Friday, June 4, 2010

Black Bean Soup

I've been testing variations on this recipe for a while, but last night's version was really, really good. I use canned beans because they're easy. This makes 4-6 servings as a full meal, I think. Usually for me, it seems to dry up a bit and can serve double-duty in cheese-and-bean quesadillas the next day, but this pot didn't last that long. The other night it ended up vegan by accident, since I normally use a little bit of reserved bacon grease instead of oil, but whatever.

If I shop carefully and stock up on the canned things when they're on sale, this whole thing costs me about $5.
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (can substitute other cooking oil)
  • 1 medium-sized onion
  • 2-3 celery stalks
  • 1 colored bell pepper
  • 1 large-ish garlic clove
  • 3-5 carrots (or parsnips; I use whatever I have)
  • 1 small can green chiles (6 or 7 oz. If you have fresh mild chiles, substitute!)
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (I have some frozen. You could probably just use water, since it's a pretty flavorful. If vegetarian's not important, chicken stock would work, too.)
  • 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (or more to taste)
  • 1 tsp dried cilantro
  • about 64 oz. canned black beans- 4 16 oz. cans is usual for me, but it depends on how they're cheapest at the grocery store. Two 30-oz. cans works, too.

Dice onion, celery, carrot and bell pepper, and add to large pot or Dutch oven with oil over medium-ish heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Mince or press garlic and add when onions are almost translucent. Add cilantro, ground red pepper and about 1/4 of the beans, then the stock. Raise the temp to medium-high and mash up the beans with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. When the stock starts to boil, add the rest of the beans. Ta-da! Done.

In the end, I had a jar of marinated jalapenos and I added a whole pepper to my own bowl, which required me to add a little bit of plain yogurt because it was HOT. Obviously, that un-veganified it, but it was still technically vegetarian. And delicious. Like I said above, it thickens if it's left in the fridge, and that can be used as bean dip the next day.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

New Yesterday on Modcloth

It's the "City of Champions" dress. HAHAHAHAHAHA.