Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

This first dish is dedicated to Ramonita, who said she NEEDS the recipe, and finally got me up off my butt to share with all of you!!!

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
from Rachael Ray's Top 30 Comfort Foods Book

This dish costs about $5 to make, so not only is it extremely good for you,
but it's great for your budget!


1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion
1 can chicken or vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes in their juice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup of heavy cream or half and half
a teaspoon of curry powder
a teaspoon of ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Heat a deep pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter.
When butter melts, add onion and saute until soft and tender, 10 minutes.
Add broth, tomatoes, black beans, and pumpkin.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and stir in cream, curry powder, cumin,
cayenne, and salt to taste. Simmer 5 minutes and make sure seasonings are to
taste. Serve with guacamole and tortilla chips.

Due to the news about BPA's in canned foods and their possible harmful
effects, I was a bit hesitant to make this! I started to think of ways to make
it more fresh. You could make your own broth, which i have been doing lately
anyway. The beans could be made from their dry state. That takes a while, but
some say they taste so much better that way. For the pumpkin, you could either buy
a fresh sugar pumpkin, or even substitute fresh, roased, butternut squash. If you really
wanted to go canless, you could jar your own tomatoes in the summer! For now, the
easy way is for me, but maybe someday I will go all fresh.

Hope you enjoy!