In and Out Black Bean Soup
Posted: December 10, 2008 Filed under: fall, favorites, gluten free, Quick cook, Stage 1, Vegan, winter Leave a comment »
Some days, I get a chance to actually come home for lunch. I usually have only about 45 minutes before I have to go back to work, but I prefer to be in my kitchen instead of a fast food joint.
When I’m pressed for time, but want to make something, I make a black bean soup. All I need is a can of beans, and a few vegetables. Oh, some veggie stock too.
I had been buying veggie stock and not using it all, so I ended up throwing away half the carton. Not good! So I bought stock the other day and just poured it into standard ice cube trays and finally solved the problem. I know it’s not a new trick, but I still kick myself for not having done it earlier. Now soup making is even easier, as I just put in as many stock cubes that I need for soup. A standard 16 cube tray holds about 2 cups of liquid. Here’s an easy breakdown:
2 cubes = 1/4 cup
4 cubes = 1/2 cup
6 cubes = 3/4 cup
8 cubes =1 cup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped or pressed
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 can black beans, undrained
4 cubes or 1/2 cup veggie stock
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
about a cup of arugula or spinach
salt and pepper to taste
In a soup pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cayenne. Saute for about one minute. No need for the onion and garlic to brown. Add beans with liquid to the pot, along with the four cubes of veggie stock. Stir and simmer for about five minutes. Add bell pepper, arugula, salt and pepper. Stir again and simmer for an additional minute (I don’t like to cook my pepper and arugula too much!)
Serves 2-4
