Actually, I was in the freezer this morning and found that ham shank I bought to make bean soup! I was planning on saving it until my Dad comes later this month, but I may break down and make it this weekend.
Love that bean soup, plan to make it soon, gotta get some ham hocks, first.
Then I must resist the temptation to have hot, freshly baked biscuits with it.
bargoo~I have to make sure I don't need the sourdough or pumpernickel bread to go with the soup! I usually buy ham shanks as they seem to have more ham on them than the hock.
I have to avoid rye bread with dill, too....and my favorite bread Oroweat Winter Wheat, I don't dare keep it in the house, and we won't even discuss a fresh loaf of sourdough bread.
ALLISON go to Good Clean Health on Facebook and make the remake of my mac and cheese recipe that I won....Angie and I did and it was pretty decent comfort food and pretty healthy.
BARGOO I love Oroweat whole wheat but have never heard of "winter" wheat. For those Easterners it is Arnold's bread, I think.
Mmm I have been meaning to make some bean soup but though I have several recipes one is not calling out to me right now. Though if I've got bread in the house when I have the soup it (the bread) is in trouble, or I'm in trouble depending on your view of it, if it's not there I don't have too much trouble not buying any. BF's sister made a great bean soup a few years ago with the Christmas ham leftovers. After trying to reproduce it I concluded it must have had a lot of hidden fat as I couldn't replicate the thicker texture. I know she put the ham hock or shank, cooked with white beans, a few of the usual veg, and she told me she put in some of the leftover mashed taters to thicken it. I decided all the butter in her taters must have helped thicken it somehow, too!
Ok, now I want that soup. Maybe I will try to duplicate a lighter version again, if I can find a ham shank at the store.
Allison, I don't want salad in the winter, either! I start thinking about what veggies I can prepare warm instead without adding a ton of calories. I love to roast things for few calories. Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots, and of course assorted root veggies. Squash. Sauteed kale or collards. Warm veggies are so much more satisfying this time of year.
Emma and I are sending good thoughts Chico's way.
Yesterday I was so tired by the afternoon I had a total meltdown and couldn't do anything productive. I took Emma on a walk and that was about it. I was having so much anxiety about being stressed out and tired that I couldn't fall asleep, and got even less sleep last night. Annoying how that works. I've made a "to-do" list today and will try to just keep crossing one thing off at a time. Food was not good. Free, hot garlic bread in my face when stressed is not good. Sigh... I've had twice my normal amount off coffee this morning and am just hoping my energy levels stay somewhere close to productivity.
Okay, you've probably thought of this, Megan, but have you ever removed some of the soup, particularly the beans, pureed it, and then added it back to the pot, to thicken it?
A fast way to do this is to add a can of fat-free refried beans.
And I've never tried this but have speculated that really plain hummus glopped out of its container into soup would do the same.
I thought of that just this morning, saef, when bargoo posted her suggestion of less water. Surely it would have come to me sooner or later as I use this technique and puree up some of the tomatoes, peppers and onions to thicken up my chili. Now when am I going to have time to make this? Got to get to the grocery store first. Maybe Saturday.
Hummus is a good idea, too, and I just happen to have a freshly made batch in the fridge.
This bean soup is getting interesting. I have never had to thicken it and had never even thought of it as being necessary. I cook it slowly at a fairly low temp on top of the stove. Strange things about beans, seems like you can't cook them too long. They also seem to taste better the next day and they will thicken a little then.
What beans are you talking about here? Some beans/peas (pulses) fall apart more quickly than others (for example, haricot, red split lentils) and some tend to hold their shape (for example, chickpeas).
I've never thickened any bean soup. If it's a bit thin, I cook it longer.
ETA. You all know this joke, I'm sure.
Customer: What's on the menu?
Waiter: It's bean soup.
Customer: What was it before??
Last edited by silverbirch; 11-03-2011 at 06:10 PM.
Reason: to spread hilarity around
The last time I made bean soup I used Bob's Red Mill multi bean mixture. I want to say 10 or 12 different beans. The store didn't have that in stock this time I went, so I got a generic mixture of about 13 beans. After soaking the beans overnight, (if I remember correctly) you rinse the beans, cover them with water, add the ham hock or ham shank and I think an onion (or you add the onion later). Once done, after several hours of cooking, you get the meat off the bone, cut it up and add it back in along with a can of tomatoes. I've never had it not thick enough.
Megan, I think your bean soup problem is simple....
!. Too much water
3. Not cooking them long enough
I use a 1 pound bag of Navy beans or other white beans and about 7-8 cups of water the only other liquid is an 8 0z can of tomato sauce.
For vegies I add onion, celery, and carrots.
Beans and ham hocks, or ham shanks , that's it. The next time you want to roast a ham be sure you buy a ham with bone in as the bone makes excellent soup, too.
Right now I have some lentils that are crying to be made into soup , I will use ham hocks in that, too.
I'm getting hungry I haven't had breakfast yet.
