It finally happened. For the past two months, I have been dodging the crud like Superman dodges kryptonite. Then Saturday morning I woke up with that feeling. My throat was sore and I had a headache that could disable even the mightiest ninja. I was sick.

I’m actually surprised I lasted as long as I did with everything I had going on. I camped in the rain twice, traveled on three germ-filled airplanes, made it through the holidays with sick kids putting their snotty fingers all over the appetizers, shared sweat with who-knows-who at the gym, and had many meetings that lasted way too long with sick coworkers. I guess it was bound to happen. I am just grateful that it happened after all the holiday madness and I don’t have much scheduled for the rest of this month.

When you’re already feeling under the weather and then the weather is gross on top of that (nothing but rain and snow in Tahoe for the next week), the only thing that sounds good is a bowl of steamy, comforting soup.

When I was cooking this up, I was inspired by a recipe I had seen for Zuppa Toscana years ago. I think this turned out just as good, if not better, and doesn’t require additional fatty sausage and a boatload of heavy cream. Mashing some of the sweet potatoes and returning them to the pot does just as good of a job giving this soup depth and body.

This recipe definitely hits the spot with the salty bacon, good-for-you kale and sweet potatoes, and herbs that warm even the coldest nights. I’ll be sitting here with a hot bowl of soup in my hands watching the snow dance through the cold air.