About Me and This Blog

I've been a vegetarian for almost six years now. For the first four years, I was a pescetarian (I ate fish). These days, I lean towards veganism and am very passionate about animal rights and welfare. Before going veg, I ate A LOT of meat. In fact, I had a bumper sticker on my first car that read "If we're not supposed to eat animals, then why do they taste so good?" Yeah, I was that person. I loved cooking meat, now I love cooking vegetarian EVEN MORE.

I post a lot of stories about animals and veggie food on facebook, and friends started asking me for recipes and more information on how to be a healthy vegetarian. This blog is my answer to those questions. Most if not all of the recipes can be made vegan by omitting cheese or subbing with vegan "cheese". Email me anytime.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Black Bean Tortilla Soup with Avocado & Tomato Salsa

So THIS recipe was stolen from my Food Network app and they apparently stole it from "La Dolce Vegan".  I'm not normally a fan of black bean soups, but this one was enough to make my meat-eater boyfriend groan with pleasure and request it many times since. I think it's because it's blended afterwards, thick, flavourful and the chips inside....oh man.  Try it. It's gooooood.

Also, I've since made the "salsa" separately for topping on fajitas, tacos and more. Also good. I've added my personal tweaks directly into the recipes.

Soup

1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable stock (I use vegetarian chicken-flavoured stock)
1x19 ounce can black beans, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (I used maybe 2 tsp)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used maybe 1.5 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I added more, I have a salt problem)
plain tortilla chips

Salsa

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 avocado, cubed
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 green onion stalk, minced
1 tablespoon oil (e.g. flax, hemp, olive)
2 teaspoons fresh lime or lemon juice
salt to taste

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, sauté the onions in oil until translucent. Add the celery, carrots, and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Add the stock, beans, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover with lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes. With a blender or food processor, blend half or all of the soup until smooth (be.careful when blending hot liquids). Return to pot and reheat.

    While the soup simmers, in a medium bowl, stir together the tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, green onions, oil, and lime/lemon juice. 

    Put a large spoonful of the salsa in the middle of the soup and place tortillas along the outside of the bowl, dipping and crunching as you go :)

     

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