Cuban Black Bean Soup
Why on earth did I choose to make a Cuban soup on St Patrick's Day? I don't know. I think I just wanted to push on through the pulses section of The Soup Book, so I picked Carolyn Humphries' recipe. Not willing to go to the effort of soaking and cooking dried black beans, I asked the spouse to find me a can of the chosen beans. You're supposed to cook the beans with a bay leaf, so I had to use the bay leaf after it was supposed to have been discarded. Another substitution was turmeric for the required annatto. The remaining ingredients and garnishes were easily available: a bay leaf, onion, garlic, cumin, ground cloves, tomato, white wine vinegar (a new bottle to replace the one with the 2008 expiry date!), ham, coriander leaves, corn tortilla chips and grated Cheddar. One listed item that I got out ready to use was brown sugar, but its use wasn't stated in the cooking instructions.
The spouse and younger offspring were watching Ireland vs England in the Six Nations while I made the Cuban black bean soup for our dinner. The less said better about the score, soonest mended. Anyway, I heated the beans rather than cooked them, and crushed them with a potato masher. The next stage involved frying the onions, then adding the garlic and then the spices. Next in were the tomato and vinegar. The last twenty or minutes or so of cooking saw the beans, stock and ham make their way into the pot. Then I ladled the rich, thick soup into the warmed bowls and topped it with torn coriander leaves, crushed tortilla chips and grated cheese. We sat down in front of the television to watch the last few minutes of the match. Despite their disappointment, the lads were gracious enough to express their full-hearted approval of the soup. Ireland - 0, Minnie's soup - 10.
Buzz Words
Dipping into Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, I came across the following information about bees:
Minnie
Why on earth did I choose to make a Cuban soup on St Patrick's Day? I don't know. I think I just wanted to push on through the pulses section of The Soup Book, so I picked Carolyn Humphries' recipe. Not willing to go to the effort of soaking and cooking dried black beans, I asked the spouse to find me a can of the chosen beans. You're supposed to cook the beans with a bay leaf, so I had to use the bay leaf after it was supposed to have been discarded. Another substitution was turmeric for the required annatto. The remaining ingredients and garnishes were easily available: a bay leaf, onion, garlic, cumin, ground cloves, tomato, white wine vinegar (a new bottle to replace the one with the 2008 expiry date!), ham, coriander leaves, corn tortilla chips and grated Cheddar. One listed item that I got out ready to use was brown sugar, but its use wasn't stated in the cooking instructions.
The spouse and younger offspring were watching Ireland vs England in the Six Nations while I made the Cuban black bean soup for our dinner. The less said better about the score, soonest mended. Anyway, I heated the beans rather than cooked them, and crushed them with a potato masher. The next stage involved frying the onions, then adding the garlic and then the spices. Next in were the tomato and vinegar. The last twenty or minutes or so of cooking saw the beans, stock and ham make their way into the pot. Then I ladled the rich, thick soup into the warmed bowls and topped it with torn coriander leaves, crushed tortilla chips and grated cheese. We sat down in front of the television to watch the last few minutes of the match. Despite their disappointment, the lads were gracious enough to express their full-hearted approval of the soup. Ireland - 0, Minnie's soup - 10.
Buzz Words
Dipping into Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, I came across the following information about bees:
Legend has it that Jupiter was nourished by bees, and that Pindar was fed by bees with honey (instead of milk). The Greeks consecrated bees to the moon. With the Romans a flight of bees was considered a bad omen. Appian ... says a swarm of bees lighted on the altar and prognosticated the fatal issue of the Battle of Pharsalia.I'll leave it at that for now.
Minnie
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