Carrot Soup

This will be similar to the carrot soup recipe Mary posted, but I had been planning to post it before then and just never got around to it. This is definitely one of my favorite soup recipes from Nourishing Traditions and I make it regularly! I love the dimension of the curry seasoning and the sweetness of the carrots.

Ingredients:
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
4 T butter
2 t curry powder
1.5 quarts chicken stock (preferably home made)
1/2 t freshly grated lemon rind
1/2 t freshly grated ginger
sea salt and pepper to taste
sour cream or creme fraiche

Method:
Saute onions and carrots very gently in butter about 45 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder and stir until well amalgamated. Add stock, bring to a boil and skim. Add lemon rind and ginger. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes. Puree soup with a handheld blender. Season to taste. Ladle into heated bowls and serve with cultured cream (i.e sour cream).

Black Bean Brownies

I just made these last night and they came out great! So yummy! There are a lot of very similar black bean brownie recipes on the internet. This is the one I made. So for Rebecca who buys black beans 25 lbs at a time and Mary who is looking for healthy dessert recipes, here you go!

Ingredients:
2 C cooked black beans or 1 can black beans, drained
3 eggs
1/3 C melted butter or melted coconut oil
1/4 C cocoa powder
1/8 t salt
2 t vanilla
1/2 C honey
1 t baking powder (optional) for a slightly more cakey brownie.

1/2 C chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (optional)
1/3 C chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish. Place all but the final two ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Fold in or sprinkle on optional nuts and/or chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 min; until brownies start to pull away from the edge of the pan.

From what I read, the brownies taste better if they have been refrigerated overnight. I left mine out on the counter overnight b/c they were still hot when I went to bed. I had one this afternoon and it was delicious!

Enjoy!