Sunshine Soup

I made this recipe for Carrot Ginger soup last weekend and it was good. But not perfect. It tasted fine, but it didn't have the creamy-like consistency that I had wanted.

I figured out what I did wrong, and made it again last night.

But this time, I did it right and it came out great!

As previously mentioned, my motivation for this is to have something quick, easy & healthy to eat at work. But I made it again this week so I could bring some to my stepfather. He, unlike my mother is NOT pathologically picky eater & likes really spicy foods. However, since my mom cooks for him, he hardly ever gets to eat anything he truly enjoys. So when I make something good and spicy, I like to bring it to him to enjoy. And to irritate my mom. Because she won't eat it.

However, right now my mom is on a missions trip with her church to a remote village in Malawi and won't be back home until next week. So my stepfather & bro have been left to their own devices & to fend for themselves.

So later today or tomorrow I'm going over to visit them & bring them some soup they'd never have otherwise.

And I must say, I'm pretty pleased with myself on how this came out.

I found the original at Andrea's Recipes and most of it sounded good.

Except for the whole curry part. I hate curry. It smells like dirty gymsocks to me. So I switched up the recipe a little & it came out really well. Plus, this is totally vegan & fat free so it's about as healthy as you can get.

One bowl of this stuff clears my sinuses, boosts my energy and warms me up all over. It's good stuff!

So without further ado, here's the recipe the way I made it:

Ingredients:

1 whole stick of butter (or, like me, I used 2 half sized Earth Balance sticks)

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup fresh minced ginger (no, the powered stuff will NOT work. fresh only)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small red bell pepper

6 cups vegetable stock

6 big carrots

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp chili poweder

salt & ground black pepper to taste.

Directions:

Turn the crock pot on high & put in the butter. While it's melting, chop the onion & add it to the butter & stir. Then chop the garlic & add that. While they are simmering, peel the ginger & mince. Add it to the crockpot. Then chop the pepper into small pieces and add to the pot. Let this simmer for about 30 mins stirring often.

While the veggies in the pot are simmering, wash & peel the carrots. Chop them into very small pieces and add them to the mix & stir. Let simmer for another 15 mins. Then add the vegetable stock, lemon juice, chili poweder, salt & pepper. Still well.

Turn the crockpot setting on to low & leave overnight.

In the morning, pour into a food processor or blender & blend until smooth.

Interjection: Be very careful for this part! Hot liquids will expand in the blender/processor! So I've found it's best to add a little bit at a time & hold the lid down while blending. Otherwise, the lid will fly off, you'll get soup all over your kitchen & probably sustain burns. So please! Be cautious!

If serving fresh, garnish with a scoop of vegan sour cream & fresh chopped green onions. If freezing, pour into containers & allow it to cool for several minutes before lidding & putting in the freezer.

As I said, this stuff is fantastic. It's wonderfully healthy & I felt so much better after having a bowl, that it was like having a bowl full of warm sunshine.

After posting this, I realized that I eat a LOT of orange food! I usually have a clementine every day and orange juice too. And yes, I love pumpkin food too.

Eggplants

I do not like them.

I've officially declared that I do NOT like eggplants as they are oogy.

That is all.

Smashed Potatoes

This is one of my husbands favorite things to eat ever. ever. ever. ever. Like my daughter, he has 'texture issues'. He eats foods based on texture first, taste second. I think he's tactile defensive. So a lot of the cooking I do for my fam is done with texture in mind.

And this little recipe has it all for him. Four stars for texture & four for taste as well.

I ran across this at The Pioneer Woman and thought 'ah-ha! yes! Never will love this!' and I was right! It's ingenious, really. Back in the day, when Never still ate meat, I made chicken thighs dang near exactly like this & he loved those. So when I saw the same thing done, but vegetarian style I was psyched.

I'm awfully fond of these too, so I usually make it every weekend. And I cannot tell you how amazingly wonderful they are. You're just going to have to experience them for your self.

Ingredients:

Red Potatoes
A lot of olive oil
Garlic Powder
Fresh Rosemary
Kosher Salt. (regular salt will NOT do)
Cracked Black Pepper

And as an added bonus, they're really easy.

1. Boil red potatoes until the are soft. Drain them.

2. While they are boiling, you'll want to prepare the pan. In a large baking dish/cookie sheet / caserolle dish / whathaveyou / whatever you use line with aluminum foil. With a pastry brush, coat the foil with a healthy layer of olive oil. This is so that when you put the potatoes down on them, they won't stick to the pan after they've been cooked. After they're done cooking place them on the prepared pan.

3. Using a masher or slotted spoon of preference, slightly squash down the tops of the potatoes so they split like above. It usually takes two smashing per potato to get them just right. Then let them cool. While they are cooling, chop up enough fresh rosemary to cover the amount of potatoes you cooked.

4. After the potatoes have cooled, use the pastry brush and liberally coat each potato with olive oil. Then sprinkle with garlic powder, then the kosher salt, the pepper and rosemary to taste.

Personally, I love all of these things so I lay it on thick.

5. Bake in the oven at 450 until golden and crispy. Usually about 20-40 mins depending upon your oven & the size of the potatoes.

And Voila
For non-vegetarians, I suppose this would be a side dish, but for my household, it's the main course and they usually don't last long enough to get cold.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Butter

I found this recipe over at "A Good Appetite" and have been dying to try it.

I love sweet potatoes & can't seem to ever get enough. My daughter likes them too, but only baked. She has a hard time getting anything with the mashed texture down. The last time I made her eat mashed potatoes she lost it right on her dinner plate. At Thanksgiving at my moms house. It was rather unpleasant all around.

However, she's teeny tiny thin as a rail and so I've been trying out different recipes that I think she'd like. As well as expanding her texture & tastes horizon. She can be picky about certain food items as well, which drives me to tears because all my life I've been surrounded by people who are pathologically picky eaters. My mother, grandfather, daughter & husband combined will willing eat a total of about 20 items.

The Sweet Potato Butter looked like something my daughter would like the taste of, if she could get past the texture. So I made it per the instructions, but DID NOT put it through the blender & it came out just fine. A little chunky, but she will eat it that way & not barf. So it worked out well.


3 large sweet potatoes
2 cups apple cider un-sweetened
1 cup sugar (white or brown your preference)
1 heaping tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 400 F. Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes & bake for about 1 hour or until soft. I always bake them wrapped up in aluminum foil so they'll retain all of their juices .

Peel the roasted potatoes, put them in a large pot & mash them with a potato masher or fork. Add the cider & sugar & bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add all of the spices.

Reduce the heat to low & allow to simmer for about 1 hour stirring from time to time. The mixture should thicken to a thick mashed potato-like texture as the liquid cooks out.

If you want to give it a smooth buttery texture you can use a blender, but I left it lumpy for my daughter.

Makes about 3 cups

Sweet Potato Butter should be stored in the refrigerator

White Bean Soup

Sorry, no picture.

Again, it's yummy, but fugly.

Since the Cuban Black Bean Soup was a success, I decided to try a white bean soup recipe.

Plus, I'm now officially on a soup kick. For several reasons.

It's cold and has been snowing. A lot. So, I need something warm and comforting & filling but not fattening.

My team at work is moving to a new facility, which does not have a cafe. Not that I ever eat there very much, but when I do, I can at least get something healthy & vegetarian. The facility that I'm going to only has sub shops and fast food joints in the area. Neither or which are healthy nor vegetarian.

Try going into Subway & ordering a sandwich, but hold the meat please, and see what kind of nasty looks you get.

I am NOT HAPPY about going to the new place. Really. Not. Happy. But, it's a job, and considering I'm in the financial industry, I'm just thankful I still have a job at all. So, I'm trying not to complain.

My solution to this little problem is to make several batches of soup, freeze it, and bring it into work for lunch.

Yesterday I made White Bean Soup, but I'm planning on also making a batch of Spinach Potato Soup & Ginger Carrot Soup this weekend as well. That way I'll have about 2 weeks worth of soup ready to go. And the best thing about it, is that soup is super cheap to make. Generally speaking, the ingredients are stuff I already have in my kitchen & usually only need to get one or two things. Plus, it makes several meals, so I feel like I'm really getting my moneys worth. It's definitely cheaper than buying a can of soup or two for the same price. Also, I know exactly whats in it. I made it, so everything in the soup is something good. No preservatives, no meat products and made totally to my own liking.

So heres the recipe I used & it came out great. Its a mish-mash of several different recipes but it came out very tasty. I made this in my crockpot & let is simmer over night. Then put it all in the blender when I got up this morning.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 a yellow onion
1 shallot
5 cloves of garlic
4 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 stalks of celery
1 bag of dried white beans
1/2 cup water
salt, black pepper and red pepper to taste.


Turn the crockpot on High & cover the bottom with the olive oil chop the onion, shallot, garlic & celery and put into the crock pot add the red pepper and cook until translucent, stirring occassionally.

Add the vegetable stock and white beans.

Stir occassionally.

Cook until beans are soft, add the water, lemon juice, salt and pepper then blend on low
(if you have a food processor, then you can probably do this all at once, but I just have a blender so I had do it in small batches)

Garnish with thyme and serve
(or put into containers and freeze)

the ginger snap saga continues

Ok, so I think they taste good. But, I like anything with ginger & since I made them, it was hard for me to tell whether or not they were actually good. And based on past experience, I assumed they were not good. But I put a couple in my husbands lunch bag yesterday, just to get him to try one to see what he thought of them.

And now, they have officially been given two thumbs up.

Yesterday my phone rang & it was my husband:

Never: "DOOD!! Who made these ginger snaps?!"
Me: "...uhhm..me?"
Never: "NOWAY! REALLY?!"
Me: "Yeah, really. Those were the ones I made on Sunday. Why? What's wrong with them?"
Never:"NOTHING is WRONG with them! They're AWESOME!"
Me: "For real? You like them?!"
Never: "Yeah!! These are the bomb! YOU made them?!?!"
Me: "Yes!! I made them! I'm glad you like them! So...this recipe is a keeper then?"
Never: "Hell yeah it is! I love gingersnaps, but I hate how hard they are. But these are all nice and soft and moist! They're so good! Send more in my lunch tomorrow!"

So there you have it. The Chewy Ginger Snaps are a success. Who knew? I actually baked something that came out good!

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Let me start by saying that I am not a baker. I've never claimed to be. Baking isn't exactly my forte. However, I do enjoy eating baked goods.

A lot.

So, I continually attempt to bake. And consistently fail. I put forth a valiant effort, but no matter what I make, it never tastes the way it should. Give me an onion, garlic, a potato & salt and I can make something fantastic. But can I make a cookies? oh hellno.

I went through a Red Velvet Cake-from scratch phase several years ago and have since totally given up on that one. I don't speak of it much. The pictures have been destroyed. I pretend it never happened. Now if I want Red Velvet Cake I do the Betty Crocker thing. Betty's my buddy. We go way back.

I'm also a sucker for punishment. Which meant I, once again attempted to bake today. I love Joy The Baker's site. She has so many wonderful things and it's so inspiring. One of the things she posted was Chewy Ginger Cookies. And I couldn't resist. I love ginger. Really love ginger. So I gave it a shot.

And well, they don't taste, bad, per se. But I'm pretty sure they don't taste the way they would if Joy made them. Or any one else who is capable of baking.

But, here's the recipe anyway. I didn't change a thing. I just suck at baking.

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

about 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and spices until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.

Interjection #1: I did this part by hand because I don't have a mixer. The last 2 that I had, my husband blew up making chocolate chip cookies. Smoke even came out of the last one. He's a very good baker & makes the best chocolate chip cookies. But since he only bakes in December & I hardly ever bake, we can't justify springing for a Kitchenaid and really, anything less just won't do. )

Spread the turbinado sugar into a small bowl. Roll 2 Tbs of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball

Interjection #2: The dough is very gooey. It helps if you pat your hands in flour before attempting to roll it into balls. This is something that might be obvious to anyone else, but I figured this out through trial and error.

Roll the ball in the sugar to coat it and place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes



This is the final product.

My daughter had one (and only one) and said they were ..good.. but she was making a face while eating it. And she didn't ask for a second one.

I really don't know what I did wrong. Other than trying to BAKE at AT ALL!

*sigh*

***edit***

ok so maybe they aren't that bad. several people have tried them now (my co-workers are my guinue pigs) and they all said they were good. one person said 'they're missing something..' but when i asked her what it was she thought they were missing she said she didn't know.

Never's Nasty Pasta Salad

My husbands nick name is "Never". Don't ask. So hence forth, I will refer to him as such. He's a VERY picky eater. Generally speaking, we very rarely like the same foods, and more often than not, we both find that what the other one is eating is totally disgusting.

This pasta salad is an example of that.

Since I'm the kitchen wench, I make it, but to his liking.

Other people who've tried this say they like it, but I tell you, this is NOT something I'd put in my mouth on purpose. So, maybe someone out there will like this, but I'm just saying, this is something strictly for my husband. I DO NOT eat this. It's pretty to look at. As far as pasta salads go. It's just not yummy.

This is typically a summer dish, but he had a random craving for it & wants to take it in his lunch this week, so I made it again.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 cup mayonnaise (or vegonaise to make it vegan)
  
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons SPICY yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives
• 2 green bell peppers
• radishes to taste
  
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Step 1: Cook the macaroni. (duh.)
Step 2: When the pasta has cooled add the vinegar, mustard & mayo
Step 3: chop up the bell pepper, olives and the radishes & toss them in. Salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4: Stir well & chill in the fridge

serve cold.

enjoy (even though I think it's oogy)

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

In the category of OHMYGOD THIS CAME OUT SO GOOD is the new recipe I tried today.

I found it on Coffee & Vanilla and have been dying to try it out ever since. Every single item in this is something I love. Plus, I've been looking for a new way to eat Portobellos. I ususally just saute them in soy sauce, but that's getting kind of old and I don't need the sodium.

So, here's what you'll need:

4 Portobello Mushrooms
1/2 a yellow Spanish onion
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh Mozzarella balls
Baby Spinach (to taste. I used about 15 leafs)
8 Cherry tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt
shredded cheddar/colby mix

Step 1: Wash all vegetables very well. there's a salmonella scare going around, so don't take any chances. Remove all stems from the mushrooms & the spinach.

Step 2: Spray non-stick baking pan with cooking spray and place the mushrooms in, stem side up

Step 3: Slice the mozzarella balls into thin strips and layer them on top of the mushrooms



Step 4: Mince the garlic & the onion half and saute in pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Then chop up the spinach into small pieces. When the garlic & onion just begin to brown, add the spinach and stir until there is no moisture left in the pan.



Step 5: Spoon the onion, garlic & spinach mix onto the mozzarella slices. Then slice the cherry tomatoes and layer on top of the mixture. (yes, the pan is clean, it's just very old and very well loved)



Step 6: Sprinkle the shredded cheddar/colby cheese on top of the tomatoes and bake in oven at 300 for about 20 minutes. When you take them out, they should look like this. (Please, ignore the hideous counter top. I have The Worlds Ugliest Kitchen. It was probably last updated circa 1974. Which is why there are no pictures of it & I try to keep shots of the counter tops to a minimum.)



Step 7: Lightly sprinkle with the kosher salt. Serve & enjoy. In the photo below, you can see the layers of yummy goodness.



It's snowing like a biatch here & I dug out my car while these little babies were cooking. By the time I came back in, they were done, and they smelled so good, I wolfed down two of them without even stopping to breathe.

Unfortunately, I'm not the most lactose tolerant person in the world, so I'm sure to suffer for this later. But, dang yo! It was worth it!

And again, this was made by me, for me, since no one else in my house will eat this. oh well. more for me!

This was the first time I've used fresh mozzarella balls, and I can definitely tell a difference between the fresh & the pre-packaged shredded stuff. The texture is different and the flavor is much more delicate and subtle.

Butternut Squash & Thyme

This is a recipe I found at Kaylins Kitchen & loved! Her recipe calls for parmesan cheese, but when I make it, I sprinkle it with Kosher salt instead. I've been making this every week for a couple of months now, and I'm still not tired of it!

Ingredients:

2 whole & peeled halves of butternut squash
3 Tbs of olive oil
3 Tbs of lemon juice
2 Tbs of Thyme

Preheat the oven to 350

In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice & thyme. let it sit & marinate while you chop the squash into bite sized chunks.

After the squash is chopped, pour the mixture over it and stir well until it's completely coated the squash.


Spray a non-stick baking dish with olive oil & pour in the squash. Sprinkle the top with Kosher salt to taste.

Place in oven & cook for about an hour, or until the squash is tender

Remove from oven & serve.

For the original recipe, please visit Kaylin's Kitchen

I really love cooking with herbs, but I had never used Thyme before this. So I did a little research on Wikipedia and this is what it had to say about how the herb has been used historically :

"Ancient Egyptians used thyme in embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing that thyme was a source of courage. It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs".^[1]. In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares.^[2] In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life."

also

"Thyme is a good source of iron and is used widely in cooking. Thyme is a basic ingredient in French, Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish, Syrian, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Arab and Caribbean cuisines.

Thyme is often used to flavour meats, soups and stews. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavour with lamb, tomatoes and eggs."

And all this time, I had no idea! It has an interesting aroma that, to me anyway, improves with cooking. So I've defintiely been encouraged to use it more in my cooking.

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't like cooked vegetables (he only eats them raw) and my daughter doesn't like anything with herbs on it. So this is something I pretty much make for myself. Since it makes quite a bit, I bring it to work & share it with my friend Nancy. But it's not expensive to make, it makes enough to last for several meals, and it reheats well.

enjoy!

Vickie's Sweet Potatoes

This is my moms signature sweet potato recipe that she makes every year at Thanksgiving.

Every year except for this year. This year, for the first time in something like 30 years, she made a different recipe. And you know what? I hated it! I won't get into how nasty it was, but suffice to say milk and sweet potatoes should never be used in the same recipe. yuk!

So next year, it's back to the old tried and true. This is traditionally served at Thanksgiving in my family, but it's a good cold-weather-comfort-food kind of side dish. And like everything else, I've modified it slightly to my own tastes. This isn't the healthiest of ways to eat sweet potatoes, but it's a good way to get the little ones to eat them.

(Unless you have a little one like mine who can't stand the "mashed texture". )

Ingredients:

8 medium sweet potatoes (yams as they're called up north)
1 stick of earth balance cut up (or butter or margarine )
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs orange juice
2 Tbs of cooking sherry
1 package of marshmallows. (these are really pretty optional. if you don't want the sweets or don't like marshmallows, feel free to leave them off. the sweet potatoes are still very good naked)

Pre-heat oven to 325

Peel sweet potatoes and cut in into halves
Boil until done and then drain well
Mash with butter and sugar
Add orange juice and sherry & stir until it's well blended

Put into 2 quart baking dish and top with marshmallows

Bake at 325 until marshmallows are golden brown on top (about 30 mins)

Seves 6-8

Vegan Margarita Cupcakes

1/2 cup lime juice
1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp Margarita Mixed Drink
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil, tequila, vanilla and sugar. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to lime mixture and stir until just combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Tequila Lime Frosting :

1/4 cup Earth Balance
1 tbsp soy milk
3 tbsp lime juice
1 Margarita Mixed Drink
2+ cups confectioners’ sugar
coarse sugar and salt for “rims”

The original recipe calls for Tequila. I used Margarita Mixed Drink instead because
1. my daughter was going to be eating these & that has less alcohol.
2. Jose Quervo is damn good, but too damned expensive.
3. Jose & i had to part ways many years ago. I love him, but he does horrible things to my stomach.
4. i took these into work for a cross section taste test. And although I know the tequila is less than a shot in the entire recipe, I do work at a Financial Institution and my husband would murder me if i got fired for bringing "booze" in any form into work. These are tough times and i really didn't want to risk my job for it.

But they came out far better than I expected & they taste fantastic! In fact, they get 2 thumbs up. And that's from people who don't normally eat vegan. I took some to my work & sent some in with my husband to his work & everyone who had them loved them.

I apologize for the poor quality of the picture. My kitchen doesn't get much natural light. But I do so love my little vintage diner plates!

here's a link to the original:

Crumbs and Pixels

Purple Cabbage Salad

½ head purple cabbage
4 Clementines, peeled and sliced into ½ inch segments
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash chili powder
dash of ginger

1.Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible
2.Place cabbage in a large bowl, add the orange segments
3.Toss with olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice then sprinkle with chili powder & ginger
4. Mix & serve

I found this little gem here: Elanas Pantry

and it's definitely a keeper. I've changed it up a bit to suit my own tastes. But this is one my daughter really likes. It's sweet and crunchy and super healthy.

Cuban Black Bean Soup

My mother in law gave me a crock pot for Christmas, so I decided to break it in this week end. I've been dying to try to make my own soup utilizing a crock pot, but finding good vegetarian + crock pot recipes = difficult. I finally found a good black bean soup recipe which made me very happy. I love Progresso's black bean soup, but I really don't love the $4 a can price tag. And when I'm sick, that's the only thing I want. So I figured I could probably make it at home & have enough to last a month for the same price. And happily, I was correct.

So, I made soup for the first time yesterday & it came out great! yaay!

I don't have a picture for this one because...well...it's not pretty. even with garnish, it's pretty ugly. But it tastes good! Although, next time, I plan on spicing it up a little more. I like my black bean soup to be good and spicy.

here's the recipe :

Cuban Black Bean Soup

1 Tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
7 cloves garlic
1 pound dry black beans
5 cups water
3 cup vegetable broth
1 7-oz can diced green chilies
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayanne seasoning
2 bay leaves

Method:

Add olive oil to crock pot and turn on highest setting. Chop yellow onion and stir into olive oil. Cover and let cook while you chop bell pepper into 1 inch chunks. Stir in bell pepper.

Using a garlic press, crush garlic cloves directly into crock pot. (i don't have a garlic press. so i minced the garlic into tiny pieces & this worked just fine)

Stir and cover.

Rinse black beans in a colander. Add to crock pot along with water, broth, chilies, cumin, thyme, salt, pepper, cayanne seasoning and bay leaves. Cover and cook on high at least 8 hours.

Before serving, partially puree soup with a blender.

Mix until thick, but still with chunks of beans, onions and peppers visible. Ladle into 6 soup bowls.

Optional Garnish:
Top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream (about 1 Tbs), 1 tsp diced red bell pepper, 1 tsp diced white onion, and a sprinkling of finely chopped, fresh cilantro (about half a tablespoon).

Personally, I just sprinkled a little bit of taco flavored shredded cheese.