Success!!! It feels good to finally be able to post a picture on here. I’m still having a lot of difficulty putting pix up the “normal”, easy way (apparently my Wordpress blog is out of memory??) so in the meantime I’m using Resizr.com. Thanks for bearing with me!
How is your weekend going so far? Mike and I just got back from spending some time with my parents and visiting my grandparents, whom we haven’t seen forever and we wanted to visit my grandfather who is getting rehab after a stroke. Luckily he is doing a lot better! It was really nice to see everyone, and I also got a few delicious meals out of it too… last night my mom made a really good vegan stuffed cabbage recipe along with potatoes and roasted asparagus…
and then we ate lunch at Panera (nursing homes are not exactly known for their 5-star vegan cuisine!) and I had a Lemon Ginger Gnu bar for dessert.
These bars aren’t super high in calories like many of my favorite bars are (at only 120 calories), yet have 12 grams of fiber to keep you full! This bar really did tide me over until dinner, which I loved. Dinner was the best vegetable birhyani I’ve ever had, from an awesome Indiana restaurant in my parents’ neck of the woods that I went to a few months ago. Must make this soon!!
I’m tired from all of the driving today, but I wanted to get a quick post up before I go chill for the rest of the night. I owe you guys some recipes!! I’ve been holding onto a couple other ones that I need to post about soon, but I wanted to talk about this one since I’m entering it into this week’s BSI…..
Creamy Black Bean and Sun-dried Tomato Soup
Ingredients: 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots, 2 cloves garlic, 2 c. veggie broth, 4 cans black beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1/2 c. light coconut milk, 1/2 c. sundried tomatoes, 2 T. lime juice, 2 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper to taste, 4 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. liquid smoke, 2 tsp. paprika
Topping: cilantro, tomatoes, and avocado
1. Saute onion, carrots, and garlic until tender.
2. Blend the veggies with all other ingredients in blender in batches, or by using an immersion blender. If you want your soup more chunky, save part of the beans and/or tomatoes to mix in later by hand, unblended, to add more texture.
3. Heat up soup on the stovetop.
4. Top with chopped cilantro, avocado, and tomato and serve!
As you can see here and here, I’ve been pretty much obsessed with coconut milk recently and so I was thrilled when Meghan chose it for the BSI of the week. I love creamy foods, from alfredo sauces to desserts, and as a vegan I’ve found that coconut milk is an essential ingredient to have around the kitchen – it tastes even BETTER than using cream, butter, or full fat milk in a recipe!
After my favorite yoga class tomorrow morning, Mike and I are headed to his parent’s house for the Super Bowl. His dad is an awesome cook and I heard a rumor that I have a homemade vegan pizza with my name on it… can’t wait!
What are you making to eat tomorrow (if you are going to watch the game), or if you aren’t cooking, what do you look forward to the most – the game, the food, the drinks, or the commercials? I’m not gonna lie, I’m going to bring my knitting and will probably pay more attention to that then to the game 
I'm a school social worker who is also a newlywed (and had a Big Fat Greek Wedding, no less!) living in Chicago. I am starting this blog to talk about the training process I will go through to prepare for the Chicago Marathon, while also raising awareness for Ceasefire, a Chicago anti-violence program.
That looks like an absolutely delicious soup! I am looking forward to catching up with friends tomorrow, not the game! And I find it really difficult to go out on a Sunday night!
[...] Creamy Black Bean and Sun-dried Tomato Soup [...]
I watch the Puppy Bowl instead… with my puppy. Yeah, and I hail from the land of the Horseshoe. Whoops!
haha i love the puppy bowl! I was just about to type that! Very good to know I’m not the only one not so into the superbowl
Great BSI recipe! I did a soup too
I am making cheddar bacon potato skins, shrimp cocktail and homemade queso – the rest is from the freezer to the deep fryer – taquitos and mini tacos!
I love stuffed cabbage! I made a vegetarian golumpki (polish stuffed cabbage) for Christmas as an alternative to the meat version beig served, and it was a hit! I’m amazed by how many people have never tried lentils, because they’re so versatile, cheap, and EASY!
We love coconut milk too!!! Although we cheat and get canned…making homemade is a lot of work, LOL!!