Puzzle Description:

I made Teresa's Salsa Bean soup last night! (Recipe in the comments)

#1: Meg Tayler (rebelcat) on May 5, 2009 [SPOILER]

Teresa's Salsa Bean Soup (A la Rebelcat)

In the bottom of a VERY big soup pot, saute:

1 tbsp peanut oil
3 sweet peppers (chopped)
1 spanish onion (chopped)
1 1/2 tsps garlic puree
3 small zucchinis (chopped) - add the zucchinis last, or they'll go mushy

When the onions are translucent and the peppers are soft, stir in:

1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes (ready spiced)
2 19oz cans of black beans (rinsed)
3 cups frozen corn niblets
1 900ml box of broth (I used chicken because that's what I had on hand, but I think veggie broth would be better)
28 oz water (just use the empty tomato can)

Bring to a boil, then simmer for a couple of hours.

Serve with hot sauce and/or dry roasted peanuts (I like to sprinkle them on the soup).

Makes 8+ servings.

My husband and son both loved it and went back for seconds. My daughter opted to make herself something else for dinner (but she hates beans and zucchini, so that was no surprise).

Thanks, Teresa! We'll definitely be making this one again!

Yuck.

I'll skip the zucchini (not that I don't like them) and serve with chopped avocado.

Mmm... that sounds like a good idea, Jota! I love avocado.

Oh, I am so pleased - with the puzzle and the recipe!!! The puzzle is my favorite format (40x40 or smaller B&W). The image is so cool, I didn't see it until almost finished.

I like your recipe. Yes, I added the zucchini last. Your recipe doesn't include the cilantro, or did I forget to mention that in my ingredients? That really gives it the salsa flavor. I would prefer the avocado instead of zucchini, plus the corn, but I have to keep the calories down for Karie. (On top of being in starvation mode, her metabolism is only 60% of normal, so she can only eat half as many calories as you or me, just to maintain her weight.)

Unfortunately, my grocery store only had really nasty smelling half-black wilted cilantro. :-p So, I substituted the coriander on the theory that they at least come from the same plant.

I have to be pretty creative with my cooking, as I never know what's going to be available from one day to the next. They've just stopped stocking most of their dried spices (because they weren't selling), so I'm looking into growing my own this summer.

Does corn have much in the way of calories? I know it has a fair bit of sugar, which can be a problem for my son. But he can handle it as long as it is balanced by more complex carbs (beans, zucchini, etc...).

230 calories per 10 oz. package

Is that a lot? Seriously, I know nothing about counting calories. I could tell you lots about carbs, protein and their effect on blood sugar levels, though!

1 Cup chopped zucchini = 20 calories
1 Cup chopped fresh tomatoes = 30 calories
1 Cup chopped sweet peppers = 30 calories
1 Cup sweet corn = 130 calories
1 Cup chopped avocado = 250 calories

Karie's meal is limited to 350 calories, about the same as a slice of pizza or half a milk shake or a bagel with nothing on it, or half a cheeseburger. I can fix her a meal within her limits that includes meat/protein, veggies, salad, fruit, and dessert.

Oh, Meg, did I tell you - the soup ladel in your puzzle looks just like the Weight Watcher serving spoon that doubles as a measuring cup.

Wow! I'd never have guessed that corn was a calorie rich food.

That's a very challenging diet - I'm impressed with your cooking skills!

Corn is a vegetable, but it is usually included in the starch group because it is so high in carbs. Same goes for peas and potatoes. Or some food plans consider corn a grain.

Meg, you would be even more impressed with my Thanksgiving dinner recipes. Where a typical Thanksgiving dinner with one normal serving is over 1,500 calories, I can do it for 500 calories and still have it taste good.
http://members.cox.net/pwsaa/tgtable.htm

I've bookmarked the page - those look like nice simple, yummy recipes, (esp. the stuffing!).

We're not trying to cut down on calories, but because of my son's hypoglycemia we're all on a diabetic diet. I think there's a lot of overlap between your plan and ours, though we focus more on "good carbs" and "bad carbs" instead of calories. And on combining higher carb foods with high protein foods. Ie, if my son eats half an apple, he has to eat some cheese as well. Or he can put peanut butter on it.

If he eats the apple by itself his blood sugar will first spike and then crash. And that's not fun for anyone, lol!

Apple slices with peanut butter - yum! One of my favorite snacks.

Did you know some people have a gene that makes cilantro taste sort of like...dirty dishwater? lol it's true! I'm so glad I don't have that problem. The recipe sounds yummy.

I was wondering what... I think it was John Stewart? Either him or Colbert - I watch them both back to back in the morning reruns so it's easy to mix up the jokes. Anyway, he said something about cilantro tasting nasty this morning and I was wondering what that was about. Now I know! :-D

That is so interesting!

I've never needed to watch calories in the food I cook, which is a good thing because I'm watching so many allergins for various family members. For a meal to be safely eaten by me, Valerie and the kids it may contain no:

wheat
corn
dairy
sugar
onions
garlic
tomatos
barley
oats
rye

We just recently got soy back on the lists of edible foods. Accept for the glutin foods (wheat, barley, oats, rye) it's no great disaster if small traces get in. Sugar is, of course, impossible to completely eliminate, so we are mostly just avoided added sweeteners not the natural sugars that appear in most foods.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I'm the only non-vegetarian in the family, so meats and fish are off the list too.

I can sympathize, Jan! When I was a kid I was allergic to dairy, eggs, wheat, corn, and citrus. Thankfully my allergies all disappeared in my teens. Do they still give people shots for their allergies these days?

No onions, garlic or tomatoes? Oh, I would just die of starvation. I love my Italian and Mexican dishes.

The glutin thing is celiac disease, not an allergy, and it doesn't go away. The others might.

It does inspire some originality in cooking. Teff, tapioca, and garbanzo flour are all regular parts of our diet. I'm not sure pizza with a curried spinach sauce instead of tomato is going to take over the world, but it isn't bad.

Jan, do you ever get to sneak away for a favorite food that is forbidden at home?

Not much. Some of those are my own food restrictions, like the sugar, tomato, garlic and onions. You don't find much in a restaurant that doesn't contain gobs of those.

Hey Meg! Thx 4 the creative in your puzzle! Enjoyed it!

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