Tortilla Soup

Several weeks ago I wanted a hearty crowd pleasing soup to serve for a casual dinner. I remembered this tortilla soup but always thought of it as a summer soup, I think because I do love using fresh seasonal ingredients.  With a few changes to the original recipe I came up with a very satisfying dish, I liked it so much I made it twice !! It's a delicious taco in a bowl.

Tortilla Soup ( for any season)

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1-2 bell peppers, chopped

1 bag frozen fire roasted corn*, rinsed and drained ( Trader Joe's has it.)

1 cup finely chopped red or green cabbage

2 cups cooked beans ( black beans, kidney or pinto beans)

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 pint canned tomatoes ( stewed, fire roasted, whatever you like.)

1 quart veggie or chicken or beef broth




1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp. ancho chili or other powdered chili
1/4 red chili flakes, more if you like it hotter
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika ( optional)
2 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp. of dried oregano ( sprig of fresh oregano if you have it)
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
strips of corn tortilla
sour cream
grated cheddar or jack cheese
chunks of avocado
fresh minced cilantro
sliced black olives
salsa
hot sauce
lime wedges

* (If you start with regular frozen corn, it's best to brown it first.)

1) Saute the onion in the olive oil until it starts to brown slightly.

2) Add the garlic, cabbage, corn and bell pepper, cook until soft.

3) Add in the spices and saute another minute or so, to release the full flavor of the spices.

4) Add the tomatoes, beans and broth, simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

5) Serve with corn tortilla strips ( I found that heating them up first is great) and any or all of the topping listed above.

As with a lot of my soup there is room to modify and adjust to your tastes and what's in your pantry.

Enjoy !!

Texas barbecue beans

During our recent road trip to Baton Rouge, we had occasion to dine in Amarillo, TX at Rudy's.
It was a great place to sample Texas barbeque, while we were in awe of the brisket, we also fell in love with the Texas barbeque beans.

Upon returning home, Bob begged me to make them for him. I did my usual internet research for recipes. I was astonished to find that most recipes used a cans of pork & beans as a base. We had recently been give a huge bag of pinto beans, so there was no way I was going to use canned beans. I got out my pintos, rinsed them and soaked them overnight !!

Here is my take on Texas Barbeque Beans.
Let's talk about my modifications...lots of recipes called for the burnt ends of brisket, really ?? I guess in Texas they burn their brisket and always have those burnt ends around. Instead I used almost a pound of cooked bacon , I say almost because someone stole a few slices ;-)

The recipes also called for one 14 ounce can of whole tomatoes. I make my own tomato products, so I used 1 cup of my roasted tomato sauce and 1 cup of whole peeled tomatoes that I had frozen from last season. I am guessing any combination of fresh, canned or frozen will be fine.

Ingredients
    •    1 pound ( about 2 cups) dried pinto beans
    •    8 cups water
    •    1 pound bacon (or 2 cups brisket burnt ends, chopped)
    •    1 cup roasted tom sauce, 1 cup whole toms(or one 14-ounce can whole tomatoes)
    •    1 large onion, chopped
    •    1 cup barbecue sauce
    •    6 cloves garlic, minced
    •    1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
    •    1 tablespoon chili powder
    •    1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    •    1 teaspoon salt
    •    2 teaspoon ground cumin
     
1) Wash beans and pour into large saucepan or dutch oven.
2) Chop the onion and pepper and garlic, add to the beans.

 3) Add the barbeque sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, cumin, and chili powder.

4) Add the tomatoes.

5) Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for two hours, covered. Stir occasionally, bringing up the beans from the bottom.  A slow cooker/crockpot would work too.

6) Beans are done when soft but still hold their shape. The end product is a soupy, flavorful bean stew. I served it with corn muffins and raw veggies !

This is definitely the kind of recipe that begs for your own modifications and gets better  the longer the flavors can meld together. It was great several days later. To make it vegetarian, use fake bacon, soyrizo or liquid smoke to replace the bacon.

Beans, tomatoes and basil, oh my !

Not all in the same dish, although I am sure I could come up with something if it were a "quick fire challenge" or a "mystery basket" like the cooking competitions have.

This is just my way of covering several topics in one post.
It's summer and the farmer's markets and family gardens are full of tomatoes and basil so I have been making pesto and caprese salads. So good !!

Now is the time to think about what you will do your bounty of fresh tomatoes as well.
I was just telling a friend about the easy way to make great tomato sauce using roasted tomatoes, no peeling, no canning. This same link will also show you a simple and tasty way to make your own tomato juice, again no peeling or canning, we like that ;-)





But what about beans ??
If you are like me, you have jars of colorful, shiny dried beans in your cupboard that you plan to cook one day.

However, when it come to meal time it's just so much easier to reach for a can of already cooked beans. One of my kitchen goals for 2014 was to use all those dried beans. I thought I would do it using the pressure cooker, I didn't. In fact I gave up for a while...then I realized I could cook my dried beans with my slow cooker, a much less scary piece of equipment.

I was amazed at how easy this really is. You do have to think ahead a bit. Sort, wash and soak your beans overnight.

Here are some white beans that I don't even remember buying.

Rinse your beans and put them in the slower cooker with plenty of water and turn it on high if you are going to be around or on low if you want them to cook while you are at work. On high they take 4 to 5 hours, on low and I am guessing longer. Obviously if you are going to leave them all day be sure you have plenty of water.

I am talking about larger beans like the white beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, pinto beans and such.

 I add no other seasoning, except maybe a little salt, that way you can use them for any kind of recipe. And here is the great thing...they freeze beautifully in freezer bags. Once they have cooled, I measure them out in one or two cup portions, mark and label the bags.

 It's easy to grab a bag of frozen beans in the morning and throw them in the fridge for dinner that night. And so very satisfying !

I make my favorite kale and white bean soup.

Or killer re-fried beans.

Or Gina's beans or my curried chickpea soup... you get the idea.

What kinds of forgotten beans are lurking in your cupboards ??

Gina's Beans

Last week on my way home from LA, I stopped in Lompoc to visit family and break up the drive. My brother made a wonderful dinner of carnitas and Gina made beans, from scratch (that is one of those things I wish I did more often).

Turns out Lompoc has their own bean store, which I plan to visit next week !!

Anyway, Gina made these beans from the bean store using their recipe. They went so well with the pork and tortillas, I was inspired to make my own version to serve upcoming dinner guests. I made a couple of the ingredients from scratch which made this recipe more of a process.
You can certainly use canned items and still make great beans.

Gina was kind enough to give me the rest of her dried beans, this her birthday week, so I am naming them after her.

Here's Gina.

Gina's Beans
( I used yellow beans, the recipe mentioned pinquito beans, I am sure pinto beans or even black beans would be great.)
Ingredients:

2 cup dried beans soaked

1 cup tomato puree or fresh tomatoes

1/2 cup roasted green peppers ( or 1 Can (7 ounces) diced green chilies)

1/2 red onion chopped

1 large clove garlic chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1) Look through the dried beans for any rocks, rinse them, then cover them with water, cover and let soak overnight.

2) Rinse the beans again. Place in a large pot. "Add enough water to cover beans with 1" of water." I wasn't clear what this meant, my beans had a lot of liquid. Next time I will be more careful about this part.

3) Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to cook on low to medium heat. Cook beans until soft. Depending on the beans, it will take approx. 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours to cook.
Next time I am going to try them in the crock-pot.

I made my own tomato puree from roasted tomatoes.

I also roasted an assortment of peppers.

Here's the red onion.

Here's the finished product.

I served them as part of a taco bar with: corn and flour tortilla, spanish rice, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and cabbage, grated cheeses, sour cream, black olives, guacamole, salsa and roasted squash.

Whew, it was hard to make tacos that would close ;-)
We were so excited to be eating them that I failed to preserve the meal in photos...oh well.

White Bean Bruschetta

My dear friend Laurie posted a version of this recipe on her new blog. 
It looked so good and she teased me about being the "season" police. 

It's true I am rather strict about eating and cooking with what is currently in my farmer's market. So I took it as a good challenge to make this recipe without the fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. ( see note below)

I made it to take to my brother's for our visit there over New Year's Eve. It makes a great appetizer or lunch addition. 
I made it again today to serve with my focaccia and seafood soup, wow, so good !!

We all need more beans in our lives, right ??!!

White Bean Bruschetta*

It's best to make this several hours to a day ahead, the favors have more of a chance to marry.

*(I looked up "bruschetta" and while to me it means the bread part, it can also mean the topping.)

Ingredients

1 can of white navy beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans

5 dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped

1/2 cup chopped olives (Kalamata or  green olives)

chopped fresh herbs: sprigs of rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic ( 4 cloves)

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 1) Finely chop the garlic, olives, tomatoes and fresh herbs.

                                    

2) Add three tablespoons of good olive oil.

 I got four different kinds from my sister for Christmas. It has been fun trying them out.

3) Drain and add the beans.

4) Mix together gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Allow to sit for several hours before serving on oven toasted crusty bread.

Other possible additions: 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion, 

                                     1/4 cup fresh chopped spinach

                                     1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Note: I will admit that my farmer's market does still have fresh tomatoes, they just don't look very flavorful and I did see basil plants at Trader Joe's today. I am guessing that these ingredients are not commonly available in most locales.