recipe \re-se-pe\ n 1: a set of instructions for making something from various ingredients  
2: a method of procedure : formula

BLACK BEAN SOUP
05/01

OK, first off let me say that I am not that great of a cook and have never pretended to be.
Hell, I don't even play one on TV.  I guess the best example of my prowess in the kitchen
would be when I made breakfast for one of my best friends, Stephanie, on her birthday.
At the time we lived right next to each other in an apartment complex in Boston and I
thought I would do something nice for her for her birthday so I made her a very healthy
and, what I thought, tasty breakfast of scrambled egg whites, fresh fruit and veggies, toast
with fat free jam and freshly squeezed juice.

She looked truly happy that I had taken the time to make her a breakfast on her special day,
considering the fact she knew how often I would set off my fire alarm in my apartment by
just turning on the oven. But I digress.

Her look of happiness slowly changed to a look of illness when she took her first bite, at which
point she proceeded to tell me that scrambled eggs were not supposed to be crunchy. At that
point I said "screw it" and I took her to International House Of Pancakes where we had a very
fun, fattening breakfast.  It must have been a sight to see two personal trainers making gluttons
of themselves and fighting over syrup.

So, now that you know that my culinary skills rival those of Lucy Ricardo's, on with this month's
recipe...


1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 15-ounce can black bean with liquid
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Tamari sauce or soy sauce to taste
Sprigs of fresh parsley (optional)

In a saucepan over high heat, cook onion and celery in oil until tender, about 3 minutes. Add beans, salt,
basil, celery seed and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and put bean mixture in a blender. Add lemon juice and tamari or soy sauce, and blend until
smooth. Garnish with parsley.


Nutritional analysis per serving: 174 calories, 31 percent fat (6 grams), 51 percent carbohydrate, 18 percent
protein.