White bean potato soup

How about a hearty  soup for a chilly Fall day?

Vegan books all talk about beans.   Beans, beans, and more beans.   Ok.  I get it.    We need to eat beans.  But how do we go about it?   Can't it just be simple?   Actually, yes. 

Recipes confuse & frustrate me.  Why am I adding this or that?  Why does the order matter?   What's the difference between roasting and baking?   Maybe this will pass with time, but for now, recipes don't motivate or inspire me.  
 

So, without a recipe (step by step 'do this' set of instructions), here's how the soup happened.

Me:  "I have these nice white beans, but they are hard as rocks"

miniMe: "go google how to prepare white beans"

Me: "ahhhh, you have to soak them overnight. ok"

next morning

Me: beans look good, now what?

miniMe: What else you got to add to the beans?

Me: potatoes, onions, spices, garlic, walnuts, rice, etc etc

miniMe: pick a couple, toss them in pot, add spice and heat.  What could go wrong?

That's basically how it happened and the soup was GREAT!   I  knew to saute my garlic before adding it and I  knew I liked my home made blend of Italian spices.  

Here's what happened (in best Monk voice):

Toss these in your stock pot:

 - Cubed potatoes (i should have peeled them)

- white beans

- spices from Penzeys (oregano, rosemary, basil, marjoram, & some red pepper flakes)

- saute an entire bulb of garlic and toss in pot (a little olive oil medium heat for about a minute )
- add water (of course)

- was going to add chopped onion - but I forgot.  (next time)

I made my stock thick by ladling the hot mixture into a blender.  Blend some, then just pour it back into pot.  Not thick enough?  Fish out more whole beans and potatoes and repeat.

Like it?   YES!   Good...you are done.  
Like it?  No.     oh oh.   It needs 'something' else added.
Now what?

oh no, it needs 'something' else

No need to panic - just add something.   You don't have to KNOW it's the right thing to add before you do it. After all.....we are new to this, right?  Just put some soup in a bowl and experiment with it.  Once you like the results do the same thing to the rest of your soup.

And there you go. 

You now have a white bean potato soup for a chilly Fall day

p.s.    I had these nice Walnuts so I toasted them in my small toaster oven.  In they went and they toasted until one started to darken in a rather menacing manner.  Tossed those and some chives from Penzeys  on top as a garnish and YUM!
 

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.