Tasty Winter Vegetable Soup

Elise, you better start picking up the slack, here. Mac and cheese from a box can be beautiful, whatever. I want to see some posts from you, stat. Maybe on Friday when you're taking care of my dog? :-D

This soup is one of my favorites in the winter. Which is good, because I always wind up making WAY more than I mean to. Consider yourself warned. This is inspired by a recipe I found on some blog somewhere (sorry, blogger, I totally don't remember what blog you write) and then adapted to suit my liking and what I tend to keep in my kitchen. So for me, this soup is great because I probably only need to buy one or two things, tops.

To begin, take a cup or so of dry black eyes peas and throw them in some water. Bring them to a boil, then remove from heat (but not the hot water) while you chop veggies.

Chop:
3-5 cloves garlic
3 large-ish potatoes
1 large sweet potato (I used white sweet potatoes this time! Did you know that was a thing?)
2 cups frozen corn (okay, don't chop that..)
1-2 carrots
1 onion

Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a big ole soup pot, then throw in everything you just chopped (including the corn) and cook on medium heat, covered, for 10 min (stirring occasionally). After 10 minutes, add 6 or so cups of your favorite stock, a couple teaspoons of lemon juice, the black eyed peas, and the following spices:
thyme (3 t)
anise or fennel (3 t)
paprika (1/2 t), salt (1/2 t)
and 3-4 bay leaves.
This is all to taste, of course. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cut up a couple tomatoes (or open a can). Also cut up some kale (or your favorite dark leafy green). Kale was one of the few things I didn't have, so I put a backpack on Mr. Dog (sorry, no pictures) and we went to the store. The kale didn't fit so I put it through the handle on the top of his pack. It made me laugh, at least. Anyway, this kale I got is unlike any kale I've ever seen. Check it out:

It looks like an alien life form to me.

After the stuff has been simmering for 10 minutes, throw in the tomatoes and kale.

Simmer an additional 10-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Blueberry-raspberry-banana muffins

Raise your hand if you like muffins.

Okay, the rest of you can just leave my classroom. I can't relate to you at all. I mean, what's not to love about muffins? They're full of carbs and fruit, two of the best things in the world. I may have gone a little overboard with these muffins, but can you really blame me for wanting bananas, blueberries, and raspberries in the same package?

For these muffins I used Tato's Basic Muffin Recipe with a couple of alterations and additions (namely, way more fruit than can reasonably be expected in a batch of muffins). I'm just going to say it: they were delicious. I mean, otherwise they wouldn't be on a blog called "Beatiful/Delicious," now would they?

Even the kitty agrees!

Tato's Basic Muffin Recipe (Inez-style)

Preheat oven to to 400F. Seriously, do it now. It will take longer for the oven to heat than for you to put these muffins together.

• 2 c flour (all white or half white, half whole wheat -- for this batch I used about 1/3 whole wheat, 2/3 white)
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 c sugar (increase to 1/3 c for sweeter muffins)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1 c milk
• a splash of lemon juice
• a whole bunch of blueberries, raspberries, and sliced bananas (berries can be frozen or fresh)

Combine dry (flour, bp, salt, sugar) and wet (egg, oil, milk, lemon juice) ingredients in separate bowls.

Grease one muffins pan that holds 12 muffins. Place in heated oven for 1-2 minutes.

Combine wets, dries, and fruit. Do not overmix! Some lumps are okay.

Put batter immediately in heated muffin pan and bake for about 25 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.