Black bean soup!

Last night was some down-home cooking! I put a pot of black beans on the stove and let them simmer for 3 hours, added a bunch of goodstuff, and voila! Black bean soup, thick and spicy! Add some homemade cornbread and spinach salad to the mix, and now we're cooking with gas...or electric, if that's what you've got :)

Vegetarian black bean soup:

2 cups of dried black beans
1 can of stewed tomatoes (or you can stew the tomatoes yourself, if you want to do all that work)
1 small can of corn
green bell pepper
vegetable or chicken boullion
onion
garlic
cumin
bay leaf
salt
pepper
cilantro and sour cream as a garnish

Soak your black beans in water overnight. Then drain the water and fill back up with fresh water, about 5 or 6 cups, depending on how thick you like your soup. Cut an onion in half and take the peel off. Do the same for two cloves of garlic. Toss 1/2 onion and garlic and bay leaf into the pot with the beans, and let simmer on medium heat for several hours, I let mine cook for 3 hrs., or until the beans are tender. Get out your food processor or blender and pick out the onion pieces and garlic with some tongs, and throw them in the blender. Also throw a cup of the beans with some liquid into the blender and puree. Remember to put the lid on the blender!!!

Does anybody know what sofrito is? If not, here goes: In a separate pan, heat up some vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon, and sautee the other half of your onion and also a half of the bell pepper in oil. When they are browned and tender, add them to your bean pot, oil included. Next add your stewed tomatoes and corn, boullion, 1 cube, for flavor, salt, pepper, cumin. Take out the bay leaf and throw away. Let simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Add a spoonful of sour cream and cilantro, maybe even a squeeze of fresh lemon juice as a garnish.

Serve this with homemade corn bread and a simple spinach salad tossed lightly in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and you've got a comfort food night!
I had a Klondike bar for dessert, and I do not regret it one bit. I'm still working on knitting my sweater. On to my second skein!

Enjoy!