Black Bean Soup

I like cooking with dried beans.  They are much more economical than their canned counterparts and they're easy to store.  You will need to plan ahead and allow time for soaking the beans.  I always soak them overnight.  It's easy to remember and you don't have to watch the clock.  Within reason, it is difficult to "over soak".

This original recipe came from Whole Food Markets.  As usual, I have made my own changes.  However, if you substitute the cooking wine and broth in this recipe for water, and substitute nutritional yeast for the Parmesan cheese, this low sodium, low fat, high fiber, wheat free dish would also be dairy free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian.

--Enjoy

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound dried black beans (about 2 1/2 cups), rinsed
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup red cooking wine
• 10 cups low fat reduced sodium chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• 1/2 ripe avocado, chopped or smashed to garnish

Method: 

Soak the beans overnight or 6 to 8 hours prior to cooking. Drain and rinse.

In a large pot, bring 1/2 cup red cooking wine to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in cumin and chipotle and cook 1 minute, stirring. Add drained beans and 10  cups low fat reduced sodium broth. Bring soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until beans are tender. Remove 4 cups soup and carefully purée in a blender. Return purée to pot and stir in cilantro, Parmesan cheese and lime juice. Spoon into bowls for serving and garnish with avocado.

Cabbage Soup

I found this recipe on line as part of the "Cabbage Soup Diet"and it sounded good.  But, it was not my intention to pass on a well known (in some circles) recipe and call it a day.  As usual, I made changes to the recipe, but I used this recipe to try some new cooking techniques:

1. When sauteing the onions and peppers, no oil or butter was used.  I used low fat low sodium broth (I used beef, but chicken or vegetable would work fine too).
2. By the time I added the rest of the vegetables to the pot, the ingredients filled it to the top.  I wanted to continue to sweat the veggies before adding the liquid base, so in keeping with the no oil no butter scheme, I used 2 cups of V8 Juice and continued to sweat for about 45minutes.

This recipe makes a whole lot of sop.  If I would have known, I might have halved it, but no harm no foul.  I will just share some with family and friends.

---Enjoy

Cabbage Soup

1. Heat a very large pot, on medium low heat and cover the bottom with about 1/8"-1/4" low sodium reduced fat broth.
2. Add the onion, green peppers, celery, mushrooms and carrots. Cover and begin to sweat the vegetables.
3. Add the cabbage and V8 and mix well.  Cover and continue sweating for abot 45 minutes.
4. Stir in 4 cups of fat free low sodium broth and 1 teaspoon Himala Salt.  Heat over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. 
5. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 2 hours being careful not to let the soup come to a boil.
6. Add dill weed, dry mustard, ground marjoram and remaining himala salt and stir until well combined. 
7. Ladel into bowl and garnish with spicy brown mustard.

Ingredients 1 head cabbage, coarsely chopped or shredded 2 med yellow onions, coarsly chopped or diced 2 green peppers, coarsly chopped or diced 5 stalks celry, chopped 2 or 3 cans tomatoes, diced or stewed 3 or 4 carrots, chopped 8-10 oz mushrooms 2 cloves garlic 2 cups V8 Juice 4 tablespoons dill weed 2 teaspoons ground mustard 2 teaspoons ground marjoram 2 teaspoons Himala Salt Spicy brown mustard (garnish) Pepper to taste

Traditional Irish Stew

Erin Go Bragh!

St Patrick's Day is upon us, so I felt compelled to make a traditional Irish Stew.  I was going to use lamb for this dish, however, I was not too excited about paying north of $12 per pound for lamb.  So my next thought was to substitute stew meat which is perfectly acceptable.  Then, I remembered that I had a 2 pound beef rib roast in the freezer that I won at a meat shoot.  It may not be traditional Irish stew, but this dish turned out fantastic.  In honor of the way it turned out, I will include my recipe for Irish coffee as well as a cornmuffin recipe that I ground my own corn to make the corn meal.  This was a fun two days in the kitchen.

Thanks to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/irish-stew-recipe0.html?oc=linkback for the original recipe.

---Enjoy

Traditional Irish Stew

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 med yellow onions, diced 
• 2 lb stew meat / mince or lamb (Remember, you can substitute stew meet, but I used beef rib roast.)
• 2 lbs size B red potatoes cut into eighths
• 1 lb baby carrots cut in half lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons pearl barley
• 1 cup roasted corn
• 5 cups low sodium reduced fat beef broth
• 1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and bay leaf)
• 1/4 teaspoon Sage
• 1 sprig dried thyme (1/2 tbs dried)
• 1 bunch parsley leaves, finely chopped (9 teaspoons dried)
• 1 bunch chives (1/2 cup chopped)
• Salt & pepper (personal preference) 

Method

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, soup pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over med heat, reduce to low and sweat the onions in oil, until they are translucent.  About 20 minutes. 
2. Add the dried thyme and stir. 
3. Add the meat and brown on a high heat to seal in juices. 
4. Add carrots, and pearl barley. 
5. Pour in the chicken stock so that it almost covers the meat and vegetables. 
6. Season with salt and pepper, and add Bouquet garni. 
7. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours, being careful not to boil. 
8. Place potatoes on top of the stew, cover and cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
   
   Serve the stew in large flat soup bowls, and drizzle herb butter over the potatoes or garnish with parsley and chives.
   
   

   Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal 
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup roasted corn kernels
• 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice (such as pecans or walnuts)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a standard muffin tin with either paper or tin liners, or spray with canola oil.
3. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, flaxseed, baking powder and salt in a bowl. 
4. In a seperate bowl, whisk together almond milk, applesauce and honey. 
5. Stir honey mixture into cornmeal mixture. Add corn and nuts and stir until combined. 
6. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serving Irish Stew  Stew can be eaten at any time of day although eating it for breakfast would be bit much. This can be a substantial meal so dont plan on taking a jog afterwards.

Irish Coffee Brew a pot of coffee Pour milk into a small saucepan and bring to a boil* Transfer milk to a small bowl and whisk vigerously until frothy Pour a cup of coffee and add a shot of Tullamore Dew Irish Whisky leaving enough room for the frothy milk Add the milk and enjoy 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1/4 cup honey 1 cup roasted corn kernels 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice (such as pecans or walnuts) * Be creative.  I used an Almond/Coconut non-dairy blend instead of milk

Wild Rice Chowder

What a great day in the kitchen.  I made a chile (see Ann's Simple Chile posted on 1/24/15)  and increased the recipie by 2 1/2 so that I could take it to a beer tasting at the Kappel estate tonight.  And, at the same time, I prepared this Wild Rice Chowder for the first time.  This is only the second chowder that I've ever made a chowder, but based on the results, I am looking forward to making many more.  Thank you once again to Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Soups & Stews for this delicious addition to my recipe box.

---Enjoy

Wild Rice Chowder

Ingredients:

• 1 tabespoon extra virgin olive oil (the original recipe called for butter or margerine)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrotts
• 2/3 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups low sodium reduced fat chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 4 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 2 cups Silk Almond Coconut Blend (the original recipe called for half-and-half or light cream)
• 1/4 cup bacon bits (the original recipe called for 4 strips bacon, crisp-cooked, drained and crumbled)

Directions

1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil over med-high heat in a soup pot.
2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, reduce to low and sweat the vegetables partially covered until tender (about 15 minutes).
3. Stir in the uncooked wild rice; cook and stir for a minute more.
4. Add broth, rosemary and thyme.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simer covered for 45 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. Stir in the half & half and cook until heated through.
6. Stir in bacon bits and salt & pepper to taste.
7. Add the Almond Coconut Blend, cook until heated through and stir in bacon bits.
8. Salt and pepper to taste