"Necessity's" Black Bean Soup with Corn Tortilla (Cleanse-Friendly . . . but don't let that stop you)

I know this woman named Necessity. She has an accomplished and successful daughter you may have heard of. She is the busiest woman I know, but she is also brilliant, warm and always has the best advice. As archetypal as a goddess and as familiar as your own mother, Necessity knows what you need.

Necessity lives in my kitchen, and she is always there (though sometimes she is silent, or I'm not really listening). She's really good at putting things in their place, in their proper proportion with everything else swirling in the soup. And, boy, does she know soup! She's especially gifted in the craft of "What's in the fridge?"-style soups and other concoctions.

Yesterday, in the middle of all my madness, it occurred to me that I needed to cook enough meals for myself to bring for lunch and to eat after work. Necessity was right there, telling me to cook the brussel sprouts (sautéed with garlic) and the kale (crisped in the oven with a little salt) and to make a black bean soup. Even though I didn't have all the ingredients for the Cuban black bean soup that I like (see Daisy Martinez's book, Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors that will Rock Your World), I followed the advice of Necessity and invented -- dare I say it -- a black bean soup that was even better than the "authentic" recipes I've followed in the past.

"Necessity's" Black Bean Soup with Corn Tortilla

Ingredients:

1 tbs. coconut oil

1 small onion, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano hot pepper, or hot pepper of your choice, seeded and finely chopped

1 large tomato, preferably fresh from your garden!

1 can. black beans, undrained (or if you really want to drain them, increase the vegetable stock)

1 cup (or more) of vegetable stock

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

Bragg's Amino Acids to taste (or salt and black pepper for the un-cleansers)

2-4 soft corn tortillas, torn into quarters

1 tbs. coarsely chopped cilantro

Directions:

* In a soup pot, Saute up the onion, garlic and pepper in the oil over medium heat.

* Add the tomato and cook it down until it melts.

* Add the beans and stock. Bring to a boil.

* Add the corn and splash of Bragg's. Cook for at least 20 minutes over low heat. The longer the better.

* Remove 1/3 of the soup to a blender and liquefy. Return to the soup and stir.

* When you want to serve, raise the heat to boiling and add the tortilla. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, until the tortilla takes on a pasta-like texture.

* Garnish with cilantro.

I ate this soup tonight, and it was so wonderful. So warm and comforting . . . and rather spicy! It was everything that I've been needing lately -- hearty and sustaining as a mother's food should be.

Fried Eggplant with "Pepian" Sauce and Peccorino

Let's just say, this was a week for paying attention to mental health. With classes starting this week, I had enough on my proverbial plate to keep me in perpetual motion. But a major, emotional drama on Sunday really pushed me to my limit -- and I found myself eating on the run or eating in that furtive way we do when feelings take over.

I was reminded of much I really need to just settle down into this new kitchen and do some cooking. At least when I'm in it, I need to feel that it's mine.

Last night, one of my housemates made a delicious, spicy eggplant-tomato dish with coconut milk -- sort of like a Thai-inspired Bhangan ka Bhurta. Amazing. She served this with sauteed greens and a quinoa and almond pilaf. It was so good, and it motivated me to start thinking about cooking some more.

Today was another busy day (and I didn't even go to work), but I made some time to get over to the community garden. I picked several Isis Candy Tomatoes, some cayenne peppers, some sweet green peppers, a tiny onion, some herbs and a cute, glossy eggplant. We also have green bell peppers in our house garden, AND we have some from the CSA, so I decided to use them up a bit in a very modified version of a pepian sauce.

Pepian, from what I can gather, is a mole made from pepitas or pumpkin seeds. It often features tomatilloes and green peppers. It's delicious over chicken -- see here.

I didn't have any tomatilloes, so I just made it without them. I also didn't have any cilantro for that distinctive Latin flavor, so I used parsely and basil instead. I figured I could make the dish more Mediterranean than Latin -- it worked well. I just kind of whipped this together for a pretty fast and easy meal.

Fried Eggplant with "Pepian" Sauce and Peccorino

Preheat the oven to 425. Spray or oil a baking pan. Cut up some green peppers (any kind) into large pieces, quarter an onion, peel a couple cloves of garlic. Add some cayenne or jalapeno peppers, if you like. Toss the vegetables in the oil to coat. Bake until well-roasted.

So, I don't want to have to tell you how to fry eggplant . . . you know how, right? A little egg wash, a dredge through some flour and into some hot oil for a few minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Done.

When the roasting vegetables are done, puree them with a generous handful of pepitas, parsely and basil. Add a little oil if you need to loosen the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Usually, you pour the pepian into a pan with the chicken and stew it a bit. I just poured the sauce over the fried eggplant slices and topped it off with some shaved parmesan.