Where I attended grad school, there was a cafe/book shop that was most popular for its black bean soup. I ate lunch there the day that I interviewed to attend, on the advice of the amazing registrar who was everyone's friend (she has retired; I can't imagine the school without her). I don't think I had ever had black bean soup before that day, and it was glorious; I went back as often as I could afford it while I was on campus. When I found this recipe in The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook (I have the edition that is 2001-2010), it was the first thing I ever made out of the book. And it tastes as good as the memory.

It also freezes well! And when I discovered that there was just a little bit more room in my freezer last weekend, I was determined to add this to the mix.

Planning!

This isn't a tough soup, but it has a lot of steps that can't be rushed. It's the first thing I started this morning, and one of the last things I stored this afternoon. Another good reason for it to be freezer food, so I don't have to stress about finding the time to prep it during production.

Here's the nutritional breakdown from Fitbit...

I will probably buy an avocado to slice into these portions during the week that I decide to eat it; if so, I'll add it to the breakdown then.

Groceries I had on hand...

• bay leaves
• baking soda
• table salt
• onions
• celery ribs
• carrot
• garlic
• cumin
• red pepper flakes
• chicken broth
• cornstarch
• lime

Groceries I had to buy...

• dried black beans ($1.67)
• canadian bacon (the recipe calls for hamsteak, but in such a small amount that I buy canadian bacon slices instead) ($4.69)

Total monies spent for the entire recipe: $6.36

Total monies spent for each of these 4 meals....

$1.59 per meal...

Cooking!

This soup essentially cooks in three stages. The first stage is cooking off the beans, which the recipe doesn't assume you would do on your own (enter: my gratitude).

Next comes the soup proper with a mirepoix base, then seasonings, then stock and returning the beans to the pot.

And finally, there is a blending and thickening step: blending some of the beans to make a thicker base, then adding and cooking off a cornstarch slurry to really thicken it up.

After that, it's a matter of returning the ham (from the bean cook) to the soup, and storing it away!

This soup is seriously going to hit the spot, memories and all!