om nom nom
A while back, I got a real craving for white bean and spinach soup. Not sure why – I’d never even had white beans before.
My purchase of a can of white beans coincided with the purchase of my new iPhone and I thought, let’s take this thing out for a spin. And so, may I present: white bean and spinach soup. My soup is loosely based on a yummy-looking recipe over at Aggie’s Kitchen. Thanks for the inspiration, Aggie!
omg yum I can't wait!
First, I chopped up some onion, carrot and garlic, and I’ll be really honest here: I used my food processor because I’m damn lazy tonight.
zoom zoom chop, bitchezzzzz
I did the mushrooms separately, and I kind of regret not just slicing them. I didn’t mean for them to get that small. I’m sorry, mushrooms! I’ll do you right next time.
my fave pic of the bunch is this stupid mushroom shot.
So once all those veggies were chopped I sauteed them in a good bit of olive oil in a nice heavy pot on low-ish heat. You can’t cook your onions too hot, man. I get it – nobody likes wasting their time on ONIONS. But good caramelization comes to those who wait, mi amigos.
I got some mad animated gif making skillz yo
After the carrots were half cooked, I added a shit ton of water (about 6 cups), some vegetarian bouillon cube, some salt, seasoned salt, chilli powder, Italian herbs, basically I just went HRM WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN HOW ABOUT EVERYTHING. I do this a lot. I can’t help it. Life is a little bland.
I ALWAYS think soup is bland, so I load it with spice.
Right. So then I simmered it all gently a while (how long? I dunno a few rounds of Angry Birds). Then, I added all the fresh spinach we had in the house, about half a bag:
Spinach. LIKE IT.
The trick is to put the spinach in just as it’s done cooking, right before you take it off the stove. In this case, first went the spinach and then right at the end I added a can of white kidney beans:
Don't be lazy. Rinse those damn beans off!
And there you have it, folks. Homemade white bean and spinach soup a la Gwen Styles. I don’t follow recipes to the tee, ever (well, almost never). They’re simply a guideline, and inspiration if you will. I found myself adding more and more seasonings, is it that I’m so used to sodium-packed commercial soups that I’ve forgotten how to enjoy a salt-free life? Maybe. But one thing I know – that’s a mean bean soup, kids! Enjoy!
om nom nom
