Unity Soup
Can't we all just get along?
We have been trying to plan our meals to stretch our budget and be as healthy as we can. On Thursday Bob and I roasted a chicken with fresh lemons and pepper. Friday I boiled the bones and carcass to make a really yummy broth, it even retained and bit of that peppery lemon goodness. I also started soaking the beans. I soaked the black beans and white beans separate so the colors don't run (and to help put an emphasis on their unity in the soup). In an effort to be more healthy and cuts food costs, we are using dried beans instead of canned beans. This morning I fired up the crockpot (Thanks Dad, Carol and Paul! We use it all the time!) to start my soup. I dumped the bone broth into the crockpot (that got all jello-y in the fridge over night) and cranked it up to the highest setting. Then I started chopping celery (don't forget the celery leaves!) and onions to add in, and dumped some baby carrots and the beans in. I turned it down to the low setting let that all simmer for a few hours. When the beans and carrots were soft (maybe 3-4 hours?) I fished out the cooked carrots, celery, onions, and beans with broth and blended it with my new hand held blender (also thanks to Dad, Carol + Paul!). At this point I realized I had forgot to put any seasonings in, but its better to add the herbs at the end they hold their flavor better. So I added a pinch of this and a little of that (basil, parsley, garlic, oregano, Braggs etc) and the leftover chicken. When the soup was almost done I stirred in a bunch of chopped kale and turned the heat off. I waited a few minutes for the soup to cool and the let the kale cook gently. Then I ate like 3 bowls of soup! Hey, I know what your thinking, but those bowls are not very big, ha ha ha! It was really good and super cheap! I love to make soup on a cold winter's day. This is food my ancestors would recognize and eat (that's the goal!). Its a beautiful world when black beans and white beans can come together in unity soup.
