sopa

I made this soup for the first time about a yr ago: as soon as it came in my Whole Living email.  Fille & I hate quinoa as much as Garçon loves the stuff, but I try to remain open to it.  That is what Fille hilariously says about so many ingredients -- I don't like [whatever] but I remain open to it.  She makes me laugh.

The thing is, though, the soup was awful.  Dishwatery & loose.  The first night the three of us were sampling it, Fille declared it to need tomato paste.  She was right; I knew it as soon as she said it, but testing bore it out.  Tomato paste, what a smarty!

 

Prettier photos have been shot.

I asked Garçon in November, when we were having it for dinner at Sal's (low points!), "How many days in a row could you eat this?"  I know that because of his age he is hungry all of the time, but because of his restrictions, he can't just drink up gallons of milk or eat a billion sandwiches, so that means I am more involved in a billion meals per day than I would like.  I wanted something I could keep in the fridge/freezer, something full of protein & vitamins that he could gobble as freely as he liked. 

"Every day, Mom.  I could eat it 590 days in a row."

Oh, ok, good!  Great! 

Black Bean & Quinoa Soup

Chop an onion.  Also, chop 3 or 4 cloves of garlic and as many carrots as you want.  I like 3.  Also, I no longer peel carrots to put them in soup.  Too busyworker!  Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil and dump the vegetables in with a couple of teaspoons of salt and just sweat them a little.  Ok, a lot.  Poke around.

Add one teaspoon of cumin.  Also, add 2tsp chili powder if you have it.  If you do not, just use 1tsp of paprika or smoked paprika or a smidge of cayenne and black pepper or whatever.  Add 1tsp of oregano, which, if you don't have oregano ... I dunno what to tell you.   Lather in 2 or 3 tbspful of tomato paste.  Stir & stir until mixed up.  Turn the heat down because the sugar in the tomatoes will burn, but when you smell it all caramelly, it's time to move along. 

Add one quart of water or broth or love the one you're with; also one 14-oz can of tomatoes and a chipotle chili canned with the adobo sauce.  I never use that, because adobo usually has wheat or corn or soy or something.  I usually use the chipotle salsa, I just dump the whole jar in, which checks out label-wise for us, but do your own thing. 

Add 1/2 cup quinoa, 2c cooked black beans (which is one 15-oz can + a smidge of the second, I believe, or do it yrself*), bring it to a boil, cover & simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Garnish with spring onions, cilantro, olive oil, red onions, parsley, chip-strips, epazote, nopales, whatever.  It is soup.  Go crazy.

 

*Cooking yr own dried black beans:  Open the bag & rinse.  Add to a pot with 3qts water.  Add two bay leaves & a handful of cumin seeds if you want.  Maybe chuck in a whole onion.  Boil the hell out of them until they are done.  Hold with cooking liquid to cover in the fridge or freezer.  Easy. 

Comments

[saltypepper]

When you do canned beans do you drain them or dump the shebang right in?

[lala]

Do yr own thing. Lucha!

[Marilee]

hey dollface! I hate quinoa. Ancient grains taste like feet. xoxo

[lala]

Idk, I think amaranth tastes ok. I guess chia's a seed. See you! xo