We’re having some wacky weather around here! First we have the bitter cold, temps around 0° and snow storms then it gets into the 40s with torrential rains! All within a week. There is just no accounting for the weather. Maybe it had something to do with the solar flare of the sun earlier last week. If that can cause a coronal mass ejection and result in aurora (northern lights), why couldn’t it also cause some extreme weather? Or maybe it’s the phase of the moon. The moon exerts force on the oceans and causes tides. The tides helped create the giant ice boulders that formed on Lake Michigan last week. Maybe there are some lunar influences contributing to this weird weather.
All I know for sure is that it is soup weather. Bitter cold & snowy or rainy & dreary, I want soup! It’s the perfect food to warm and fill us and we make a lot of soup of different kinds at this time of year. This one isn’t the normal black bean soup where the beans are mashed up and the soup is thick as paste. This one is more like a broth-based vegetable soup, but with the added bonus of protein from the black beans that regular veggie soups don’t always have. A not-the-norm black bean soup for a not-the-norm weather month!
Black Bean Soup (adapted from fitnessmagazine.com)
- I onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 3 chopped tomatoes
- 15-ounce can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers
- 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro
- crushed tortilla chips for garnish
Sauté the chopped onion, cumin and garlic cloves in the olive oil.
Start the soup by sauteing the onions with the cumin.
Add the broth, tomatoes, black beans and green chili peppers. Bring it all to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Bring it all to a boil then reduce it to a simmer when all the rest of the ingredients are added.
Add the fresh cilantro. Garnish the soup with crushed tortilla chips and serve.
Legume & veggie goodness!
245 calories, 10g protein, 34g carbohydrate, 11g fat (1g saturated), 8g fiber.
Thanks to my college friend and fellow science & weather nerd, Tat, for alerting me to the solar flare & the ice boulders! ~Linda
Black Bean Soup (adapted from fitnessmagazine.com)
- I onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 3 chopped tomatoes
- 15-ounce can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 4-ounce can diced green chili peppers
- 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro
- crushed tortilla chips for garnish
Sauté the chopped onion, cumin and garlic cloves in the olive oil. Add the broth, tomatoes, black beans and green chili peppers. Bring it all to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the fresh cilantro. Garnish the soup with crushed tortilla chips and serve.
245 calories, 10g protein, 34g carbohydrate, 11g fat (1g saturated), 8g fiber.