Black Bean Soup

Staple soup common in Central America and Mexico. Especially good with fresh cilantro. Can also use or mix with red or pinto beans. Serve with rice and beans. Use a spice grinder (spare coffee grinder) to grind whole spices and chili peppers. And use a stick blender to blend soup in the pan.

Ingredients
BASE
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery
1/2 red pepper, chopped (or paprika)
SPICE
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
1/2 tsp oragano
1 bay leaf
1 New Mexico dried chili pepper, ground
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper (6 peppercorns)
MAIN

1 plum tomato, chopped

2 cups black beans (separate and blend 1/2 of beans) reduce?
1 cups water (or veggie stock, or even chicken stock)
FINISH
2 tbsp fresh cilantro

Preparation
In pot, brown chopped onions, 5 min.
Using spice grinder, measure and grind whole cumin seed, bay leaf, oregano and chili pepper pod.
To pot with brown onions, add and celery, red pepper, tomato, garlic and spices, and saute additional 5 minutes.
Add black beans, can juices, and water. Bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer, 20 min.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Use stick blender to partially blend, so that soup is partially creamy and still has some whole beans and chopped vegetables.

Mixed Bean Chili

Spicy Central American bean stew. I grind dried chilies in the spice mix and simmer beans from scratch, to really control the flavors, adding some corn and olives for color and texture. Tasted different variations in Chicago and St. George Island, Florida on my recent summer vacation. Serve over rice.

Ingredients
BEANS
1/2 cup dry red beans (kidney), soaked
1/2 cup dry black beans, soaked
1/2 cup dry white beans (pinto), soaked
2 cloves garlic, whole, crushed
2 bay leaves, whole
1/4 tsp black peppercorn, whole
1/4 tsp cumin seed, whole
1/8 tsp salt
SAUCE
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed, sliced
1 tbs ppaprika
2 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp coriander, ground
1 dried red chili (Guajillo Chili); ground
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, ground
1/4 tsp black peppercorn, ground
1/8 tsp salt
MAIN
1 cup yellow corn
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
FINISH
bunch green onion, chopped
handful cilantro, chopped

Preparation
Prepare by soaking beans overnight, keeping each bean color separate, at least 8 hrs. If mixed together, colors will bleed. Retain the soaking liquid for cooking.
To simmer beans: In large pot add beans, soaking water and extra water, and whole spices. Bring to boil, then turn down and simmer, 2-4 hours, until tender. Tender beans require both overnight soaking and a long time slow cooking. Drain and set aside.
To grind whole spices: Grind whole chili, cumin seed, corriander seed, black peppercorns, and red chili into coarse powder in spice grinder. Set aside. This step can also be done while browning onions, along with chopping base vegetables.
To start base: In large pot, brown onion, lowering heat once it colors, 10-12 min. Add splash of water, tomato, garlic and ground spices, and simmer 2-3 min. Result should be chunky fragrant vegetable mix, without much excess water, which would only slow cooking. Cover with 1-2 inches water and blend coarsely, with hand blender.
Main: To large pot with vegetable base, add beans, corn and olives, and cover with 1-2 inches water. Bring to boil, then turn down to simmer, 1 hours until flavors blend together.
Finish: Add green onion and fresh cilantro to garnish.

Spicy Carrot Soup

Spices are inspired from the Caribbean mixture of American, African and Asian cuisine. Though I first tasted from the menu a fancy Italian restaurant in Berkeley, California, at the beginning of a summer vacation trip back east. The hint of curry comes from cardamom and turmeric. Allspice is Caribbean, and I picked up whole allspice berries from West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio, on the same trip. Vegetable base is onion and carrot, with potato for thickening; all roots that keep well. Cooked during the vacation, and adjusted spices back home.

Ingredients
BASE

1 onion, chopped

8 carrots, chopped

1 potato, peeled, chopped

SPICE

1/4 tsp allspice berries, ground

6-12 pods green cardamom seeds, ground

1/8 tsp black peppercorn, ground

1/8 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt

Preparation

To grind whole spices: Remove cardamom seeds from pods, and grind allspice berries, black peppercorn and cardamon seeds. Set aside. This step can be done while browning onions, along with prepping the main ingredients.

To start base: Brown onion, lowering heat once it colors, 10-12 min. Add splash of water, carrot and potato, and simmer 10-15 min, adding water as necessary. Result should be soft vegetables. Puree in blender and return to pot. Add spices and continue simmer 30 min.

Finish: Garnish with croutons and fresh parsley or cilantro.

Black Beans And Veggie Bean Broth

Great black beans are cooked from scratch. By cooking from scratch, you get more flavor and more control of taste. But keep a few cans handy for when you can't cook from scratch.

Great beans are slow. They soak all night, and they cook all day. Beans require even longer soaking than whole grains like brown rice or whole wheat, which require a couple hours of soaking, which you can start in the morning or afternoon and be ready for dinner. Beans require soaking for hours, usually over night. And while whole grains can be cooked in under an hour, simmering beans to a soft texture may takes a couple of hours. A good habit is soak over night, start simmering in the morning, and then use both the beans and bean broth for both lunch and dinner meals.

I don't worry about soaking time, or cooking time. I just soak overnight, and start cook in the morning or afternoon, giving me plenty of time. The beans are ready for dinner. (You can find tables of how long to soak and how long to cook different varieties of beans. I find that's too much to remember.)

You can make large amounts, and refrigerate or freeze. Or cook small amounts just in time. I cook small amounts, because I like to adjust the spice and flavor. Dry beans will double in volume. 1/2 cup dry, 1 cups wet, is per person serving.

Ingredients

BASE

1 onion; chopped

2 carrots; chopped

4 sticks celery; chopped

SPICE

2 cloves garlic; crushed and sliced thin

2 leaves bay

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cumin; ground

1/8 tsp black peppercorn; ground

1/8 tsp sea salt

MAIN

1 cup dry black beans; soaked overnight, 2 cups wet

Preparation

Prepare by soaking beans overnight, black beans at least 8 hrs. Retain the soaking liquid. (I prefer to keep the soaking liquid for its nutrition.)

To grind whole spices: Grind cumin seed, black peppercorns, bay leaf and oregano into coarse powder in spice grinder. Set aside. This step can also be done while browning onions, along with chopping base vegetables.

To start base: In large pot, brown onion, lowering heat once it colors, 10-12 min. Add splash of water, carrot, celery, garlic and ground spices, and simmer 2-3 min. Result should be chunky fragrant vegetable mix, without much excess water, which would only slow cooking.

Main: To large pot with vegetable base, add beans and soaking liquid, and cover with 1-2 inches water. Bring to boil, then turn down to simmer, 1-2 hours until beans are soft. Use strainer to drain retaining the liquid bean broth.

Finish: Add fresh cilantro to garnish.