Mexican Black Bean Soup

This delicious soup is vegan as per the recipe, but I usually add a spoonful of
sour cream or some taco cheese stirred in which would make it vegetarian. I
also use veggies from the garden if I have them.  Enjoy!

Mexican Black Bean Soup

1/2 cup red or yellow onion              1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1 sweet bell pepper - chopped         1 Tbsp. olive oil

1  15oz. can tomato sauce                 4 cups vegetable broth         

1  15 oz can petite diced tomatoes  2 cans of black beans

1 can Green Giant nibblet corn        1/4 cup fresh cilantro - chopped

1 jalapeno pepper - deseeded & minced

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin                    1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano                                    1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper                        1/2 tsp. salt or to taste

juice of 1 small lime

* Heat soup pot over medium high heat. Add oil, onion, garlic, and peppers. 
Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Add spices and stir for about 30 seconds, then 
slowly add in the vegetable broth. Turn heat to medium and add tomatoes, 
tomato sauce, black beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice. Heat and simmer 
approximately 10 minutes. Serve hot, freezes well.        

Cabinet project

 I guess when you need something, sometimes that spurs you on to making it yourself. Necessity and all that. I needed a small cabinet that had a tall area on one side and a few shelves on the other. It also had to be just over 5 feet tall to fit under a light, and I wanted wood. After looking on line and searching many stores to no avail, I decided to try to build it using some scrap pieces of wood, 2 X 4's, and 1X2's laying around in the garage and I had to buy the large flat wood. Shout out to Zac Martin for telling me what kind of screws to get for connecting the wood!

After looking at pictures on how some cabinets were put together on line, I set to work. It only took 2 days to put together and then a few days to paint. Kolby helped me with the holding of wood while I cut the doors on the table saw, too. (We didn't need a repeat of the stair building incident!) No, it is not of high quality and if you are a real wood worker you may need to turn away. But the result is a cabinet I hope lasts a while and it holds the hammock and umbrella just fine. Not too bad for an amateur!
Happy building!
Krista

Organic Garden Clean out & Plant

 

What a nice greeting this little dragonfly gave to me upon entering the garden today. There is always something new around every corner. As you can see the onions are beginning to dry down so I am pulling them periodically and having them dry out for later use. 

I usually leave them in the garden if it is a nice sunny day and then gather them up in the evening to put them in the garage or covered deck to continue drying. Now on to the peas. 

The peas have really dried up in the hot weather they hate! So now it's time to pull them out and assess. 

They pull out pretty easily with the trellis of chicken wire and then I just pull out the stragglers left in the dirt. 

I don't use a hoe much but in this case it's perfect for tilling up this small section of dirt to get it ready for a new planting. I added a small amount of my main three (blood meal, bone meal, potash) and then make a furrow with the handle of the hoe, then plant the seeds.

As you can see I ended up putting the wire back in because the bean plants were too far over the new section of planting, and I was worried the new seeds would be drowned out by the bean plants. 

At first I thought I might plant more green beans, because let's face it, you can never have too many green beans, but I finally decided to plant more cilantro for salsa making. I figure it should be maturing right about the time I am in full salsa making mode. I already have some growing in pots that should be ready soon for early salsa making. 

This is the look of the wild garden in full swing. Since the space is small, I realize that things will grow in and around each other, but it doesn't bother me. I just enjoy seeing what will mature next!

My final task today is cutting even more blight out of the tomato plants and even some small ends of vines that are growing too wildly, but will not have any chance to set and mature fruit anyway.  That's it from the garden today. Happy gardening!!

Spicy Chicken Salad

This salad is a great one to make in the summer when many of the veggies can come from your garden!

Spicy Chicken Salad

Mix marinade/dressing together first in small bowl:

1/2 cup peanut oil (if not having with chicken, use only 1/3 cup oil)

1 lime - juiced                                  

1 Tablespoon Agave or honey

1 teaspoon each; chili powder & cumin

1/2 teaspoon each; garlic powder, onion powder,  & salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

                                                           

1 can Green Giant Nibblet corn - drained  1 can black beans - rinsed & drained

1/2 large or 1 medium cucumber - peeled, deseeded & chopped

1 small zucchini - chopped                                           1 medium tomato - chopped

1 bell pepper (any color) - chopped                           3 radishes - sliced

1 bunch green onions - chopped                                1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped

2 jalapeno peppers - minced                                       3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salad greens - whatever you like but keep separate from other veggies.

Queso Fresco cheese

* First mix together the marinade/dressing in a small bowl. Then chop the chicken into pieces about

one inch long, but about 1/4 inch. Place chicken into a medium bowl and take about 1/8 cup of the

marinade and mix into the chicken. Set aside while you prepare the veggies.

* Mix together in a large bowl; corn, black beans, cucumber, zucchini, tomato, bell & jalapeno peppers,

onions, radish, and cilantro. 

* Over medium high heat in a medium fry pan sauté the chicken until completely cooked. I usually check by cutting one of the biggest pieces in half. Once completely cooked, drain off any liquid and place into

a bowl.

* Pour remaining dressing/marinade onto the veggies in the large bowl and toss to coat.

* Put some of the salad greens on a plate or in a bowl, put about 1/3 cup of chicken on greens, then as much of the veggie mix as you would like, I am guessing that's about a cup and a half. Top with some of the cheese crumbled on the top.

* You can leave off the chicken and cheese if you want to keep it all veggie, and it's still delicious!

* I keep the chicken, veggie mix, and salad greens all separate so you can keep them nicely for left-overs the next day. This keeps well. You could also make it ahead and then pull it all out to serve.

* I would say it serves about 6 to 8 people.