Black Bean and Rice Soup

As the weather starts to get colder, I find myself craving warm foods. I’m already almost out of my favorite tea, and have just stocked up on bullion cubes. (Quick side note, whenever recipes call for chicken or vegetable stock, I usually try to use bullion cubes. Let’s face it, they’re not quite as tasty as the real thing, we’re med students and living on a pretty strict budget.) Fact is, there’s nothing quite like freezing your butt off then sitting down to a steaming bowl of soup or a warm cup of tea. Only problem with this is that the med student lifestyle doesn’t exactly lend itself to slaving over a stock pot for hours. Now the easiest option for fast soup involves resorting to the canned variety…but those never quite do it for me! They’re usually too salty, too creamy, too….something. Because of this, I’ve moved on to working with canned vegetables, bullion cubes, etc. in order to speed along the soup-making process, all the while giving myself the opportunity to cook something that definitely “does it for me.”

I think it’s important to note that with colder weather comes colds, fevers, chills, etc…and what’s goes better with a cold, than a nice bowl of soup? I made this particular recipe a couple days ago for a friend complaining of a sore throat, fever, etc. Just to warn you, this recipe has a bit of spice to it, but in my opinion, spice always makes me perk up a bit.

What you need:

• 3/4 cup chopped green onions (or more if you want)
• 4 cups vegetable broth (aka bullion cubes in boiling water)
• 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
• 2 4oz cans of chopped green chilies (undrained)
• 1 14 oz can of black beans
• salt and pepper
• 3 cup cooked rice (I like jasmin rice or brown rice)
• 1/2 cup cubed avocado (not necessary, but adds a good creaminess to the recipe)
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (more if you want)
• Fresh lime juice
• 3/4 cup chopped cilantro

What you need to do:

1. Sauté the green onions in butter in a large pot (add some cilantro).
2. Add broth, canned tomatoes, chilies, and black beans to the pot.
3. Add some salt/pepper to taste (I usually only add salt).
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Serve with rice (in the same bowl).
6. Add lime juice
7. Top with extra onions, cilantro, avocado and fresh tomatoes.
8. Enjoy!

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