VeganMoFo: Soup's On!

There is nothing like moving to screw with a person's domestic affairs. This proves especially difficult when one's chief household function is to plan, shop for, and create meals. People's stomach clocks continue to sound their alarms, regardless of whether or not the kitchen is a (temporary) disaster area.

I know: order in. After a long weekend of schlepping boxes across town, it's certainly tempting. But I find that nothing returns my mental state to normalcy faster than making dinner, even if said dinner is ridiculously easy and relies on canned ingredients. My house may be in a state of chaos, but I can still get dinner on the table! I win!

I threw this soup together when Rob and I were first married, in a moment of "crap, there's nothing in the house to eat!" A couple years down the line, it's still one of our favorite weeknight dinners, because it's so simple to throw together, and completely tasty. Now, I won't lie: it does taste better with fresh ingredients--especially the corn. (Mmm, fresh corn...) But corn isn't always in season, cutting corn kernels off the cob is a huge pain, and you probably already have a bag of frozen corn cluttering up your freezer, right?

Quick Black Bean Soup

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: about 30 minutes

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth (I use Imagine Foods' No Chicken Broth)
2 (14.5-ounce) cans tomatoes with diced green chilies
1 (10-ounce) package frozen kernel corn
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until both are tender (3-4 minutes). Add the broth, tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the black beans and continue to cook until the beans are heated and the flavors blend, at least 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve. (Or, if you're in my house, leave it in and see who wins the "Bay Leaf Lottery"--Grand Prize: bragging rights.)

BiB
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