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Dances with Soup February 17, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food.
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Tonight was a dinner and a movie night with my good friend, Lindsay, who is also in AmeriCorps in Boulder this year. In her incredible brilliance, she decided to go for a themed night… Dances with Wolves and Three Sisters Soup. Yay for Native American nights!

We started off my chopping a lot of veggies. Peppers, onions, garlic. Measured out cups of kidney beans, lima beans and kernels of corn. A dash of thyme, a pinch of cumin, some salt and pepper, two bay leaves and six cups of vegetable broth later our soup was bubbling away.

Onwards to the dumplings: corn meal, whole wheat flour, eggs, milk, canola oil, salt and pepper. Making a rounded tablespoon apparently is not my forte. I am more prone to making a quadruple scoop rather than simply rounded. All that was left was to drop them in the broth, and then let them simmer for a bit.

In AmeriCorps, we may not be wealthy, we may not have a lot of free time, but when we make soup… it. is. EPIC.

Our dinner for two could have fed a small, nay, medium army.

Our soup was ment to look like this:

As seen from the Vegetarian Kitchen. Doesn’t it look scrumptious???

The Lindsay/Heather attempt wasn’t as pretty. The dumplings had melded together in a raft on the surface of the soup.  The soup itself burbled and bubbled like a mudpot in Yellowstone. Impressive sounds coming from a stock pot, to be sure.

It might not have looked pretty, but it sure tasted it!

A quick addition of swiss chard and cilantro gave our soup a healthy, green glow. It certainly went with our movie choice well.  The soup left me dancing… even when I had to leave Lindsay’s at intermission. The second half will have to be viewed at a later date!

Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit January 31, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Food.
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I made Black Bean Soup the first week of January, and have been enjoying it ever since! The perfect lunchtime fix, a delightful dinner on the go, its possibilities seemed never-ending! My soup bowl has overrun with goodness. My soup seemed to last forever, but today was the sad day that brought an end to the magical soup.

The Recipe:

  • 1 lb. bag of dried black beans
  • 8 cups of water
  • 1 ham bone
  • 1 cup chopped ham
  • 2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp cayenne powder
  1.  Soak the black beans overnight, making sure that the water is at least a few inches over the beans to account for expansion.
  2. Add the 8 cups of water and the ham bone to the beans and bring to a boil.
  3. Once the water has boiled, add in the stock, tomatoes, onions, carrots and cayenne powder. Reduce to a simmer.
  4. Let cook for simmer for 1.5 hours. Add in the chopped ham.
  5. Cook for an additional 1/2 hour. Remove the ham bone.
  6. Serve with a splash of vinegar or dab of sour cream. Enjoy!

 

Soups are such a wonderful way to get a hearty meal with lots of vegetables involved. I’m sad to see the black bean soup go, but it is an exciting prospect to think of my next project! Maybe a chili, perhaps a broth soup with greens… there are so many possibilities!