Spicy Black Bean Soup

This is great cold weather (healthy) comfort food.

What you need:

3 cups of dried black beans (sorted, soaked over night, and rinsed)
10 cups of vegetable stock (or BTB to the rescue)
1 medium onion chopped
1 cup of chopped green onion (5 or 6 stalks?)
1 head of garlic minced
1 serrano OR 2 jalapeno peppers chopped
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t chopped bay leaf
1/2 cup of creme fraiche or low fat sour cream
olive oil
salt and pepper

But first a word on dried beans (my apologies in advance to anyone who already knows this, please feel free to skip ahead). Not only are they fiberous, chock full of protein and low in calories, but they are CHEAP. And we like cheap. : ) The only draw back to using dried beans (over its canned cousin), is that working with dried beans requires forethought, but only 5 minutes of forethought, at best. In addition to cheapness, the dried bean's other benefit is that it isn't marinating in saliferous liquid for months (or years) on end until you crack open the can to use them.

To prep the dried beans, scoop the beans a cup full at a time onto a baking sheet. Pick through and discard any rocks, ugly beans, or other debris. Next, rinse your beans in a collander to remove any dirt or dust (nobody ever said bulk was pretty). Place the rinsed beans in a bowl (that has a cover) and fill with clean water. Cover the beans and let them sit overnight. Alternatively, if you forgot to do this last step the night before there is a quick soak method: boil the rinsed beans for 3 minutes and then kill the flame and let the beans sit in the pot for an hour, and then cook as per the recipe.

And now to get down to it. . .

Add olive oil to your stock pot (at least 8 oz pot) over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook for 3 minutes, then add garlic and peppers to the pot. Cook until the onions are opaque (about 7 minutes total). Add the veg stock (or BTB water) to the pot. Add the chopped bay leaf, cayenne pepper, and some salt and pepper to taste. Drain and rinse your beans. Add to the pot. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer and let the soup cook for about 2 hours or until the beans are tender.

Once your beans are tender, use a potato smasher and smash some of the beans. This will release some of the bean goodness from their jackets and help the soup thicken. Stir in the creme fraiche and the green onions, and enjoy!

This makes about 8 8oz servings, and contains apprx 200 cals per serving, plus a boat load of fiber and protein.