Chipotle Black Bean Soup

 

I'm sick and it's not fun because I'm the biggest baby when I feel like crap. My ears are plugged. It's the strangest thing.

I made this soup last night. As I chopped the onion, I cried out of only one eye. I guess there is an advantage of being sick and cooking for yourself...

Chipotle Black Bean Soup
Serves 4
Adapted from Quick-Fix Vegetarian

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 cup of onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 5 cups black beans (or 3 16-oz cans drained)
• 1 (15-oz ) can diced tomatoes
• 3 cups water
• 1-2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garnish: Avocado, cilantro, sour cream, salsa, and/or cilantro

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot then add carrots, onion, and garlic. Sweat the veggies for approximately 5 minutes.
2. Add cumin and toast for 30 seconds.
3. Add the black beans, tomatoes, water, chipotle. Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes for the flavors to develop.
4. Puree with a stick blender, food processor, or regular blender until you reach your favorite level of smoothness of soup.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Garnish and enjoy! Your nose might run just like mine.

Ode to Summer Spicy Corn Soup

Look at that tasty soup with all that cilantro and homemade tortilla!

The cold weather is starting to roll in, well as much as it can for Southern California. The mornings are foggy, the days are getting blustery, and the evenings are beginning to smell of Fall. Summer is approaching a swift end. So to make this soup to make the transition into Fall a little easier.

This soup has lots of flavor and a hint of spice making a big, bold statement that summer will never die! The soup is particularly good with home made tortillas and guacamole, but those will be for another day.

Ode to Summer Spicy Corn Soup

• 2 ears corn
• 4 green onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• ½ yellow bell pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne
• 1 quart (32 oz) Tomato or Veggie Juice (I used Knudsen’s Very Veggie and only half of the 32 oz jar, but added water to make 32 oz)
• 1 ½ cup (aka 15 oz can) of beans of your choice (Black Eyed Peas, Kidney, Black, or Pinto beans)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

• Cilantro
• Cheese
• Avocado
• Tortillas

Method

1.     Dice bell pepper and whites of the green onions. Mince or press the garlic. Remove the kernels from the corn husk. (This step will cause corn kernels to fly everywhere, you have been warned!)

2.     Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the bell pepper, whites of the green onion, and minced garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the green parts of the green onion.

3.     Add the dried oregano, cumin, and cayenne to the pot and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the tomato or veggie juice, corn kernels, and beans. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to your desired tastes.

4.     Garnish with green onion and other goodies then devour.