Though I'm not one to make food-based resolutions, I do enjoy a nice healthy, home cooked meal, especially after a couple weeks of traveling and eating out. Indulging in rich foods is part of the fun of traveling, and I love getting to know a city one bite at a time, but at some point, you start to crave the taste of home.
My first meal home after a long trip is generally something that involved fresh, easy to find ingredients (one stop shopping), and a careful balance of vegetables and protein. I tend to shy away from anything salty or fatty as you get enough of that on the road.
The first weekend in January, after a nearly two week trip to Europe filled with chocolate tasting, bread eating, and champagne drinking, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes that my mother-in-law shared with me many years ago. This garden vegetable soup is a throw it all in and turn on the slow cooker kind of meal. Chop and dump. And that's about all the effort my jet-lagged body had left in me!
I made a few changes on her original soup. Here's the recipe, and thank you BJ!
Garden Vegetable Bean Soup
Ingredients
1 package dried Northern beans, rinsed and sorted
1/3 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup diced green beans
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 small can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
6-8 cups low sodium vegetable broth (2 boxes)
Fresh basil, crusty croutons, and good olive oil, to garnish
Method
Bring 6-8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add the entire package of dried Northern beans (after rinsing and sorting). Return to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 1 hour. Then, drain and rinse the beans. Or, you could soak the beans overnight.
In a large slow-cooker, place all the remaning ingredients, including the beans. Cook on high for 5 hours, or low all day. Serve topped with a drizzle of olive oil, and handful of croutons, and a sprinkle of basil chiffonade, and with crusty bread on the side.
My first meal home after a long trip is generally something that involved fresh, easy to find ingredients (one stop shopping), and a careful balance of vegetables and protein. I tend to shy away from anything salty or fatty as you get enough of that on the road.
The first weekend in January, after a nearly two week trip to Europe filled with chocolate tasting, bread eating, and champagne drinking, I decided to make one of my favorite dishes that my mother-in-law shared with me many years ago. This garden vegetable soup is a throw it all in and turn on the slow cooker kind of meal. Chop and dump. And that's about all the effort my jet-lagged body had left in me!
I made a few changes on her original soup. Here's the recipe, and thank you BJ!
Garden Vegetable Bean Soup
Ingredients
1 package dried Northern beans, rinsed and sorted
1/3 cup diced carrots
1/3 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup diced green beans
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 small can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
6-8 cups low sodium vegetable broth (2 boxes)
Fresh basil, crusty croutons, and good olive oil, to garnish
Method
Bring 6-8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add the entire package of dried Northern beans (after rinsing and sorting). Return to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 1 hour. Then, drain and rinse the beans. Or, you could soak the beans overnight.
In a large slow-cooker, place all the remaning ingredients, including the beans. Cook on high for 5 hours, or low all day. Serve topped with a drizzle of olive oil, and handful of croutons, and a sprinkle of basil chiffonade, and with crusty bread on the side.
