ANNOUNCING!! MEATLESS MONDAYS !

As time permits, I will be posting seasonal vegetarian mains and appetizer recipes with the idea of encouraging 'balance'.

Hope you enjoy this great 'crossover winter - to - spring' hearty soup. You'll find that I tend to use a recipe as a guideline only, and try to include lots of optional add-ons to offer choices to make it just perfect for you and your family! I sincerely hope that you'll try some of these and leave a comment or tell us about your own experience!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 cup black beans**
1 onion chopped
1 sweet red or yellow pepper chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
1 carrot chopped
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock
sea salt to taste
lemon or lime to taste

Optional Garnishes

chives green onions or cilantro snipped
cayenne chili powder or hot sauce to taste
avocado sliced
** You can substitute 2 cans of black beans. Best choice? Organic is readily available.

Instructions

Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover.
Drain and add fresh water to cover, then simmer until almost tender(about 2 hours)
Saute vegetables in oil until almost tender. Add to the beans, with vegetable stock, then simmer until beans are tender.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. When cool, puree in blender or use an immersion blender (hand-held) to create a smooth consistency. Return to the pot and add seasonings and lemon or lime juice.
Heat and serve with sour cream and top with snipped chives or cilantro or make a "lime-cilantro cream" if you want to get 'fancy'.
In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoon lime juice and ½ cup of sour cream. This little garnish is easy-to-make and a favourite with my friends.

Recipe Notes

This soup is so easy to make and lends itself well to many variations.
It's nourishing and very tasty!
I like to lightly toast a couple of tortillas brushed with a teeny bit of olive oil and top with dried oregano or thyme or cilantro pesto!

Hope you like it. We can enhance our food in such tasty healthy ways with herbs added.

I'd love to hear your own versions of bean soups and other suggestions for 'meatless meals'

on MONDAY or any day of the week.