White Bean Soup with Salsa

Apple season is passing, the leaves are falling, and people are sneezing.

It's cold and flu season again.

We don't know about you, but soup is a cozy cure for all sorts of ailments. And even if it doesn't completely banish the sniffles, there is a lot to be said for the comfort factor of soup - especially when it's homemade.

This recipe came from a Heart and Stroke foundation calendar that arrived in the mail. It's a little different, super healthy (packed with fiber and protein), and kind of fun to make (especially if you have trouble keeping the top on a blender...).

Beans

1 1/2 cups dried white kidney beans or navy beans

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp chili flakes

8 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock will also work)

1/2 cup uncooked whole wheat macaroni

Salsa!

• Soak beans in water for about 3 hours. Drain and rinse.
• Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chili flakes. Cook until softened.
• Add beans and stock to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour.
• Puree soup in blender or food processor (this can get messy... Amy had to break out the windex to scrub down the window afterwards).
• Return soup to pot. Thin with water if desired. Add pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.
• Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with a spoonful of salsa.

Peach Salsa

The peach. Juicy. Sweet. Delicious. Sometimes the simplest adjectives are the truest descriptors.

An end-of-summer-treat that was a mainstay on our kitchen counter throughout august. 

to eat

not only the skin, but the shade,

not only the sugar, but the days, to hold

the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into

the round jubilance of peach.

- "From Blossom", Li-Young Lee

There are countless dessert recipes that use peaches as a foundation... but they can be used in a main course too! The peach salsa recipe, to be used on fish, is based on one we found on AllRecipes.

We used an assortment of mild tasting fish (basically whatever was in the freezer... mostly halibut and tilapia) to complement the salsa. We only marinated for about an hour, and the flavor seemed to be strong enough. 

 

Marinade:

1/3 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons grated lime peel (a lime meant for a pack of Corona was sacrificed in the making of this recipe...)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 servings of fish

Combine the marinade ingredients. Remove 1/4 cup for basting. Pour the rest over the fish and let it marinate in the fridge.

Salsa:

2 cups chopped fresh peaches

1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper (also in season!)

1/4 cup chopped red onion (we used 1/8 cup regular onion)

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/2 teaspoon cilantro (it would have been nice if we'd had fresh cilantro)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Stir it up!

Cook the fish using whatever method works best for you. Lisa's the one with the BBQ skills... Amy chose to use the oven. Rice makes a nice side dish. 

Look at all those bright colors!