eclaire (what’s in a) name?

yep, it’s officially fall, dear readers. and with the seasonal change, i decided to attempt to cook my first soup from scratch to keep us warm on the crisp fall nights. soup is a dish that i have had made for me from scratch by my parents, but something i’ve never attempted to make from scratch on my own because the stuff from the can usually fulfills any soup desire i might have

however, when i saw this quick and easy recipe in vegetarian times last month, i decided i had to make it. the original recipe calls for corn and rice, but i couldn’t stop there and decided to throw a can of beans into the pot to add a little more protein and punch. and hey, let’s face it, i’m not sure if i consider a dinner without beans a real dinner at all!

along with the crisp nights, i seem to have picked up a bit of a cold. so i’m going to keep this post short and encourage you to try out this soup, especially if you feel some sniffles coming on. it’s delicious and satisfying, you’ll barely be on your feet cooking, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand, and you could even eat it while looking at our calistoga and california academy of sciences pics!

rice (and bean) soup

adapted from vegetarian times
yields 6 servings

• 1t olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3c vegetable broth
• 3c water
• 1T lime zest
• 1/4c white rice – brown will take longer
• 2 small tomatoes, diced
• 1/3c frozen or fresh corn
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, diced
• lime wedges for garnish
• 2 green onions, chopped for garnish (optional)
• 1/4c chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
• dollop sour cream or soy sour cream for garnish (optional)
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1. saute onion in olive oil in large pot for 5 minutes
2. add garlic and saute 1 minute more
3. add veggie broth, water, lime zest, and rice, and simmer 15 minutes
4. throw in tomatoes, corn, and beans ad simmer 10 minutes longer, or until rice is tender
5. ladle soup into bowls and cover with avocado, a squeeze of lime, and any or all of the garnishes you wish – green onions, cilantro, and sour cream, and slurp away!