Roasted Carrot and Black Bean Soup

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Wash and peel 1 pound of fresh, raw carrots. Cut into approximately 2 inch long pieces. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and some kosher salt. Roast about 30 minutes, turning once so they brown a bit on both sides.

About 15 minutes before the carrots are done, heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in the bottom of a soup kettle. Add 1 cup of chopped yellow onions, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper and sauté until transparent, about five minutes.

Crush two garlic cloves and toss in to the onions and sauté for a few more minutes.

Add one can of diced tomatoes with green chiles and  4 cups of vegetable broth. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.

Remove the carrots from the oven and add to the soup. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Cool and puree in a blender, Magic Bullet, or with an immersion blender until smooth.

Drain 2 cans of cooked black beans. Strain and rinse the beans with water. Add to the soup and stir in gently. Cook on low heat about five minutes, until beans are done.

Serve. You could top with parsley, if you have it. Cilantro or pumpkin seeds would be delicious, too. Some red pepper flakes would heat it up if you dare. You could also add a dollop of sour cream, but then it would not be vegan. Makes 10 cups of soup.

This is a delicious blend of heat from the tomatoes and chiles and the rich, deep sweetness of the carrots with a bit of smokiness from the roasting. It’s delicious.

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Pulled Pork with Cabbage Slaw Burrito

This is from last month and I am slow to blog it. It was too hot to bake anything, but I had a 3 pound pork shoulder roast to cook. I decided to make pulled pork on the stove top.

I don’t have a Dutch oven, so I used my soup stock pot. I put it on medium heat with 2 TBSP of olive oil. I added the roast and browned it on all sides before removing for a few minutes. I wanted it to be browned but also wanted to develop flavors before adding the meat and did not want to use two pans.

I chopped up a yellow onion, added it to the oil, with some salt and pepper and sautéed until tender. I tossed in 4 cloves of garlic and about 4 TBSP of Jamaica Jerk seasoning. Yes, that much! I then added 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 2 cups of vegetable broth. I heated everything, stirring and then put the pork back in and let it simmer for a few hours, checking repeatedly until it was falling apart and tender. This was just amazing! So flavorful and not at all too spicy.  This makes a lot of pulled pork that you can use for all sorts of delicious things.

I made a simple slaw of sliced cabbage, diced onions, salt, pepper and oil and rice vinegar.

• 1 cup of chopped cabbage
• 1 TBSP of chopped onions
• salt, pepper
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp of seasoned rice vinegar.

I grilled two flour tortillas using the electric coils on my stove. You have to keep a close eye, do not walk away and have the exhaust fan going on high to avoid setting off your smoke alarm.

After grilling the tortillas, I put half the slaw on each tortillas, and then put a half cup of pulled pork on each, rolling up and cutting in half. It was delicious, meaty and fresh and crunchy with the cabbage.

Spicy Simmered Cabbage and Tomatoes

This is a simple, but hearty dish that takes just minutes to prepare and cook.

First I put 1 TBSP of olive oil in a pan and heated it with a tsp of anise seed, bring out the aroma. While it heated, I cut up one onion in thin slices and diced two garlic cloves and tossed them in the oil to soften. I added salt and pepper.

While the onions cooked, I cut up 1/4 of a head of cabbage, cutting wedges about 1/2 inch thick or so and then slicing the wedges in half. I broke them up with my fingers as I dropped them into the pan of onions and garlic and added a bit of salt and pepper. I let them sauté for a few minutes before adding one 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. I just use the Safeway® store brand which is only $0.69 a can. I added some water to the can (about half full) and swished it around before pouring it into the pan to add a bit more liquid. Then I let everything simmer until the cabbage was tender, but toothsome, removing it before the cabbage lost all of its green color.

You can serve this on top of mashed potatoes, rice, pasta or cooked sausage or, just serve it on its own. It’s got a lot of heat from the chiles, but the touch of anise softens that flavor and adds complexity. This is not a single serving recipe by any means, but it reheats into 4 different single servings.