Thanks for these. I've made similar to the first one before, only not as a soup but as cabbage and TVP in tomato sauce (sometimes with added chili) to serve over rice cooked separately, but the soup sounds tasty too and has the added benefit of using one pot less. (*hearts stews and soups*)

I know what you mean about soaking TVP in strongly flavored things, I found that plain vegetable broth often still leaves it too bland for my tastes so I've experimented with various mixtures with added soy sauce, mustard, wine... the latter I like especially in tomato sauces where I'd add some cooking wine anyway, and using it on the TVP beforehand makes that absorb some of the flavor, which domes out okay when it's browned in the oil, but doesn't make it too salty like sometimes happens when I tried to rely too much on soy sauce.

And I'll try that kale recipe. The local kale variation I usually make is cooked kale with fried, slightly caramelized potatoes, but it's tricky to get it tasting right without the usual bacon and sausage that are cooked with the kale by non-vegetarians. I mean, I like plain kale flavor too, but somehow it never quite measures up. My brother makes it with tofu sausages, and some kind of fake-bacon, but I'm not a fan of that kind of fake meat product, as they are fairly pricey and don't even work all that well, at least not for the traditional comfort food dishes that usually call for fatty pork.