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I guess I have been a bit busy. My oldest daughter got married on October 18 and life got very busy there for a while. Now it all seems sort of dreamlike. It was a wonderful gathering of friends and family in a beautiful setting to celebrate this milestone. I can't say enough about how much it meant to us to have so many make the trip to join us there.
Back to food now... I wanted to update one of my earlier4 recipes. The chickpea sauté by Yotam Otolenghi. While I love the flavors in this salad that has become a staple for our Friday night dinners. It makes a beautiful appetizer especially with a sprig of fresh mint on the dollop of yogurt sauce on top. But I have decided that the sliminess of the greens are not a flavor that I particularly like and the cooking of the greens makes this "Quick" recipe not so quick. So I have started just serving the salad on a bed of fresh arugula leaves and it is amazing.
Now a new recipe to try in your slow cooker this week. A black bean soup with a kick. If you want it to have less of a "kick" just leave out the cayenne. This one is also from the cookbook "Fresh from the vegetarian slow cooker"
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium size yellow onion chopped
1 medium size carrot, chopped
1/2 small green pepper seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of slow cooked black beans (or 2 15.5 cans of black beans drained and rinsed)
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, left undrained
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of thyme
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a 4-6 quart slow cooker, add the beans, tomatoes and their juice, stock, bay leaves, cumin, thyme, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Remove and discard the bay leaf. taste and adjust the seasoning. Just before serving add the lemon juice. To thicken you can puree 2 cups of the soup solids. Serve hot.
We like this soup with a little spoonful of sour cream on top. Happy slow cooking friends.
All the best
Donna
Back to food now... I wanted to update one of my earlier4 recipes. The chickpea sauté by Yotam Otolenghi. While I love the flavors in this salad that has become a staple for our Friday night dinners. It makes a beautiful appetizer especially with a sprig of fresh mint on the dollop of yogurt sauce on top. But I have decided that the sliminess of the greens are not a flavor that I particularly like and the cooking of the greens makes this "Quick" recipe not so quick. So I have started just serving the salad on a bed of fresh arugula leaves and it is amazing.
Now a new recipe to try in your slow cooker this week. A black bean soup with a kick. If you want it to have less of a "kick" just leave out the cayenne. This one is also from the cookbook "Fresh from the vegetarian slow cooker"
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium size yellow onion chopped
1 medium size carrot, chopped
1/2 small green pepper seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of slow cooked black beans (or 2 15.5 cans of black beans drained and rinsed)
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, left undrained
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of thyme
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a 4-6 quart slow cooker, add the beans, tomatoes and their juice, stock, bay leaves, cumin, thyme, and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Remove and discard the bay leaf. taste and adjust the seasoning. Just before serving add the lemon juice. To thicken you can puree 2 cups of the soup solids. Serve hot.
We like this soup with a little spoonful of sour cream on top. Happy slow cooking friends.
All the best
Donna