Hey Everyone! What a great day today!! The weather feels like Indian Summer and the colors on the trees are so gorgeous! It's Fall Baby!!!I am a Fall Baby born Sept. 16th 1973! This is my favorite time of year!! I am in complete harmony with the weather/season!! I feel free and energetic and ready to start  each and every day with tons of excitement and looking forward to something wonderful happening. Constant POSITIVE feelings and desires to never give up on our financial freedom dreams, being the best Vegan possible as we learn, learn, learn and watching our kids grow up and become amazing adults!

I love our blog and enjoy writing in it and reading it but I also enjoy others' blogs on being Vegan too. I am signed up with other blog sites to constantly educate myself on what else is out there for Vegans! This recipe comes from one of them.  The blog is called "Fat Free Vegan" found at www.fatfreevegan.com

I would recommend checking this site out as it's full of delicious recipes and gorgeous pictures and good conversation from the owner of the blog Susan V.

I have not made this soup yet but I am going to this weekend after a good shop!  Here are the picture and recipe. If you run out get the ingredients and make it first; please come back to the blog and comment and let us all know OK!

Happy Fall and Healthy Cooking!!

Life is good!
Kerri

Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup

When you add greens to hot soup, they instantly wilt and practically disappear. So though I started with 4 cups of lettuce, each time I served this soup I wound up adding more lettuce or spinach to each bowl. Feel free to add as much as you like. Call the kids over so that they can watch as the soup absorbs ridiculous amounts of greenery.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and finely diced (add more or less to taste)
• 1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red cabbage, chopped (or 1/2 large cabbage)
• 6 ounces mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cans (or 3 cups) cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (or for smokiness without heat use smoked paprika)
• 1 tablespoon regular chili powder
• generous grating of black pepper
• 1 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 5 cups vegetable broth (or water plus 2 servings bouillon)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups chopped lettuce or spinach
• salt to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large pot or pressure cooker, saute the onions until they soften. Add the peppers and carrots and cook for another two minutes. Add the garlic and remaining vegetables and cook for another two minutes.
2. For regular cooking: Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT lettuce and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, adding additional water or vegetable broth as needed to keep a soupy consistency. Just before serving, stir in the lettuce and salt.
3. For pressure cooking: Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT lettuce and salt. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes, remove from heat, and allow pressure to come down naturally. (If pressure is not down after 15 minutes, use a quick-release method.) Just before serving, stir in the lettuce and salt.
4. For slow cooking: Place sauteed vegetables and all remaining ingredients EXCEPT lettuce and salt into slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Just before serving, stir in the lettuce and salt and add additional seasonings, if necessary.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 169 calories, 9 calories from fat, 1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 653.2mg sodium, 638.8mg potassium, 31.9g carbohydrates, 10.7g fiber, 4.9g sugar, 10.7g protein, 5 points.