Black Bean Soup

Its time to snuggle on the couch with your bowl of soup and football on the television.... even if it's by your husband's request! Here is a good and healthy soup that warms you up and fills your belly!

** I used black beans that I made the previous day in a slow cooker, but you can just use plain black beans either cooked or canned, you are going to rinse all of the good stuff off of them anyways.**

Ingredients:

• 1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 onion chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teasp ground cumin
• 1 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
• 1 tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped (or one canned tomato, drained and chopped)
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans or about 3 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 3/4 teasp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin. Stir briefly, about 30 seconds, then add the zucchini, tomato, and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer, covered, until the zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes. Measure out 1 cup of black beans and set aside. Put the rest of the beans and the oregano into the saucepan.

Transfer the soup to a blender, in batches if necessary, and puree until thick and creamy. Pour soup back into the saucepan and return to the stove over medium heat. Add the whole beans and the salt. Cook, stirring until warmed through. I usually wait until it bubbles and then turn the heat down, letting is simmer for about 10 minutes. The longer soups sit, the more flavors you will be able to enjoy! GO LIONS!

Pancakes!!

Pancakes are fun because you can add chocolate chips or bananas, or whatever is in season! My next adventure I think will be experimenting with pumpkin pancakes! I am on a pumpkin kick at the moment.. prepare! These are super easy and even if you aren't vegan, you usually have these things around the house anyways. This recipe makes me shake my head at why anyone would buy a pancake mix!! THIS IS SO EASY!!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tblsp sugar
• 2 tblsp baking powder
• 1/8 teasp salt
• 1 cup soymilk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

** Combine all of the dry ingredients and mix them well. Then add the soymilk and vegetable oil. Whisk until there are no bumps or lumps! Spray a small amount of vegetable oil on your pan over medium heat and pour a small amount onto the pan in the same spot so that it becomes circular.. like a pancake.. wait until you see bubbles on the top and flip! Cook that side for a couple of minutes until you see a golden brown and you are done my friend! Enjoy!!!

Tim Who?!

I decided to try making timbales.. which is a french dish.. named after the type of pan they use to make them in. Typically a proper timbale is narrower at the bottom, but as you can see... mine are not. The neat thing about timbales?! They can be made with just about any grain and complementing ingredients! So I made Quinoa Amaranth Timbales... lots of protein for me and my little one : )

• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 a small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup amaranth
• 1/2 cup quinoa, well rinsed and drained in a small strainer
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 5 dried apricot halves, finely diced

**Zest the orange and set zest aside. Juice the orange into a larger liquid measuring device, then add about 1 and 1/4 cup of water to that. Set aside.

*** Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Saute onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and cook for about 30 seconds.. until it becomes fragrant. Add the orange juice mixture and salt and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly add the amaranth, whisking constantly. Add the quinoa and cinnamon and whisk to combine.

** Return the pan to the heat. When the water boils, turn the heat to low, cover, and let it cook on low for about 25 minutes... until all of the liquid has been absorbed. When the grains are done, stir in the dried apricot and orange zest. Stir briskly until well incorporated.

*** Spray your molds with nonstick spray. :: I used mini cake pans.. you can use anything and the food will take its form.. I am going to try cookie cutters next time .. you can use very small rubbermaids, dressing containers, teacups, etc. Pack the quinoa mixture firmly into the mold. Then IMMEDIATELY turn it out onto a serving dish or container, tapping on the bottom to help it release... you can serve immediately or save for later in the refidgerater!!

Risotto with a side of healing!

So for starters, I have come to the conclusion that I love cooking and absolutely suck at blogging! Soooo... I will do the best I can, but I am thinking this will be an "in-between semesters" thing... I am definately passionate about this lifestyle, and am still cooking just as often, but I don't have a lot of extra time to share! Anyways... why a side of healing? Well after making this meal I learned that mushrooms naturally help boost the immune system! And what better time to do that than now as we are heading into colder seasons?! Okay.. recipe...:

• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dried shittake mushrooms
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped shallots
• 3 cups thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• a few dashes of pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups arborio rice (risotto)

** Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium-size saucepan. Add the dried shittake mushrooms and simmer for about 2 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a plate. When cool enough, coarsely chop them. Cover the broth and keep warm over very very low heat.

In a medium-size saucepan over moderate heat, saute the shallots for about 5 minutes. Add the baby bellas and sun-dried tomatoes, and cook until mushrooms are tender.... about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, shiitakes, herbs, spices and salt:  saute another 3 minutes.

Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes. Add a little of the broth at a time, allowing it to soak up as you stir it into the mixture. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked and the broth is fully absorbed.. it will take about 20 minutes.. serve it up!!!

I also discovered that you can freeze this for a while! So, half of my servings are sitting in the freezer for a lazy day~ Peace & Love