Sunday, January 16, 2011

A Bowl Full of Goodness

It's the cold, monochromatic days that get me. No brilliant blue summer skies, no greens of spring, no orange and yellows of fall. Just bare brown leafless trees and overcast cotton skies. The tips of things go numb and angry, noses, fingers, toes. They scream for heat, for color. It was for just these sorts of days that I made a huge batch of Black Bean and Pumpkin Stew and stashed it in the freezer. Knowing that there would be no fresh sugar pumpkins or sweet corn in mid-January, this spicy stew would be the ideal soul warmer and my secret weapon in fighting the winter blahs.

soup ingredients

I saw this recipe in Tastebud, a monthly food magazine given away free here in Kansas City. They, in turn, got it from Nancy O'Connor's Rolling Prairie Recipe Cookbook. I don't own this cookbook but I might have to go in search for it based on this recipe alone. Packed full of all the vegetables the doctors and experts tell us to consume more of as part of a healthy diet. But it's so rich with flavor it feels like you're cheating.

Blackbeanandpumpkinstewrecipe

I can easily see substituting a butternut squash for the pumpkin but I will say the pumpkin is delicious in this stew. It really is wonderfully soul warming especially when your soul longs to run barefoot in the grass, not scrape another round of ice off your windshield.

soup4


Don't forget this Sunday is Dim Sum Sunday with Vegetables as our theme. Show us your veggie love.

11 comments:

MakingSpace said...

Mouthwatering. And gorgeous. Little bit 'o celery and tortilla strips on top, nice touch.

That recipe looks AMAZING and your results are incredible.

Big Shamu said...

While I do enjoy celery, that's green onion. It is an amazing recipe. If you've got the ingredients and the time, really give this a try.

MakingSpace said...

Ohhh green onion. Makes more sense, doh. Ha

Anonymous said...

Ok, serious yum. Any leftovers?

Big Shamu said...

I think you need to stand in line with your spoon.

Dani said...

Looks so damn yummy!

Buzz Kill said...

Looking at the ingredients, it looks like black bean pumpkin pie. I would love to make this soup if I thought anyone in the house other than me would eat it.

Big Shamu said...

Well Buzz, I say treat yourself and freeze the rest.

Dani, it is so damn yummy.

Dani said...

Love that beautiful sunny bowl too!

Melissa said...

ahhhh - that looks perfect! But, you know, Sham, we are already up to a balmy 36 this morning in Lee's Summit...just waiting for that batch of freezing rain. And WHAT? the kids are out of school again today? yeppers...

We did a southwestern white chili with Leftover turkey on the weekend. cumin, chili, onion and poblano peppers - sauteed. Then the turkey, 1 can cream chicken, 1/2 c. broth and 2 cups white beans,1 /2 cup sweet corn...some cheese and scallions in top. very warming and satisfying. (it was lovely in real life, but in the picture it looked comparable to gray dog food.) I'd like a post on how your photographs always turn out sooooo yummy! So I can LEARN!

Big Shamu said...

You know Melissa, I've never made white chili but sounds like a great use of leftover turkey.

Well it is a Federal Holiday. You can always put them to work on a remodeling project.

I'll try and set up a "How'd she do that?" in the near future.