Week 1: Recipe for Strength (Papago Tepary Bean Soup)
Week 2: Recipe for God and Justice (Stone Soup)
Week 3: Recipe for Give Us Hope (Spicy Split Pea Soup)
Week 4: Recipe for Light for the Journey (Black Bean Soup)
Week 5: Recipe for Danger & Opportunities (Carrot Ginger Puree)
Week 6: Recipe for Partner for Change (Italian Minestrone)

Week 1: Recipe for Strength

Papago Tepary Bean Soup

The homelands of the Papago Indians, or ‘Desert People’  include the desert regions of the northern Sonora and Arizona.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 cups  tepary beans, soaked (or substitute navy or pinto beans)
1 tsp mixed oregano and cumin
1 clove garlic, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups water
1 cup diced celery
3 cups tomatoes w/ juice
2 carrots, sliced
4 slices bacon, diced

Instructions

Drain soaked beans and bring to boil in big pot.  When tender, fry bacon until limp.  Remove bacon; add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté.  Add bacon, tomatoes and juice and the remaining spices.  Cook 10 minutes, add beans.  Cook another hour until beans are mealy-tender.  Serves 6. 

Serve with flour tortillas or fresh frybread.

Dried red chile pepper may be stirred into pot during the last 10 minutes.

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Week 2: Recipe for God and Justice

Stone Soup

As a prelude to making this recipe with your kids, read aloud Marcia Brown's STONE SOUP (Simon & Schuster Children's). It tells the story of three hungry soldiers who come into a village and cleverly trick the peasants into sharing their food--by making a lavish soup out of seemingly nothing but stones. Like the soldiers' soup, this recipe turns basically whatever vegetables you have on hand into a hearty meal. Our testers loved plopping a real stone into the broth, as we've described below, but if your pantry's low on stones, you can let the potatoes fill that role.

Ingredients

1 stone, big enough that it won't get lost in the soup (quartz is a good choice because it won't break down in cooking)
1 tbsp. butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped fine
1 large carrot, cut into coins
3 medium red-skinned potatoes (unpeeled, and cut into halves)
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 large garlic clove, pressed
6 cups chicken broth (or a combination of broth and water)
1 medium zucchini, diced large
1 medium yellow squash, diced large
1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 cups cooked tubettini or ditalini, or other soup pasta (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Croutons

Instructions

The first step is for your child to scrub and wash the stone thoroughly. Then, for an extra cleaning, she can drop it in a pot of water to boil while you prepare the rest of the soup together.

In another large pot, melt the butter or heat the oil, then sauté the onion on medium-high for 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the celery, carrot, potatoes and red pepper, sautéing for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds, then add in the broth. Using a spoon, fish the stone out of the other pot, add it to the soup and bring to a boil. Add the zucchini, squash, corn and pasta, cooking another 8 minutes or until the zucchini is the desired softness. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Before serving, sprinkle on the cheese and croutons, then ladle--minus the stone--into individual bowls. Serves 6 to 8.

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Week 3: Recipe for Give Us Hope   

Spicy Split Pea Soup

Family size:  6 servings

Combine in a large saucepan:
5 c. chicken or vegetable broth
5 c. water
1 lb. (1 bag) dried split peas

Heat to boiling then turn off heat, cover and let stand for one hour.
Reheat and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.

Saute in skillet over medium heat:
2 T. butter or margarine
½ c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 T. curry powder
1 t. crushed coriander seeds
¼ t. crushed red peppers
1 t. salt.

Stir fry for 7 minutes.  Then stir spice mixture into split peas.  Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Puree by hand with a spoon, hand-held wand mixer or whisk.

Stir in ½ c. light cream or milk

Heat to serving temperature

From:  More with Less Cookbook (Herald Press: 1977)

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Week 4: Recipe for Light for the Journey

Black Bean Soup

Family size:  serves 6

Ingredients

Instructions

Put 5 c water, bay leaves, salt and baking soda in soup pot.  Boil, then turn back to simmer.  Cover and cook for 1 hour 15-30 minutes until beans are tender.  Remove bay leaves.  Heat olive oil on medium high heat in another pot and sauté onions, celery, sweet potato and ½ tsp salt for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add cumin, chili powder, and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.  Then add the beans, their cooking liquid, stock, molasses and bell pepper.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes.  Then puree with wand mixer or in a blender (in batches).  Stir in lime juice. Serve with garnishes.

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Week 5: Recipe for Danger & Opportunities

Carrot Ginger Puree

(family size: serves 4)

Ingredients

1 cup diced onion
3 inches of peeled fresh ginger cut into nickels
6 carrots or around a pound, peeled and diced
1 or 2 Tablespoons butter and/or olive oil
1 large baking potato,around ¾ pound, peeled and chunked
2-4 cups water, vegetable or chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

Heat your choice and amount of butter and olive oil in a heavy gauge soup pot, and start cooking the onions and ginger over medium heat.  The carrots can be prepared while the onions and ginger are wilting.  Add the carrots and continue to cook. Prepare the potato and then add it to the mixture. Stir to coat and combine.  Add the water or stock and salt.  Simmer for 45 minutes, until the carrots are soft enough to break with a wooden spoon.  Puree the mixture in a food processor or with a hand held “wand” mixer until the vegetables are just smooth.  If soft enough, you can use a potato masher, making sure the ginger nickels are also crushed.

Return the pureed mixture to the pot and add water or stock until the soup is the desired thickness.   Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Some possible garnishes could be crumpled ginger snaps, minced scallions or chives, croutons, blanched julienne carrots or shredded peeled raw carrot.  A small spoonful of sour cream with any other garnish would be yummy too.

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Week 6: Recipe for Partner for Change

Classic Italian Minestrone Soup

Family size:  6-8 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

In a soup pot, sauté garlic and onions in olive oil until soft.  Add carrot, celery, eggplant and 1 t. salt.  Mix well.  Add oregano, black pepper and basil.  Cover and cook over low heat 5-8 minutes.  Add green pepper, water, tomato puree, beans and cooking wine.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Add tomatoes and ½ t. salt.  Simmer 10 minutes.  Then heat to a boil and add pasta and cook until pasta is tender.  Serve immediately, topped with parsley and parmesan.
(adapted from Moosewood Cookbook)

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