Vegan Bean Soup

I'm getting into this vegan/vegetarianism way of eating.  I'm going a little bit slow, easing into it, but I like it.  It's not hard to cook and eat this way but it is a little pricey, especially in the winter months when fresh fruit and vegetables are not in abundance.  But hey, some things you just have to get past and use frozen.  That is what I am doing, using frozen berries and fruit for smoothies and snacks for instance, and frozen vegetables for side dishes and soups. 

Soup was on the menu again this week, BIG snowstorm that dropped 26 inches of snow, that's a lot for the area where I live.  Had to make something hot to warm all my boys up after snow blowing and shoveling.  They were out there for hours and didn't completely clear it, but it's passable.  They were happy to see a hot bowl of soup and crusty bread when they came inside.  The little things in life.....

Recipe Below.

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Some of my ingredients to start my soup.  Fresh herbs, garlic and kale, but used canned beans, tomatoes, and vegetable stock.

 Get the broth going and rinse the beans and kale.

 I strip the kale off the coarse ribs, too tough to eat, and then chop it.

 Throw in the beans and kale, stir it up and let it simmer for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, and it's ready to serve.

 And here you have the Blizzard of 2016 mid way through the storm.  Stuck in the house for two days is not my idea of fun!

 Moving up the back door and it was still snowing, everything piled high and covered in snow!

 About halfway through the storm the hubby decided he would try and clear some of it.

 It's still snowing, could not get out of any doors!  This was after he used the snow blower the first time, covered again!

 Now the snow stopped and the real clearing has begun.

 What a mess, this is why they needed soup!  I think he's going to need a bigger snow blower.

Vegan Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 large onion, diced

2 - 32 oz containers vegetable stock

2 cups water

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

3 carrots, diced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more if you like heat

1/2 cup farro (if you don't like it or have it leave it out)

4 - 15.5 oz cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups any fresh kale, rinsed, deveined and chopped, or use frozen

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and onion, cook until fragrant and the onions are tender, be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the stock, water, tomatoes, carrots, parsley, rosemary, crushed red pepper and farro. Stir to combine. Add the drained beans, chopped kale, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours stirring occasionally. Serve with grated cheese on top and a loaf of crusty bread for sopping up all the juices.  Makes 8 servings.