Beany Shroomy Love Soup

This is another "you should write this down" soup that my roommate likes. It's sort of vaguely asian tasting.

Ingredients:

-one can of black beans (16 oz)

-one can of water

-two bullion cubes (I like knorr's vegetarian vegetable)

-two scallions

-some olive oil

-a dash or two of cooking sherry

-four or five garlic cloves

-half a tsp to 1 tsp of smashed up sichuan pepper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper)

-a few spoonfuls of lemon juice

-6 fresh mushrooms, sliced.

-some cayenne pepper (to taste)

-optional: cubed mild cheese or firm tofu

Chop your garlic and scallions finely. Put them and some olive oil in a pot and on medium-low and let them get bubbling. Add your smashed up sichuan pepper and some cayenne pepper, if you're feeling it, now. Let this simmer a little bit, but stir it so your spices don't get stuck.

When you've bubbled a little bit, open your can of beans and dump that in (no need to drain it; this is soup we're making here). Add a can of water, and your two bullion cubes, and a few spoonfuls of lemon juice (this is a taste thing; go conservative and you can always add more later) and some sherry. Then add your mushrooms. If you're adding tofu you should add it here, but if you're adding cheese wait so it doesn't turn into a blob of doom. Then cover and let bubble for a while.

Ready! If you're adding cheese, scatter it and stir well so it doesn't turn into a blob. That's it!

Another Awesome Black Bean Recipe

Serves 2, or perhaps 4 if it's an appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans (15.5 oz)

1 avocado (the smaller ones that look like reptile eggs, not the big bright ones)

4-5 cloves of garlic

Small bunch fresh cilantro (leaves from 2-4 stalks is good)*

Half a cup of cranberry wine**

Big handful of Queso Blanco, cubed***

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Paprika

*Cilantro has a lot of personality so if you don't like it, leave it out or go for parsley instead.

**I just happened to see and buy cranberry wine last week, for the first time ever. You can substitute cranberry juice, but it needs to be the real deal--all cranberry juice, no added sugar or corn syrup.

***Or feel free to substitute with a cheese you like better. Firm and mild is good.

Chop up your garlic finely, and put it in some oil in a medium sized pot, over a medium sized flame. You want to let it bubble and brown but not get too burnt. You may want to put a spatterguard or cover it partially to avoid spitting oil.

When your garlic is brown, add your can of beans (don't drain) and your cranberry wine or juice. Add your cayenne pepper, paprika, pepper. I just used a few shakes of each. Turn on high for now to get it nice and hot, but once it starts really bubbling you will want to reduce the heat until it just simmers.

While it is simmering, slice up your avocado into small manageable slices, and chop up your cilantro very finely. The best way to do this is with a big sharp knife and a lot of small chops. (AND CAUTION, PEOPLE! Kitchen safety please.)

Let it simmer for 10 minutes or so, them remove from heat, add your cilantro and your cheese, and stir immediately so that the cheese does not glob together into a cheeseball of doom. Avocados go on top. Ready to eat!

Black Bean Soup

Man: soup is my favorite thing ever.  PS, this soup is totally vegetarian and totally hearty.  The two can coexist happily, and do so all the time in my kitchen.

Ready?

Serves: Two people as a meal, maybe three or four as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans

Small amount of oil or butter

Garlic

Half an onion

A tomato or two

Red wine (spicy is nice-y)

1 vegetable bullion cube

Some water

Okay so!  This recipe starts like all my recipes: start off some chopped garlic and onions simmering in oil.

Typically I use olive oil but the other day I ran out and used Toasted Sesame oil instead.  Let me tell you: that was a fun substitution!  It makes it a little nutty or something.

When you're satisfied with your garlic and onions (it's great to brown the garlic a little), dump in your can of black beans.  (Note: I often use the verb "dump" when telling you to add ingredients, which, in addition to not sounding totally gourmet, can be hazardous when dealing with oil!  Watch for splatters.)

Add a generous amount of wine.  Do we have to be measurey?  Not a full glass or anything, but certainly add enough for a coupla hearty Italian toasts.

I used Yellowtail Shiraz-Cabernet tonight.  It was pretty good.  Yellowtail: they know what to do about wine and there's a picture of a kangaroo.  Who can complain?

Oh, and toss in your bullion cube, and add in ohhhh let's say a cup of water.  Just to make it, y'know, soupy.

Let it simmer for a while.

Dice up your tomatoes nice and small.  Also nice here is to chop up a bit of raw onion and use it as a garnish.  It complements the beany flavor very nicely.

When you feel your simmering is complete, throw on your tomatoes and onions and serve!  It's all about lots of bread and butter with this soup.

Garlic & Pinto Bean Soup

This serves, I think we can safely say, two or three people as a meal and perhaps more if it's just appetizer soup.

You will need:

-a can of pinto beans

-a bunch of garlic, both fresh and powdered.  (I used half a head!)

-half an onion

-2 cups vegetable broth

-cumin

-thyme

-3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice.

-some olive oil.

Chop up your garlic (make it a little chunky) and dice up your onion.  I usually hold back some of the onion so that I can have a nice raw onion garnish at the end; this is up to you.  Start off your garlic and onion simmering in some olive oil on medium-low.

Shake garlic POWDER onto this--yes, this soup hails from Garlic Town.  Be as copious as you like.  Also shake a generous amount of cumin on there, and a pinch or two of thyme.

Let these things get a little tender and then add your beans, which you needn't bother to drain since we are, after all, making soup.  Also throw in your lemon juice here.  Cover it and stir it and let it simmer for a while.  Feel free to add some more garlic and cumin if the spirit moves you (it always moves me).

Get your broth going now -- whether in the microwave or on the stove.  Personally, I favor Knorr's Vegetarian Vegetable bullion.

When the broth is brothy and ready, pour it in.  Keep uncovered and let the soup simmer/boil a bit more--there is no real science to this, just that soup gets better as it gets simmery.  I take as much time as I need to clean up and butter some bread, and then I usually get impatient and decide soup is served.  Soup's easy: ss long as it's hot, it's ready, but you can't oversimmer either.

There's your story!  I rocked this out with a buttered ciabatta roll today, which was both delicious and unpronounceable.  I recommend it!