Foiled by Bouillon

Tonight was going to be our weekly vegetarian meal. We knew it was supposed to be cold and snowing by dinner time so The Hub suggested we have a hearty soup. Not a problem at all. I looked through a few books and decided to scoot to Publix to buy everything I needed. ( Can you tell I really do love Publix? Well, for everything except meats and I bow to the butchers at the Pig for all of our meats and fowl. They have even special ordered veal bones for me !) I go to Publix every Wednesday, sometimes for the penny ad but mainly to get the BOGO items while they still have them. Today I was accosted by the dreaded snow shoppers. How much blooming bread does a family need when it is snowing? And milk? One lady had 3 gallons of milk! I guess they are planning on eating a boatload of peanut butter sandwiches and would need about 3 gallons of milk just to wash it down. When I checked out I had a grocery buggy full of lovely produce and the cashier wanted to know why I was buying that for snow food. Go figure! I think he would have been more comfortable if I had bought bread and milk and peanut butter. Wow, I really digress here!
I needed collard greens, garlic, onions, tomatoes and fresh chili peppers. I came home with all of that plus additional cauliflower, celery, butternut squash, salad fixings, grapes, apples, strawberries, bell peppers, sweet potatoes and cucumbers. The produce section at Publix seduces me badly. To quote David Letterman " I been hyp-mo-tize"

The soup tonight comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. Moosewood is a collective restaurant in Ithaca New York. They have 20 members who contribute to the food and operations of their vegetarian place. They are not vegan so some of the recipes include dairy, eggs and honey. I have had this particular cookbook for years and have enjoyed everything I have ever made from it, but it is never a go to cookbook. I am not sure why it isn't.

The Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Savannah Beans and Greens Soup

2 cups finely chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups homemade vegetable stock
1/2 pound fresh collard greens
2 cups fresh tomatoes (diced with juice) or 2 cups petite diced canned tomatoes (juice included)
3-4 cups cooked black eyed peas
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pinch of thyme
1/4 teaspoon allspice
couple of splashes Tabasco
2 cups cooked rice
salt to taste

Put the vegetable stock in a large pot ( I bought mine off the shelf at Publix, but if you want to make your own go right ahead
Put the prepared onion and garlic in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. While the pot is simmering cut the collards into thin strips ( This is a little time consuming, At first I was making a chiffonade but it took more time than I was willing to spend. I wound up just stacking about 8 leaves and slicing them into matchstick slices. )
Add the greens, black eyed peas ( In my world it meant 2 cans of drained peas), vinegar, brown sugar, allspice, thyme and Tabasco (Texas Pete ) . Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Add the rice ( I forgot to put it in the pot) and heat for another 5 minutes. Salt to taste and serve.

Fortunately I tasted it prior to serving it. Since I live in the south peas are supposed to have a smoky pork flavor. At the first taste it was pleasant but a little sweet, so I added 3 pork bouillon packets. ( So I guess it was almost vegetarian) It tasted more like what we are used to ( I should have known that people in Ithaca would not know how to cook black eyed peas) When I first read the recipe I had decided to mince a chili or 2 and add it with the onions and garlic. I did and even with that it still lacked the heat we like. I added about a teaspoon of Texas Pete to the soup and then it was dang near perfect. The Hub and I loved it but Son3 is afraid I am trying to kill him with vegetable material and preformed his mealtime ritual of removing all offensive green matter from the soup bowl. Luckily for us, it made a huge pot and there are leftovers for a couple of lunches. I understand the weather is going to change drastically and warm up, but since the soup has no meat it might be decent chilled . Will see and let you know.