Buckcherry ~ Bliss
Beth Hart ~ Missing You
KORN ~ Alive
Ella Fitzgerald ~ Baby Won't You Please Come Home
Angela Gheorghiu ~ Puccini: Tosca E Lucevan Le Stelle
Beth Hart ~ Hold Me Through The Night
Thirty Odd Foot Of Grunts ~ Sail Those Same Oceans
Queens Of The Stone Age ~ Kalopsia
Chris Cornell ~ Ground Zero
Tina Dico ~ In The Red
Bach: 1. Prelude
Lenny Kravitz ~ Circus
The Fratellis ~ Acid Jazz Singer
Nickelback ~ Money Bought
The first home cooked meal I ever ate in the States was made by my then partner. A person who was originally from Portugal and of the slab of 'barely cooked meat, open jars of various pickles and a loaf on the table with a slab of butter meal eating' type. lol So thinking of what to cook this lifelong veggie (I wasn't vegan at the time) was a little taxing on the brain cells. Thankfully a friend stepped up and gave a lesson in veggie meal cooking and the results were a very large vat of a beany (pinto/bolotti) and veg packed soup. I was relieved to arrive in Minnesota and see and smell this soup as I was starving as the plane hadn't had my veggie meal and I was tired. At that time I really wasn't a great fan of soups...but this was heaven in a bowl and with the bread on the side...sans butter!..lol..it was filling and satisfying. Believe me when I say....I ate a lot of this soup whilst there lol but anything was better than the cardboard veggie burgers of that time. I wasn't allowed in the kitchen much...can see why it didn't work out, eh?...so my diet consisted of muffins, hazelnut coffee, the soup and for dinner a large plate of steamed veggies with a side salad...and copious amounts of red wine. lol. Ah the good old days...
At this time of year, when winter has seriously taken a hold of things, I often find myself craving that soup. I never did get the recipe and try as I might over the many years since I have never managed to make my own version...something was always not quite right. I don't think I will ever quite get it...but I will keep trying. I am determined..lol. When I was lost in the land of Pinterest this week I came across this soup Pinned on the boards and it looked exactly like the soup of old. I clicked through the links to the original website and found myself laughing out loud with sympathy at the posting that came with this recipe. I could empathise when I am testing new recipes...it can make me crazy too. For the original recipe and a great blog please visit Meet The Shannons. I had to adapt mine very slightly to allow for the ingredients I struggle to get here...but I strongly urge you to visit their site. It's great fun. So I take no credit for this recipe at all...it is all their hard work.
The results...well...they were the closest I have ever come to eating that soup in the last 13 years. I savoured every single mouthful and didn't even sit down to eat it. I served myself up a bowlful...leant back against the kitchen counter and got lost in the flavours and textures. The stock is a great flavour, the veggies perfectly cooked, the beans are soft and the orzo plump and succulent. Not to sound too sappy but it did give me an intense comforting, coming home feeling when eating it. So thank you to The Shannons for a great soup...a complete meal in a bowl...
 |
| The Shannon's Homecoming Soup |
The Shannon's Homecoming Soup Serves 4-6
(Recipe from From Meet The Shannons website)
6 cups of low sodium veggie stock
1 14oz can of chickpeas, rinsed well and drained
1 14oz can of kidney beans, rinsed well and drained
1 14oz can of green lentils, rinsed well and drained
1 cup of kale leaves, stalks removed and chopped (I used 2 cups)
1/3 cup of frozen or fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped (I used fresh)
1/2 red onion, diced (I used 1 whole onion)
4-6 cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used 6 plum cherry toms)
2 tbsp pearl barley (I omitted this ingredient)
1/4 cup of uncooked orzo pasta
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp Braggs Liquid Amino Acid (I omitted this ingredient...what is it? lol)
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp crushed black peppercorns (I used Pink Peppercorns)
1 tsp onion powder
2 dashed of hot sauce (I used 1 tsp chilli paste)
dash of liquid Smoke
2 bay leaves
In a large soup pot add in all the ingredients, cover, bring to the boil over a medium heat. Stir often. Cook until the orzo pasta is plump and cooked. The soup is then ready to be served. (Approx 15 minutes from boiling point ~Red~)
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Saturday is a great one...and as stress free as possible...
~Red~
NB: This recipe is not my creation and therefore take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creative genius of Meet The Shannons team. Thank you to them for it's creation and sharing it with the rest of us. Respect. ~R~
