It seemed only fitting that I make my Sister’s Black Bean and Sausage soup as the comfort food I craved and needed after she left. They have only been gone a day, but we miss them terribly. J & J2 just did not want to understand why the rest of the cousins weren’t joining us today. It will surely take some time to get things back to normal around here. Until then, a little comfort food. A lot of chocolate. And many trips to Starbucks will possibly keep us going.
Black Bean and Sausage Soup
Serves 4 to 6
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled or scrubbed and chopped
1 stalk of celery, sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
1 medium potato, peeled, diced
2 cups beef or chicken broth
1 28oz tin diced tomatoes, with juice
4 to 6 oz of kielbasa, cubed
1 19oz tin black beans, or your favorite canned beans
1. Heat oil in large dutch oven (in other words large heavy pot). Add onion, carrot and celery; cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften.
2. Stir in garlic, oregano, potato, broth and tomoatoes; heat to boiling. Stir in keilbasa. Cover and simmer gently for at least 1/2 to blend flavours.
3. Drain and rinse beans. Add to soup. Heat until hot. Add salt and pepper to tast. Serve with crusty bread.
Enjoy!
It’s even better the next day!
The last of the visitors are heading home tomorrow, it will be a sad day around here. J and J2 have had constant extra companions for two plus weeks. And my extra Sister time sure has been great.
They will all be missed. Must start planning trip to Regina, I guess that could be #7 on my list of things to do.
**Oh yes, and Sister number three who left on Boxing Day has already taken the Blue Goose to Charlotte, NC, Kansas, Kansas and is now sitting on the beach in SAN DIEGO, California!!! Oh to be 23!
Saying goodbye to 2006 is not going to be hard. Despite many wonderful things, my near death experience in August seems to stand out the most. Thankfully, I am here to share all of this with you and more. As I said in an earlier post, I don’t do resolutions, but I do make lists.
So here is my to do list for 2007.
1. Clean out top drawer on island in kitchen. This drawer is my nemesis. I hate it. Every single day I want to dump it out and run away. My mostly organized life is disrupted by this drawer daily.
2. Finish setting up my proper office in our loft. I started last summer and did not get far. It used to be my sewing room, but now that I am not sewing full time, I want to turn it into a proper office. We have no proper place for all our paper work and equipment. And sometimes I miss sitting at a desk and working.
3. Start rewriting my novel. For Christmas I received three books to help me with my novel. I promised I would not write a single thing in it until January. As tomorrow is January 1st, I may be starting as soon as I wake up. I have so many ideas and thoughts that I cannot wait to get started.
4. Sign up for photography class. I have been wanting to take a photography class since I got my camera back in May. Although I use it almost every day there is so much I don’t know about it and would like to be able to use it to it’s full capacity.
5. Learn how to set up a website properly. I want to be able to set up my own websites and manage them properly. Will see if I get this one done this year.
I think these five will get me off to a really great start, but I have to add one more, just for good measure.
6. Be a new Mom again. I have great hopes and feelings about this pregnancy so far, but there will always linger a tiny little bit of doubt until everything comes to fruition.
