Black Bean Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Okay, so I pretty much just listed the ingredients, but I couldn't come up with a better name. :) My youngest son said, "Just call it soup." I guess I could have done that. It was tasty and made enough for three leftover portions - that's 3 days of lunches. I've started portioning out the leftovers, freezing them, and then sealing them in a food saver bag. This soup will work marvelously for that. It's high in fiber and protein and totally delicious.

7 cups vegetable broth*
3 large carrots
4 red potatoes
1 medium onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1 t. basil
1 1/2 c. cooked quinoa (cook 1/2 c. dry in 1 1/2 c. water for 15 minutes)
1 1/2 c. cooked black beans (rinse well if using canned)
1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
Real Salt, garlic powder, and any other desired seasonings to taste
1 T. miso

Bring vegetable broth to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots, potatoes, onion and bay leaves. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork.

Add basil, cooked quinoa, black beans and tomatoes. Continue simmering until heated through. Add other seasonings (Real Salt, garlic powder, etc.) to taste. Remove from heat and stir in miso. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8, 1 1/2 c. servings

*Note: if using vegetable broth powder or bullion (which is generally what I use), add it at the end of the cooking cycle just before the miso.

Random factoid: Miso is extremely delicate. It should never be cooked or boiled, or it will curdle, break down and otherwise become disgusting. Always add miso at the very end of the cooking cycle after removing from heat. Yum!

Potato Carrot Steamer Pack

This is one of my first experiments with my Coolest Invention E-v-E-r (click the hyperlink for a full explanation). It was absolutely delish! It made too much food for just one lunch, but I have some leftovers for a snack a little later on. If I make it again, I will simply use one red potato instead of two. I can't wait to keep playing around with these bags!

2 small red potatoes, halved and cut into large chunks
1 handful baby carrots
1/4 t. dried Thyme
1/8 t. Real Salt
1/2 T. Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter)
1 Ziplock Steamer Bag
1/2 c. cooked barley


Place potatoes, carrots, thyme, salt and Earth Balance in a Ziplock steamer bag. Toss to evenly distribute seasonings. Cook on high power for about five minutes, or until veggies are tender. Remove from microwave and let stand until just cool enough to handle. Shake bag gently to ensure Earth Balance and seasonings are evenly distributed. Serve over cooked barley.

Variations: I realize I am stating the obvious here, but there are many different things that can be done with this recipe by switching out the seasonings and vegetables. This dish is not particularly high in protein, so adding some beans in place of some of the barley may be good idea, or serve with a bean sauce such as the Cheesy Bean Sauce.