About two weeks ago, my youngest son had an adenotonsillectomy which prevented him from eating for several days. Popsicles and sipping drinks was just about all he could handle for the first week, a week that seemed like an eternity to me. I tried everything to get this child to eat, puréeing, and overcooking just about anything I could think of. You name it, I tried it. I resorted to making a lot of bland, creamy soups as anything spicy, acidic or chunky was out of the question for my little man. Finally on day 10 he started to come around and began eating, mostly out of hunger I think, as any food that went down his throat still brought him so much pain.
While I tend to make many soups over and over again, I’m lucky if they turn out the same each and every time as I am sometimes limited to what I have on hand. The following hearty bean soup is one that I make often and my son was able to eat with little discomfort as his recovery progressed. I usually use the beans that I have on hand which may include: pinto, limas, red and white kidney, black-eyed peas, red and green lentils, yellow and green split peas, navy, black, red, garbanzo beans, etc. If you are new to working with dried beans and don’t have many varieties on hand you can usually find a 13 bean soup/chilli mix in the natural section of your local grocery store or just use 2 mixed cups of what you have. This soup freezes well without changing the texture of the beans. You can substitute a few cups of water for broth if you prefer once you add in your veggies. Some of you may like to add tomato paste, but I think it tastes nice without.
Hearty 13 Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups dried 13 bean mix
10 cups of cold water (preferably spring or filtered tap water)
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
8-10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (3 tsp dried)
1 tsp sea salt
2 medium carrots chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 onion chopped
Juice of ½ a lemon
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Wash and soak the beans overnight if possible or at least for a few hours if you have the time (this will greatly reduce the cooking time of the beans). Drain and rinse the beans, placing them in a large soup pot. Cover with the water and add in the garlic and sage. Bring the water to a boil and then cook for several hours until tender (this time varies depending on how old the beans are and how long they were soaking).
Once the beans are almost tender, add the salt (but not before or it will interfere with the cooking process of the beans). Add in your carrots, celery and onion and cook for about an hour.
Once the cooking is almost finished add more salt and pepper to taste along with the lemon juice. Serve with your favourite bread (I personally like rosemary focaccia, a recipe I will post soon!). Enjoy!
While I tend to make many soups over and over again, I’m lucky if they turn out the same each and every time as I am sometimes limited to what I have on hand. The following hearty bean soup is one that I make often and my son was able to eat with little discomfort as his recovery progressed. I usually use the beans that I have on hand which may include: pinto, limas, red and white kidney, black-eyed peas, red and green lentils, yellow and green split peas, navy, black, red, garbanzo beans, etc. If you are new to working with dried beans and don’t have many varieties on hand you can usually find a 13 bean soup/chilli mix in the natural section of your local grocery store or just use 2 mixed cups of what you have. This soup freezes well without changing the texture of the beans. You can substitute a few cups of water for broth if you prefer once you add in your veggies. Some of you may like to add tomato paste, but I think it tastes nice without.
Hearty 13 Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups dried 13 bean mix
10 cups of cold water (preferably spring or filtered tap water)
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
8-10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (3 tsp dried)
1 tsp sea salt
2 medium carrots chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 onion chopped
Juice of ½ a lemon
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Wash and soak the beans overnight if possible or at least for a few hours if you have the time (this will greatly reduce the cooking time of the beans). Drain and rinse the beans, placing them in a large soup pot. Cover with the water and add in the garlic and sage. Bring the water to a boil and then cook for several hours until tender (this time varies depending on how old the beans are and how long they were soaking).
Once the beans are almost tender, add the salt (but not before or it will interfere with the cooking process of the beans). Add in your carrots, celery and onion and cook for about an hour.
Once the cooking is almost finished add more salt and pepper to taste along with the lemon juice. Serve with your favourite bread (I personally like rosemary focaccia, a recipe I will post soon!). Enjoy!
RSS Feed