Soup For Two

For the last several years for Christmas, my sister thoughtfully has sent us food gift items. These are great as they are always the right size and we don’t have to worry about exchanging them if they don't fit.

I decided to make one of the items for lunch; Disciple (12 Bean) Soup for Two, this is very fitting as it is Easter. This soup is from a non-profit Christ Kitchen based in Spokane Washington whose mission is aiding women living in poverty to become employable and self-sufficient.

The soup comes in a small plastic bag that contains the 12 types of beans as well as a small package of spices. Following the directions, I placed the beans into a pot and washed them in water, looking for any foreign objects (I didn’t find anything, but I have found rocks in other dried beans in the past). Once the beans were rinsed, I added enough boiling water to cover the beans with two inches of water. I covered the pan and let the beans soak for two hours.

After the soaking, I added the contents of the spice packet and set the pan on medium heat to bring it to a boil. I was already working on reducing a large Costco spiral sliced ham into smaller packages to put in the freezer (the ham bone is reserved for split pea soup), so I put about a cup of ham pieces into the soup as it cooked. The directions call for simmering the soup for an hour until the beans are soft but not turned to mush. Once it is cooked, I added the two-tablespoons of lemon juice and some salt to taste.

We sliced some bread, and got out some leftover salad and had a very nice soup lunch. The use of the different beans gives the soup a variety of flavors. The small package size (for two people) provided an easy to made soup that tastes good and there were no leftovers.

If you want an easy to make soup that tastes good, I recommend Christ Kitchen soups (their corn bread is also good).

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell