Black Bean Hummus

By Lindsey Scarber

2 cups cooked black beans, drained (or 16 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained*)

1 Tbsp tahini (or 1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter + 1 t. sesame oil**)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 lime, its juice (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder to taste)

1 tsp ground cumin

salt to taste

Pulverize the beans with an immersion blender.  Add all other ingredients.  (If an immersion blender is inaccessible, combine all ingredients in a food processor.)

Refrigerate to let the flavors blend. 

Serve with veggie sticks, pita bread, pita chips, or corn chips.

Vegetarian. High in protein. Gluten-free.

I like to double the recipe because it lasts in the fridge 2-3 weeks. 

*I use the "Easy Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans" recipe on this blog to bottle black beans.  When I want to make hummus , I pull it off the shelf, use the perfectly cooked black beans, then reuse the quart jar for more pressure cooking. :)

**Tahini is sesame seed butter, found  in the refrigerator section of health food stores like Sprouts and Trader Joes.  Peanut butter and sesame oil are shelf stable, which saves a trip to the store to buy tahini.

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Submitted by Lindsey Scarber

Recipe from my AZ friend Cammi Hawker 

This a yummy and very filling vegetarian soup.  Low-carb, too!

3 T. olive oil

1 cup white onion, minced

4 t. minced garlic, fresh is best

1/2 cup zuchinni, chopped

          1/2 cup frozen italian cut green beans, or 1 (15 oz. ) can cut green beans

          4 cups vegetable broth, or water
1 (15 oz.) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
2 T. fresh minced parsley (or 1 T. dried)
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach, or 1 square pkg of frozen spinach
1 cup small shell pasta

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large pot. Saute onion, garlic, green beans, and zucchini for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add vegetable broth, drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, carrot, hot water, spinach, and spices.

         Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until pasta is al dente.