Black bean soup

This is one of the few recipes that I've had so long, I can't remember where I got it. I wrote it in longhand on a quarter piece of paper that I reused from my office; the date of the original printout, visible on the back, was 06/03/94, so it was some time after that, but I was most likely still in my twenties. The recipe has been made many times; the paper has countless spills and stains on it.

With my interest in simple, whole foods stronger than ever, as well as my interest in recipes with ingredients I can grow myself, black bean soup deserves a much more frequent rotation in my cooking repertoire. It takes some time, but it is very adaptable to cooking in the slow cooker, or even on top of a wood stove, while I do other things.

Black bean soup

16 oz (2 cups) black beans, soaked (overnight, or boiled 1 minute then soaked 1 hour)
6 cups chicken broth (I use store bought organic broth, although I don't like all the packaging)

Bring to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven; simmer 1 1/2- 2 hours until beans are tender. I did this part in the slow cooker yesterday, 5 hours on high, and the beans weren't quite as tender as I would have liked. I like them when they are almost falling apart.

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 diced jalapeno, optional

Saute these while the beans are cooking. After a few minutes, add 2-3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced, and saute a few minutes more. Add to the beans and broth. Then add:

1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 medium potato, shredded
Splash of red wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Simmer one hour. Serve with fresh bread or garlic toast.

Hearty vegetable stew

I admit, I've seen Rachel Ray a couple of times since we got satellite TV, and I'm not a huge fan of her. Too perky, too like a teenager trying to talk adults into something. But this morning, in the wonderful hour when we adults were awake and the kids were still asleep, we watched her show, and she made a 30 minute vegetable stew that looked too delectable to resist. We had to try it. Tonight.

Now we are carnivores here, well resigned to the idea that a dinner without meat just isn't satisfying. But at the same time, I have been looking for ways to use more vegetables, and less meat, and make some wonderful whole foods, from scratch meals in the process. I bought "Laurel's Kitchen", but I was kind of disappointed in that the book was written in the fat and egg phobic 70's and early 80's. Good fats are essential. What we don't need is more hydrogenated vegetable oil. Our ancestors didn't extract oil from grains and beans, did they?

Anyway, I digress. Tonight's vegetable stew went like this: First I chopped an onion and a half (made easy since I still have so many onions from my garden!), heated up some olive oil, and tossed it in. Next I whacked four cloves of garlic (New, fun technique I have learned from several Food Network chefs; place the unpeeled garlic clove under a broad knife, then whack it with your hand. The hard peeling slips off, leaving the tender insides somewhat broken up and falling apart, no mincing required) and tossed them in the pot. I threw in a little salt and pepper and a fresh bay leaf, let them cook for a while, then put in two small zucchinis, chopped, one eggplant, cut into small pieces, and two red potatoes, cut into bite size pieces. Salt and pepper again, then cover and let it cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Then I added about a cup of chicken broth, and a large can of crushed tomatoes. Rachel recommended fire roasted tomatoes, but since my grocery store did not carry them, I added a few drops of liquid smoke to add flavor. That, and a small splash of Merlot. I cooked the whole thing for another fifteen minutes, and served with toasted cheese bread.

The verdict: What meat? We did not miss meat at all, it was delicious, and quick and easy, and fit into the "whole foods" resolution I have unofficially made for myself for the new year.