I had 3 cups of potato water left from the potatoes I cooked on Sunday, so I decided to make a soup for me for lunch that I can eat for the rest of the week. I proceeded as in the story of “Stone Soup,” by putting in whatever I could find in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. I sauteed onion, celery, carrot, red bell pepper, and 2 cloves minced garlic, added the potato water, then added 2 cups of great northern beans that I had cooked and frozen a while back and about 1/3 cup black-eyed pea broth I had stuck in the freezer as well. I found a can of tomatoes with hatch chilis in the pantry to add. I added ½ tsp. chili powder and about ¼ tsp. cayenne (rather old cayenne), and a ½ tsp. Penzey’s Salsa & Pico. When it boiled, I stirred in ½ cup of bulgur, then let it simmer for 12 minutes covered. Given the ingredients, it is clearly a soup for me, since the onion, tomatoes, and great northern beans—not to mention the spices—make it unsuitable for my husband, who prefers his usual lunch sandwich anyway. The flavor is good, and the soup is nice on a cool day. The spices clear my head.
I am renewing my efforts to eat more vegetables and fruits, and include more beans, since my cholesterol numbers are stubbornly refusing to budge lower. (I also think that the frosting on that cake I had on each of three days before my doctor’s appointment made the numbers worse this time—it was made of butter, cream cheese, and white chocolate. I should have known better.) If diet and exercise cannot get the number down, I may have to take the statin.
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