Tomato-kale-garbanzo soup

Tomato soup base was on sale this week. However, I can't eat plain tomato soup... it's a texture thing, I think. I was able to produce from my refrigerator some rosemary that needed to be used, garlic, and kale. Stella (my cat) picked the garbanzos from a lineup of black, kidney, and garbanzo beans. Good choice, Stel!

• 4c tomato soup (I buy the reduced-sodium kind and then add flavors other than salt... more on this later!)
  
• 3c water
• 1 bunch kale, chopped into 1-2" pieces (makes 3-4c)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs chopped rosemary (I used fresh rosemary, dried would be fine)
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 TBS black pepper

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot with a lid.
   
2. Add garlic and rosemary, cook until garlic softens.
3. Add kale and 1/2 c water. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is wilted. This looks like A LOT of kale... you'll be surprised how much it wilts down.
4. Add garbanzos, paprika, pepper, and oregano and stir together.
5. Add tomato soup base and remaining water until your soup reaches a soupy (rather than stewy) consistency... I needed about 3c water.
6. Bring the soup to a slow boil and then turn heat to low. You can serve the soup immediately, or simmer it for a while to let the kale soften a bit more, and the rosemary and oregano flavors to infuse (what's the fancy pants chef term for this?) into the soup.
   

A note on low-sodium products:
READ your nutrition facts labels! Many soups, seasoning packets, and other processed and packaged foods contain nearly as much sodium per serving as we need in a whole day! Yikes! There is some research linking high-sodium diets to higher blood pressure... and other research that disproves this (and suggests that only ~40% of the population has sodium-sensitive hypertension). Either way, there are a lot more phytochemicals in spices and herbs like rosemary, paprika, and oregano than in table salt, and they make foods taste SO much better! Pass the herbs, please!