Zesty Black Bean Soup

In keeping with the week’s simple and healthy theme, I decided to unearth some of the many dried beans I keep in the pantry for a comforting soup. Though Friday’s weather made it seem like spring was near, I couldn’t get warm this weekend and needed something hearty that could bubble away on the stove while I was working.

I soaked about two cups of dried black beans in plenty of water overnight, then drained and rinsed them before prepping the rest of the soup ingredients.

I smashed six cloves of garlic and minced them, then added the garlic to some olive oil, starting it on low heat.

To the garlic, I added my soup’s secret ingredient, Howard’s Hot Pepper Relish. I love the sweet and spicy flavors of this peppery relish, so I put in three heaping tablespoons.

Once I could smell the garlic starting to cook up, I added the softened beans, two cups of water, and half of a bag of frozen sweet corn.

I brought everything up to a boil, then brought the heat down to low, letting the soup simmer for over an hour, checking to see if water was needed. You will want to eyeball it and taste the beans to make sure they are cooked all the way through.

To make the soup an even more complete meal, I cooked up some al fresco spicy jalapeno sausage, sliced it into small pieces, and added it to the soup.

And finally, I added a dollop of Fage 2% Greek yogurt to the top of the soup. This would definitely be fine without the chicken sausage for a vegetarian soup, maybe even with some quinoa or brown rice added to bulk it up.  Delicioso!

I am in a serious weather funk. I can’t warm up, even when I am dancing to my Ke$ha Pandora station or lifting weights, and I feel tired all of the time. I just want to open the windows and to be able to sit in my house without my coat! Can it be spring yet?

Hot pepper relish is a condiment that I love to have around the house. What is your favorite condiment?