Shedding Some Light

OK, this is sort of off topic unless you understand you need food to power the brain to be able to code. It seems over the last couple of years the VFP MVPs eventually gravitate the discussion to food during the evening offline sessions. Last year we discussed our attraction to the Food Channel and this year some how got on the topic again. I think we were talking about Craig Boyd from Sweet Potato Software, which reminded me of an excellent recipe Therese uses to make some really yummy and healthy soup. Since a bunch of my friends requested the recipe I decided to blog it:

Black Bean Soup With Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (29-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
6 fresh cilantro sprigs
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 cups vegetable broth
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the coriander and cumin; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Place the beans in a 5- or 6- quart slow cooker. Add the onion mixture, potato, cilantro sprigs, salt and pepper. Pour the broth over the beans and vegetables. Cover and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender, 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Discard the cilantro sprigs (Therese actually leaves these in since we like cilantro)
3. Pour the soup in batches into a blender or food processor and puree. Return the soup to the slow cooker. Garnish each serving with cilantro leaves.

Nutrition Information
Per serving (2 cups)
213 Calories
4g fat
Sat fat: 1g
Trans fat: 0g
5 mg Cholesterol
788 mg Sodium
41g Carbohydrates
12g Fiber
12g Protein
121mg Calcium

I really like this soup and it is really tasty the day after for lunch. Normally we have leftovers unless the kids are home from college and they take some back with them. I am salivating as I write this post.

Now in exchange for this I received promises for chocolate chip cookies recipes (the single thing Therese has not been able to master in our 26 years together) from several people, and I look forward to getting them. {g}