During my post-holiday blues, I used cooking to drown out my sorrows. I didn’t plan it that way consciously, but as a new day dawned and I had to wrangle up something to occupy my mind and take it off my achy heart, cooking was a natural direction to head. After my morning coffee and Bible time, I opened up a cookbook and dreamed away. What did my taste buds want to experience that evening? Something deep and smoky? Light and bright? Comfort food or something a little more razzle-dazzle? After making a grocery list for the day and traipsing down to the Devon Market (which is so conveniently located right next to our apartment), I spread out my goodies on the kitchen counter and gazed with pleasure at the bower of cilantro, the neatly ranged cans of beans, and the glorious meaty pink of salmon fillets.
Having long kitchen projects with multiple courses involved was so therapeutic! And it was also a useful (and necessary) thing to put my hand to since we had our friend Tyler in town, my brother-in-law staying with us, and a couple dinner parties lined up. So I focused my efforts on flank steak, salsas, soups, fish, and threw together bacon omelets on a whim.
With pauses of course to care for this little thang.
Who, incidentally, put on her fussiest behavior especially for her Uncle Tyler!
Yup. She was a basket of neediness, that delightful little stinker.
Hey! I will fuss WHERE I want, WHEN I want, hear me?
And–back to food–in case you haven’t noticed my recent recipe posts, yes, I’m officially obsessed with soups. Namely the ones in the America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook. This one graced the table accompanied by rice, honey-lime salmon and freshly made toasts. I love a good bean soup, and what sets this one apart is the rich, smoky, meaty flavor of Spanish chorizo. Mmmmmm.
It’s quick to throw together, so grab a can opener and a sharp knife, and make ye this soup!
Ingredients
(Serves 4-6)
4-15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups chicken broth
8 oz Spanish chorizo sausage, diced
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 TBS vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chili powder
1 bunch green onions, minced
½ cup minced cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Process 2 cups of black beans and 1 cup of broth in a blender until smooth.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the oil, sausage, onion and bell pepper and heat over medium high. Cook until vegetables are slightly browned (about 7 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and spices to the pot and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
4. Add the broth, beans and blended broth/beans to the pot, stirring together and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
5. Simmer for 15 minutes, taste, and re-season if needed.
6. Stir in the cilantro and green onions and serve hot! Garnish with hot sauce and crusty bread or croutons if desired.
Click here for printer-friendly version: Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup
Yum! I’ve been looking for more good recipes with beans–definitely going to try this! Thanks for posting!
black bean soup with chorizo! why didn’t i think of that? oh man, i’m sure this soup was ahhhmazing!
Looks amazing! I just made green lentils with chorizo and Swiss chard the other day. Super yummy, filling and healthy. I might have to make it my post birth meal to bring to the birth center.
Aww, Alice is so cute! 🙂 Can’t wait to see both of you (next week?). Craziness…those months just sped by.
I know–time has gone so fast!! I can’t believe I’m about to go back t work!
Yep. Everyone’s excited to see you though, so it’ll be great. 🙂
The soup sounds terrific. I get on soups kicks too, it’s funny what kind of kicks we get on. Alice and yourself are looking lovely 🙂
Aw, thanks Suzie! I think she gets more terrific every day. =)
Now just a cotton-pickin’ minute!! WHERE did you get SPANISH chorizo?? At Devon Market???? I can get Mexican chorizo here but it is totally different in texture and flavor. SO, my dear, if you can get “good” Spanish chorizo across the street whenever you so please, then you will need to get me some!!
And, the soup looks great
The Thai coconut soup of your last post was just as good, if not better the second time, tonight, and I indeed added a little cornstarch while reheating just to mak it a little less watery and it was just perfect.
Alice is looking quite adorable…. kind of like her mother at that age =).
Yep, they have chorizo at the Devon Market. It wasn’t awesome quality chorizo (very fatty), but since it ended up diced and in a soup, you couldn’t tell, so it all worked out perfectly. If it had been destined for consumption as-is though, I might have been a little less thrilled. You can be the judge next time you visit. =)
I love your captions, always have, you really can make a silly/cute/funny photo completely hilarious. Your caption summed up that expression perfectly. LOL! I also love that you are cooking again. Your meals sounds the bomb and this soup, YES! You must be getting into the swing of things if you were able to cook so much and play hostess while being a new mommy. That’s good!
Both of these need to make it into our recipe collection asap. Love Thai coconut soup and yours is just a tad different than the one we make. Can’t wait to try both of these!
Alice is too cute, hope you are enjoying time with her!
I love your pictures of food, they’re so pretty