soup success!!

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Slowly, I’m learning how to make soup.  This is exciting!  Last year, I made a recipe from the Clean Food cookbook for Black Eyed Peas + Collard greens.  Apparently, black eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck for the new year.  Somehow, I just learned this last year.

Today, I was in the mood for soup with both collard greens + soaked black eyed peas on hand.  I have seen recipes for black eyed pea + collar soup before, but wanted to put my own spin on things.

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Chris + I love love love Kale.  We eat a full head of kale around 3 times per week or more.  We’re not getting sick of it, by any means, but sometimes a change is nice.  I’ve only eaten collard greens a handful of times, but thought it would hold up really well in a soup.  I’m sure kale would work as well!

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If you want to save money [but not time] boil your beans.  I’ve only purchased about 4 cans of beans in the past 3-4 months.  I try to save on high quality ingredients anywhere I can, and dried beans is one easy way. 

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rinsed + soaked for 8hrs + rinsed + boiled with kombu for ~1.5hrs + drained + rinsed

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I decided to give this a punch of garlic and used 5 cloves.

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I hate when you bust open the garlic and find a million tiny cloves.  Luckily, the other side of the garlic had nice large cloves.

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Black Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, + Tomato Soup vegan! [yields ~6-8 servings]

  • 6c veggie stock
  • 2T olive oil
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
  • 1 medium/large onion, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch collard greens, washed + chopped into strips
  • 3c cooked black eyed peas [or 2 cans]
  • 28oz whole peeled tomatoes with juice
  • 2t thyme
  • 1.5t parsley
  • 2t oregano
  • 1t basil
  • pinch of cayenne
  • salt + pepper to taste
  1. In a large pot, add olive oil, over medium heat.
  2. Once heated, add chopped onion and celery, until the onion has browned [~10min].  Be patient and stir every minute or so.
  3. Stir in garlic, thyme, parsley, oregano, basil, s+p and cook for about 30sec, stirring constantly.  Go easy on the salt to start and season more along the way.
  4. Add in peeled tomatoes with the juices + veggie stock, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them in.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, add beans + cover with a lid.
  6. Simmer at least 30min, stirring occasionally.
  7. Taste + adjust seasoning, adding more salt + pepper if necessary. 
  8. Add a few shakes of cayenne, if you want a little heat, and stir.
  9. Simmer 5 more minutes, and taste again.
  10. Add collard greens, stir + cover to simmer for 5min.
  11. Serve it up with crusty bread!

*I used a low sodium veggie stock and ending up adding approximately 1.5t salt, in total.  I used around 1/2t ground black pepper and a few shakes of cayenne.  It had a nice kick but not too hot.

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This meal was hearty, but lacking healthy fat.  I solved that by adding avocado on top + toast on the side for some carby goodness.  Another idea would be to add toasted pumpkin seeds.  You could also toast up a piece of bread, spread some plain almond/cashew/pecan butter on top, cut into cubes, and throw on top of the soup.  Too bad I just thought of that now!! 

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It was SO hard to move this bowl of soup to the lightbox without splashing up the sides of the bowl.  Despite the splashed bowl, I love love loved this soup!!  It was slightly thick from the addition of the tomatoes and I loved the crunchy collards.  There was a lot of herby flavor + garlic without being overwhelming.  A definite keeper!

A few updates:

  • I have a new Photography page to give you quick access to my photography 101 posts
  • The VFF Photos page is updated – submit your photos if you want!
  • My latest header design is now up at the lovely Liane’s blog, Please Bring Wine – Totally love her blog name!
  • Be sure to check out the fudgy treat I made yesterday!!

Next thing to update is my recipe page.  It has been too long!! 

Tomorrow.

I.must.get.back.to.the.pool.

Ashley