Black Bean Soup!

Back in January I decided to start eating more vegetarian meals for dinner. I had gotten in a rut with dinners – meat or fish and a vegetable; healthy but not a lot of vegetables. It also had been a while since I truly cooked - lots of ingredients, following a recipe. Plus my friend Jessi went almost vegetarian and lost a ton of weight. Of course, she was also running a serious number of miles and lifting weights. So with the small change in the diet and more running, I’ve been able to reach one weight loss goal (less than 150 #) and maintain it, despite a very hectic fall semester of teaching. Hopefully when the fall semester winds down I’ll be able to step up the running again and maybe make my next weight loss goal of 145 #.

Here is a recipe for black bean soup that I developed myself, taking from various other recipes:

Ingredients. Didn't know how much I was going to use so I bought extras.

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced (remove seeds or omit for less spiciness)

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, with juice

1 can chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

Olive oil

1. Sauté garlic for a few seconds in 1-2 tblsp olive oil

2. Add onion and sauté until softened

3. Add green pepper and jalapeno and sauté for several minutes

4. Add spices and heat for a minute or two

5. Add black beans and tomatoes

6. Add 1 can broth and 1 can water (I’m rethinking whether the extra water was needed.)

7. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 min.

8. Puree 3-5 ladles of soup in a blender and add back to soup

9. I thought the soup looked too soupy and wanted it thicker so I boiled it for 5-6 min to reduce the liquid a bit.

Simmering.

 The soup was a success! The taste is really good, different flavor notes, and a definite kick to it! I'll be making this again!

The soup! Yummy and spicy! (ignore the corn bread fail in the background)