Simple and Satisfying Black Bean Soup

There’s something so comforting about this black bean soup. Even though it’s fairly quick and easy to make, it still counts as homemade. It’s adaptable to the vegetables and spices you like best, and provides a nutritious vegetarian option for lunch or dinner. It also keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days, making it a great go-to meal any time of year.

This time of year when the days grow short and temperatures drop, it’s especially warming to make and enjoy. Besides the onion needed for its flavor and texture, I also like to add other crunchy vegetables, especially small sweet peppers diced and seeded. If you prefer something spicier, substitute chipotle powder for the cumin. With a good loaf of bread on the side, you have a simple and satisfying meal.

Whenever you feel you need something basic and restoring, come home to this reassuring, health-giving soup.

Cooking with Trader Joe’s Black Bean Soup

(adapted from the recipe on their website)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

4 small sweet peppers, chopped with seeds and stems removed (optional)

1 clove crushed garlic

2 T olive oil

1 t ground cumin (or ground chipotle if you like it spicier)

2 15-oz. cans black beans (not drained)

1 cup of salsa (fresh is best)

2 T lime juice

yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot, add the olive oil and saute the onions and sweet peppers until soft.

2. Add cumin (or chipotle) and garlic. Saute for one minute.

3. Add in black beans (including juices), salsa, and lime juice. Stir to combine. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes.

4. Top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream if desired.

Curry Up Now

I don’t know what all the flavors, spices and secret sauces are in these unique Indian-Mexican fusion street foods, but I do know that I love all of them. Both familiar and exotically new, these little bites will pop, dance, and sparkle in your mouth. Spicy, creamy, crispy, soft, all blending together magically on my tastebuds, washed down and perfectly balanced with cooling mango lassi, the food lingers in my memory. It’s a wonderful adventure for your palate, something to anticipate for days. I also love to see others’ faces when they first put these marvelous morsels in their mouths, along with the inevitable question, ‘What is this flavor?’ My response: ‘I have no idea, but I love it!’

If you don’t know what to order, take my advice and try these amazing snacks, all vegetarian:

- Itsy Bitsy Naan Bits, with Tikka Masala Dip

- Gol Gappa

- Guac Sev Puri

- Aloo Gobi Tacos

- Mango Lassi

With locations in Palo Alto, San Mateo, and San Francisco, Curry Up Now is working its way down the Peninsula and I’m sure will find fans wherever they go. I would love to work my way through the menu, but it's going to take time because I can't pull myself away from these instant favorites. Explore the flavors, textures, and curious combinations for yourself. The mystery makes it all the more sensational.

Crunchy Crispix Arare

Crunchy, salty, sweet, and savory. If you like crunchy Japanese crackers with soy sauce and seaweed flavors, you’ll likely enjoy this homemade snack mix made from Crispix cereal. It’s easy to make, smells wonderful, and tastes yummy. It’s also a flexible recipe so that you can add other nuts and seasonings to taste.

This recipe is from my Aunt Margaret, her submission to a family cookbook. The hardest ingredient to find is the Nori Furikake, a mixture of seaweed flakes, sesame seeds, salt, and sugar. I found a jar in a Japanese market called Nak’s in downtown Menlo Park (it’s been there for 44 years and has wonderful treasures inside). If you have trouble finding it, just use cut-up dried seaweed and sesame seeds in whatever quantities you prefer.

Try this snack mix when you’re in the mood for an Asian twist on Chex Mix.

Crunchy Crispix Arare

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

2 T soy sauce

1 package Crispix cereal (15 oz. box)

½ cup Nori Komi Furikake seasoning, found at Asian markets

whole raw almonds

Instructions:

Place butter, light corn syrup, sugar, and soy sauce in saucepan. Bring to boil and stir until sugar is melted. Pour into large bowl. Add Crispix cereal and mix thoroughly. Add whole almonds or other nuts to taste. Spray deep baking pan with Pam. Spread mix into pan. Sprinkle Nori Komi Furikake seasoning as desired over mixture.

Bake for 60 minutes in a pre-heated 200 degree oven, stirring every 15 minutes. After removing from oven, stir occasionally so mix will not stick to pan. Place in airtight containers and enjoy.

Raspberry Peach Almond Crunch Crumble

My daughter Amanda has always had unique and original ideas. For her 14th birthday this month, she declared she did not want the usual birthday cake. Instead, she requested a fruit crumble.

I found this recipe on the New York Times website for a mixed berry almond crunch crumble. It calls for 8 cups of mixed berries including blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. However, Amanda does not like blueberries so I adapted the recipe and simply used 4 cups of red raspberries and 4 cups of sliced peaches for the fruit filling. I didn’t bother to peel the peaches, just washed and sliced them.

The raspberry peach combination worked wonderfully well for its mix of tart and sweet flavors, which tasted just as bright as the lovely pink and orange fruit colors looked. It’s a great way to use summer fruits before fall arrives oh-so soon. It also makes a lovely change from the usual birthday cake with its brown sugar-cinnamon-ginger-almond-buttery crumble topping. Besides its buttery spicy flavor, the topping adds a satisfying chewy texture with sliced almonds.

It’s simple to pull this delightful dessert together, and it’s a lot easier to make the crumble topping than to make pie crust.

Enjoy this summer fruit deliciousness baked up in all its crumbly goodness before the best fresh berries and peaches say goodbye until next summer.

Raspberry Coconut Ice

If you’re a big fan of coconut water like I am, try this recipe perfect for a hot summer day. It’s easy, cool, refreshing, and a sweet treat without the guilt.

All you need is some coconut water, your favorite Torani flavored syrup, an ice cube tray, and a blender. Coconut water’s benefits include its taste, which has only a hint of coconut flavor, and its potassium. It’s a great drink to replenish with after a long hike or workout.

Torani Italian syrups come in a wide range of over 100 flavors including fruity (raspberry, strawberry, orange), nutty (hazelnut, almond, coconut) and the truly unusual (lavender, chocolate and waffles, and even bacon!). Torani is a family owned business based in South San Francisco so it counts as a Bay Area treat. The CEO is one of my business school classmates, Melanie Dulbecco. Torani syrups can be used in a variety of ways, most often added to coffee, sparkling water, iced tea or snow cones. You can find more recipes on the company website.

Simply freeze some coconut water in an ice cube tray, blend the frozen cubes in your blender until you reach a shave ice texture, transfer to a serving bowl or cup, and pour your choice of flavored Torani syrup on top. It’s that simple, and it’s that good.

Ruth Reichl’s Dangerously Delicious Apricot Jam

It’s hard to go wrong with a Ruth Reichl recipe, especially when the only ingredients are ripe orange apricots, sugar, water, lemon juice, and vanilla bean. The fresher the fruit, the better. I love the way the ripe apricots softly yield when I pull them apart, how the vanilla bean bits disperse enticingly into the fruity mixture, and how the vibrant color practically screams sunshine. It’s quite simple and straightforward, a perfect cooking project for a lazy weekend afternoon. The result is great smelling and beautifully bright. It tastes like sweet summer on your favorite buttered bread.

Refreshing Watermelon Agua Fresca

If you’ve never had freshly made watermelon juice, you’re in for a treat. It’s a refreshing, sparkling summer juice that makes any sunny day that much brighter. All you need is some watermelon, lime, honey, and a blender. A touch of honey adds just the right amount of sweetness, and the lime creates a brilliant dimension of flavor that perfectly complements the watermelon. Your friends and family will appreciate this pink liquid refreshment at any summer meal.

Watermelon Agua Fresca

(Adapted from a recipe from Rachael Ray Magazine)

Ingredients:

8 cups seedless watermelon 1” cubes

6 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1 1/2 cups water

lime slices

Directions:

1. Puree watermelon cubes in blender, 2 cups at a time. Pour into pitcher.

2. Stir in honey, lime juice, and water.

3. Chill before serving in glasses. Garnish with lime slices.