Soup and Salad Spectacular

We had another crummy snowstorm here in Dubuque yesterday, with some of the wettest, heaviest four inches I've seen...ever! I was snug in my office most of the day, but the swirling flakes and dark skies had me daydreaming of coming home to a big pot of soup before wrapping up in a big blanket on the couch--a wonderful end to a long week.

I'd never made black bean soup before, which is odd, since I adore black beans and I adore chili and I adore Tex-Mex flavors. This recipe came together in twenty minutes flat. Alongside I served a romaine and tomato salad with an easy lime-juice vinaigrette made with olive oil and a dash of chili powder and dijon. This was an awesome dinner. The best part was that you probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry or fridge (well, I do!), so no snowy trips to the grocery store.

Black Bean Soup
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cans low-sodium organic black beans (soak your own if you prefer--I like EASY!)
3 cups free-range, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup diced white onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
Ancho chili powder, a few tablespoons (to taste)
dried Mexican oregano, 1 Tbsp
dash of Tabasco (or more!)
S&P

Toppings:
Organic white corn tortillas, quartered and baked into chips
avocado
cilantro (if you're not a hater)
lime wedges
fat-free plain Greek yogurt
shredded low-fat Cheddar (I used local stuff from Wisconsin...the best!)

Saute the onion in the olive oil in a soup pot until soft, about four minutes, then add garlic and cook a minute more. Add drained and rinsed black beans, chili powder, oregano, and tabasco and cook for a few minutes. Add chicken broth and simmer while you prepare the toppings. Once the soup has simmered for a few minutes, add salt and pepper to taste, then blend about 3/4 of the soup in a blender (making sure to vent--you don't want to blow the lid off the blender!) and add back to the pot. Stir, add more broth if needed, and taste for seasoning. I added another glug of Tabasco at this point and the juice of half a lime. Serve with accoutrement and enjoy.

Although I realized this too late last night, this would have been the perfect meal to accompany a couple of made-from-scratch margaritas with tons of fresh lime and salt.

We're off to the Dubuque Humane Society this morning for their volunteer orientation then to the DBQ Winter Farmer's Market. Rumor has it there are oyster mushrooms there this week!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CSA Summer

Image
I picked up my first half CSA box today....so exciting! I couldn't wait to get home to check out the contents. This year I ordered an every other week half share from Tree of Life Farms and CSA in Cuba City, WI. Their produce always wows me at the Dubuque Farmer's Market, and this week's box was no different. While I have big plans for the head of green cabbage (I'll be eatin' coleslaw for breakfast) the pound of adorable, sweet carrots, and even the bunch of beets (raw beet salad!), I didn't have any ideas for the turnip greens. I'd never eaten them, let alone cooked them before, so I did some research on the interwebs. I found out that turnip greens are very bitter and incredibly healthy, with more nutrition ounce for ounce than kale! I also learned that the traditional Southern cooking method marries turnip greens, salt pork, and rice and beans. Now that was something I could get behind! So I ran to the grocery store, bought me some bacon, shallots, and...
Read more

Rutabaga-Carrot Hash

Image
So I'm a little obsessed with hash lately. The food, that is. This one was dinner tonight and I amazed myself a bit considering I've never cooked a rutabaga. I dare you to try this recipe! Jeff claims it would be awesome for breakfast. Ingredients: 1 cup raw carrots 1 big rutabaga 2 cloves garlic 2 tbsp pastured butter (or regular butter if you're not a butter snob) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 pound ground chicken sausage (I make my own with ground chicken and Penzey's Italian sausage seasoning) 3 eggs 1/4 milk (I used coconut milk) salt pepper chopped Italian parsley and green onion for garnish Whiz the carrots, rutabaga, and garlic in the food processor until hashbrown-like consistency (shredded but not pureed!). In the meantime heat the olive oil in a large skillet and crumble in the chicken sausage. Scrape the carrot/rutabaga/garlic into another large skillet with a few tablespoons water and cover, steaming for 3-5 minutes. Once the water evaporates, scrape the hash to one s...
Read more

Recipe of the Day: Eggplant and Cauliflower Curry

Image
Recipe adapted from Eating Well 2 tablespoons curry powder 1 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon mustard powder 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1-pound organic eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks 3 cups cauliflower florets 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed 1/2 cup water Toast the spices in olive oil for a minute or two. Add onions, eggplant, and cauliflower and saute for a few minutes--until onion is translucent. Dump in drained chick peas, tomatoes, and water. Simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add some more hot curry and s&p to taste and serve over brown rice. I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley with black barley and daikon radish seeds. Mmm. Much better than a McRib.
Read more