USE THE SEASONAL VEGGIE BONANZA TO MAKE THIS TOMATO, SPINACH & BLACK BEAN SOUP

As summer crops come in this month, mountains of fresh tomatoes are everywhere. And, if you're lucky enough to have them from your own garden, they're free for the picking. If not, all those tomatoes are out there, somewhere - and cheap right now at the Farmers' Markets. So, use the veggie bonanza to make this healthy tomato soup. It has even more nutrients with the addition of blacks beans and spinach.





Made  this great tomato soup, today. 

Also had fried potato cakes, brown rice,
whole wheat crackers and guacamole.



Homemade tomato soup is the stuff of childhood, and nothing could be more comforting. What's more, you can make this soup recipe in only a few minutes. It doesn't involve a lot of veggie cutting. And this recipe doesn't use dairy at all. Instead it uses a dash of soy or coconut milk and a bit of sugar to cut part of the acid that sometimes goes with boiled tomatoes. Canned stew tomatoes can be substituted if you aren't so lucky as to have mounds of fresh ones. (Choose certified organic products whenever possible.)

 

Ingredients

- 8 fresh tomatoes, halved & boiled with just ½ cup of water until tender, then blended OR a large can of diced tomatoes

- 2 large handfuls of fresh, washed spinach or 1 pkg of frozen spinach
- 1 cup of left-over cooked black beans or a can of black beans
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp. sweetener (best choice is honey or non-GMO cane sugar)
- fresh or dried basil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions

Dump cooked or canned tomatoes with everything else in a pan.

Cook over a low fire for 20 minutes.
Serve hot with a dash of hot sauce and some grated soy cheese - or Parmesan cheese - sprinkled on top.