Wild Rice Chowder  Kitchen Tested   • Yield servings  A great
main-dish soup that uses leftover ham.  You can bypass whatever
vegetables you don't have in the house and skip the cheese. I
like kale in this soup because it's hearty and chewy and stands
up to the firm-textured wild rice, but you can use any kind of
green. You could use a lower fat milk, but it can break during
cooking. Cream is a bit too rich. For me whole milk is the
perfect addition here. Combining it with flour stabilizes it and
thickens the soup. This is a great main dish soup. Just add
bread, and a salad.—Jill Melton.   1 tablespoon olive oil 2
ounces ham or bacon, chopped 1 onion, chopped 3 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 cup uncooked
wild or brown rice 2 cups chicken or beef broth 4 cups water 2
tablespoons all-purpose flour 4 cups whole milk 2 ounces
shredded Comte, Gruyere or Swiss cheese 2 ounces shredded
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Salt and pepper 3 cups coarsely
chopped fresh kale     1. Combine fi