Toasty Soups for Chilly Days

Chicago is where I call home and we finally got the weather we have all been dreading. COLD! Nothing helps take the chill away like nice hot soup. There is this great little place in Chicago that serves nothing but soup and fresh bread; I really missed their cream soups after I was diagnosed with dairy allergies. So, I played around a little and think you will be pleased with the results of the first recipe, its a little time intensive, but a winner if you like cream of chicken soup. The second soup, a black bean soup, is a family favorite, my brother Jeff drives 1 hour out of his way to pick up some soup to take home when I make it. You may have a hard time finding a ham bone; you can substitute with pieces of ham added the last hour of cooking.

Cream of Chicken Soup (Minus the Cream!)

Serves 8
The lemon in this soup really brings out the flavors. You can have it with the shredded chicken or without, either way, YUM!

2 chicken breasts, cut in 1/2
2 tablespoons uncooked rice
2/3 cup celery, diced
3 cups hot chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups hot rice milk
Kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
8 slices lemon
chopped chives (optional)

Cover chicken with water and bring to a boil.
Turn down flame and simmer chicken for 5-7 minutes or until center of breast is white.
Strain chicken and set aside to cool.
Once cool, shred chicken between your fingers.
Boil rice and celery until tender, drain and run through sieve or blend on high.
Combine rice and celery mush with chicken stock, lemon juice and rice milk.
If you don’t have a sieve, blend rice and liquid mixture in a blender in small batches until smooth.
Add shredded chicken breast to soup.
Season to taste and serve with lemon slices and chives on top.

Black Bean Soup

Serves 8
A nice hearty soup to warm up after a cold day. Add your favorite hot sauce for a little kick!













2 cups black beans
½ pound lean beef, cut into ½” cubes
1 ham bone
celery leaves
1 carrot, diced
2 large onions, sliced
¼ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon sage
dash of mace
dash of ground cloves
dash of cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt

Soak black beans overnight,
In a saute pan over medium high heat, brown beef cubes on all sides and set aside.
Drain beans and add to 3 quarts of water to a large stockpot.
Add ham bone, beef, celery leaves, carrot, onions, thyme, sage, mace, cloves and cayenne pepper and bring to boil.
Simmer several hours until beans are tender.
Remove meat and bones and mash beans and vegetables.
Return mashed mixture back to pot.
Add Kosher salt to taste.
Bring pot to a boil and stir well, add slivers of ham cut from the bone.