This recipe is one of my favorite Vegetarian Market recipes by Ross Dobson. I've been cooking my way through the book and not one of these recipes has let me down. Then again, I like to cook using fresh herbs from my porch that scream COOK ME as I walk in the door. It's one of those savory recipes you like to stir on the stove any kind of day, even if it's spring and the sky is blue.
Today has been cloudy and cooler than usual. It made me want to cook something comforting and settle in with a book and movies for the day. Soups come together in a snap with around 7 ingredients or less. My recipe was altered from this but I used kale instead of cabbage. The result was delicious and filling with ingredients containing protein, grain, and several veggies. Instead of cabbage I used kale and I really liked the taste. A little secret about me is that I'd never eaten kale before February. It was then I discovered I liked it and I've slowly added it to more dishes over time. I try to experiment with new flavors and broaden my culinary skills. This was a pleasant surprise.
Happy Saturday! This is the soup I took to lunch at work this week. The recipe is basically 2 cans of black beans, garlic, cilantro, scallions, chicken broth, chicken (or sausage will work even better if you dare eat sausage),cumin, lime juice, and when the soup cooks for 15 minutes you can use an immersion blender to puree some of the black beans. This recipe is both delicious and heart healthy.
The morning felt cool at 7am so I went for a run, mainly because the rain at night has been soaking the neighborhood and I've not run since Sunday. After that we hung out in the "gym" and by that I mean using free weights in the back bedroom.
Since I'm on a roll with home improvements I thought the tile project should be tackled over the past weekend. Then, I'd be set with no chores for a while and get my weekends back. Winter in Florida is ripe for home improvement projects and I had a one more to finish. Two grout lines had cracks in them and the tiles felt loose. In order to repair the grout I used a screw driver to remove the damaged grout and the tiles easily came up. Lowe's had a small container of tile adhesive I placed on each one using a trowel to cover every inch. Then I placed the tile back down and carefully lined it up using my eyeballs. No spacers necessary for this small project.
The sawdust is flying and it's never a dull moment around Casa Lauren's. It's rather exciting as the improvements move along. For instance, I had a light come on in my hallway from all the hammering I'd not had use of lately. In addition, a light bulb from a track light fell down on the counter and busted. So far, I have this ability to filter out a lot of noise which must come from years of working in an office environment. Though, while I was on a conference call the echo of hammers resonated through the phone lines, or so I was told.
What a mess of rain we are in for tonight. A squall line with 90 mph winds is moving in and I'm keeping a watchful eye on the roof. So far so good.
I'm doing better today and realize I need time to adjust to getting back in my routine. Cookies and naps were cut out cold turkey. So far I've eaten: kiwi, banana, whole grapefruit, strawberries, tangerine.
Temperatures warmed up yesterday to a high of 66 and felt glorious. Today 72 is expected. I've got a to do list and I'm going to enjoy every single minute of the warmth. This morning I did yoga and then walked my dog since she was anxious to get out and about. We stopped at Starbucks and I went inside while she waited outside and then we split a parfait.
This soul satisfying soup is one of my favorites. It is incredibly flavorful and fun to cook. I prefer to use leeks rather than onions or scallions due to their rich flavor.
