It is great this time of year as it is
   much like a warm German Potato salad.  If you pass
   this one up you will be the loser. Take care from
   Ken/still looking for a name for his piranha in rainy
   but warm Vancouver\0700AMPST 2/12
  
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