Janet's Bean Soup with Roasted Veggies

Our friend Janet brought us this delicious bean soup that reminded me of my favorite childhood soup: Campbell's bean and bacon. I used to cook the condensed soup without adding in water then would add it to my ham, cheese, and potato chip sandwich. Sounds healthy, doesn't it? Now I can have this delicious alternative!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried navy beans, soaked overnight
  
• 2 boxes vegetable broth (about 30 oz or 3 3/4 cups)
  
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped (divided)

Directions:

1. Add beans, broth, onion, garlic, and 1 of the carrots to a crock pot and turn on low.
2. Cook until beans are soft, about 4.5 hours.
3. Remove from crock pot and add second chopped carrot.
   

What She Did:
Janet served the soup with shredded cheese, sour cream, and fresh roasted veggies. To make the veggies, she roasted 1 corn on the cob on the grill, and also put 2 jalepenos and two onion halves on the grill for a little flavor (but not to cook them). She then chopped those up with 2 tomatoes, some mushrooms, and some cilantro then put a squeeze of lime and a small shake of garlic salt over all of it.

She notes that she never makes exactly the same thing twice and often adds green chiles to the soup if she has them. She might not ever make this again, but we certainly will!

Special Diet Considerations:
The cheese and sour cream are available in rice varieties for those interested, but we haven't tried them in this soup.

Pakistani Cabbage on Rice

This recipe is great for the cold days of Fall and Winter. The warm spices will help to clear out minor congestion from the sinuses and chest. It is the perfect pick-me-up on a cool and gunky day. It's also very flexible to the veggies you have on hand, so don't be afraid to experiment.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon olive (or vegetable) oil
• 1 1/2 onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon grated or ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water, divided
• 1/2 medium head cabbage, chopped
• 1 can (or 1.5 cups) cooked chickpeas
  
• 2 tomatoes, sliced OR two 10-15 oz cans diced tomatoes
  
• 1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
• Prepared rice to serve veggies on top of
  

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and stir in onions, garlic, and peppercorns. Saute until onions are tender.
   
2. Mix in ginger, garam masala, turmeric, paprika, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stirring constantly, cook until onions are thoroughly coated with the seasonings.
3. Stir 1/4 cup water into the saucepan. Mix in cabbage, chickpeas, tomatoes, and remaining water.
   
4. Increase heat to medium-high. Continue to cook until all vegetables are tender, stirring often and trying to coat the veggies with the spices, taking about 20 minutes. Stir in the peas during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
5. Serve the vegetables on top of the warm rice.
   

What We Do:
This is not hot-spicy, but it is warm and spicy and therefore probably not for children who aren't accustomed to the sensation of food really warming you from the inside out. If you think your children might be OK, you could leave out the red pepper. I'm mean like that so I served it as is over some long grain brown rice on a sniffly day. I loved it! My cabbage-lover was not so fond of it, but it did curb the snifflies as intended so hey!