hot damn: black bean pumpkin soup

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you're probably aware that I am a huge soup lover and my dear husband is not. But I've recently discovered a way for my picky husband to finish a bowl (or sometimes even two). All I need to do is serve the soup with garlic bread or cheese bread and he'll actually put down the spoon and start dunking the bread into his soup until the bowl is wiped clean. I know, amazing.

When I saw this recipe from the always excellent and totally drool-worthy blog, Smitten Kitten, I knew that like it or not, soup = dinner. Last weekend, I had made Cornelius' favorite cookies and had a lot of leftover pumpkin puree on my hands. This soup seemed an easy way to use it up. I made a few changes to the recipe, leaving out the tomatoes, sherry and ham but found the results to be stellar. The soup was hearty, spicy and full of texture and a snap to make. Of course, I made a batch of cheese covered garlic bread to go along side and I heard no complaints at all.

And now for something completely different...did you know that the Food Network Canada has another new blog? Joining Food for Thought is Bazaar, a collection of food and kitchen related finds. This afternoon why not check out my new post in Bazaar on the joys of hotel bars and leave a comment!

black bean pumpkin soup
1 T olive oil
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, chopped
6 fat garlic cloves, minced
2 T cumin
1 t chipotle powder
salt & pepper
4 c beef broth
1 1/2 c pumpkin puree
1 T cider vinegar

In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add the cumin and chipotle and the can of beans and mash with a potato masher. Dump in the pumpkin puree and the broth and bring to a simmering boil. Just before serving, add in the cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

recovery

Dealing with a small electrial fire, electrians, and finding a new place to live really caught me off guard and into the waiting arms of a big bad sickness. I hate being sick and having this flu was the absolute worst. I was achy and sore all over — even my eyeballs hurt! — so looking at a computer screen was pretty much out of the question. I slept almost all the time, my hacking cough could raise the dead, and not once did I think about food or eating. Did you hear what I said? Food just wasn't an issue for me for almost an entire week which has never happened to me before. Me, I'm always planning out meals or dreaming up some fantastic sounding dessert or browsing recipes for ideas. Food and what I'm going to be putting into my mouth is always a constant. But being sick was a total mind fuck. Now I realize why Cornelius is so thin and how he can forget to eat meals and how he doesn't really care what's for dinner. This is how the other half lives! All week I've survived on lemon and ginger tea, grapefruit halves and canned soup. I'm alive, I'm recovering, and I almost feel like myself again. I'm still not thinking about food very much or what I'll eat for dinner, but I know that there is no doubt I'll be returning to my old self very soon.

In the meantime, I'll post a recipe I wanted to write about before all of this happened. This black bean soup is good for what ails you and it's great even if you're in tip-top health. It's super fast to make using canned beans and fresh prepared salsa and only a little bit of chopping to keep you busy. When I served it for dinner one night, Cornelius said that next time I should make a big batch and keep it in the freezer so there's always some available. And coming from someone who isn't crazy about soup, it's high praise indeed.

This soup would work well for vegetarians, leaving out the ham and subbing in vegetable stock, but I'm sure it would be even more wonderful with some crumbled chorizo sausage instead of the ham. Hmmm, something to think about when I'm actually thinking about food again!

black bean soup with ham
2 cans black beans, drained
1 t olive oil
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 t chipotle powder
4 slices of thinly sliced ham (I used black forest)
1 large tub (500 ml) of your favorite fresh salsa
4-5 c chicken stock
1/2 c frozen corn
hot sauce
juice of 1 lime
1 avocado, sliced
sour cream (optional)

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large pot. Add in onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes until translucent. Add in red pepper, ham and chipotle powder and stir until combined. Add beans, salsa and cover with chicken stock. Cover pot and cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.

2. Turn down the heat to a low simmer. Use a potato masher and mash up the beans until the soup thickens. Add in corn, hot sauce and the lime juice and give everything a good stir. Simmer for a few additional minutes until everything is heated through. Serve in bowls with slices of avocado and a dollop of sour cream.

thanksgiving

Last night I had a few friends over for a Thanksgiving meal. It was potluck and there were a couple of vegans there, so I figured I'd wait before making my ham in coca-cola recipe. Everyone brought loads of food and even more loads of wine. I'm proud to say, thanks to Ibuprofen and lots of water, I'm up early with no sign of a hangover. I don't know if I can say the same for Cornelius.

It certainly wasn't a typical Thanksgiving meal, but for me, as long as the meal employs the use of cranberries (check!), brussel sprouts (check!) and yams (check!), Thanksgiving it definitely was. Pam brought over a salad made with organic greens, sprouts, cherry tomatos and walnuts. She also brought over Amy's Goddess Dressing which was so tasty! Dan made Martha Stewart's decadent macaroni and cheese and Ryan and Kristen brought over some vegan tofu lasagne (so good!) and a vegan chocolate cake (which is from a recipe I passed onto her that is a wartime recipe sometimes referred to as "wacky cake"). Yum!

As an appetizer, I decided to make some garlicy /lemony beans. I used only 1 lemon this time and yellow beans instead of green ones, but it was a great snack before dinner. Next up, I made my most favorite soup ever from the rebar cookbook. I used all the yams required but also threw in a bit of leftover canned pumpkin since I had some in the fridge. Delicious!

african yam & peanut soup

8 C veggie stock
2 T vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
6 T minced ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 T cumin
2 T coriander
1/2 t cayenne
1 t paprika
1 red bell pepper
4 chopped yams
1 can pineapple, with juice
3 chopped tomatoes
5 T peanut butter
1 bunch cilantro
2 limes' juice
hot sauce

1. Warm the stock
2. Saute the onion and some salt, until translucent
3. Add garlic, ginger, and spices, and saute until soft
4. Add red pepper, yams, and more sal until things start to stick.
5. Add enough stock to cover, boil, and simmer until the yams are soft.
6. Add the pineapple with the juice, tomatoes, PB, and the rest of the stock and simmer for 30 minutes
7. Puree until smooth.
8. Simmer for another 10 minutes
9. Add cilantro, lime juice and hot sauce to taste before serving.

Next post, I'll put up my cranberry chutney recipe and Cornelius made a chocolate chip pumpkin cake! Recipes and maybe a picture to come.