Dropped Ball Dinner

Somehow, the weekend managed to sneak by me again without including a trip to Publix. I made it to Whole Foods, which yielded a cart full of food, a hefty bill and no real dinner menu ingredients, but I totally dropped the ball on buying anything of sustenance (sour coca-cola gummi bottles anyone?). I did, however, procure some excellent Manchego cheese—a sheep’s milk cheese from Spain (that happens to melt really well) with a particularly palate pleasing sweet-salty-nutty combination of flavors.

So on Sunday night when I realized that I had neglected to plan a formal dinner menu (for shame!), I decided to see if I could come up with something passing for supper using only the contents of my fridge and pantry. Voila: Forgot-to-go-to-the-Grocery-Store Black Bean Soup with a Manchego grilled cheese sandwich. The recipe for the soup is below, but the most important thing to note is that the soup can be comprised only of ingredients you have on hand. No salsa? Skip it. Hate cumin? To hell with it. Got a kielbasa hanging around? Chop it up and sauté it with the onion. Use what you’ve got, in whatever quantities suits your taste. I love chipotle chili powder and use it a lot, but any old type of chili powder (or even the red pepper flakes that came with your spice rack) will work. I would give you the recipe for the Manchego grilled cheese sandwich, but I don’t want to insult you. (*Hint- it's a grilled cheese sandwich. With Manchego.)

Forgot-to-go-to-the-Grocery-Store Black Bean Soup

Serves 2

½ medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
15 oz can black beans with their juice
one cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
¼ cup jarred salsa
cumin
chipotle chili powder
smoked paprika
squeeze lime juice
salt and pepper

Heat two turns of the pot of extra virgin olive oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking two minutes more. Add cumin, chipotle chili powder and paprika and stir to combine. Add the black beans, stock and salsa. Turn up heat until soup boils, then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you want to puree the soup, do so now. Just before serving, squeeze in the lime juice.

Optional toppings:
Sour cream or plain yogurt
Cheddar cheese (not recommended if serving with Manchego grilled cheese sandwiches-you wanna have a heart attack tonight?)
Scallions
Bacon bits