Cabbage Bean Soup

Here's yet another fusion of scavenged recipes coupled with my own personal tastes. After the excesses of the holiday season a simple soup like this is both much welcome and much needed :-), and a good way to get back on the fast for those of you who are still in Advent, but didn't escape the American Christmas festivities unscathed. (Or unfed rather ;-).)

For this recipe I took a couple of basic cabbage soup recipes I came across online and threw a few extra herbs and ingredients in. If you want a simpler taste, then take out all the extra seasonings. Or you could go for richer and throw

in some basil, red pepper flakes, whatever!

If you want a heartier soup, then try adding a few cubed potatoes or even some rice if you want it thicker than it is in its current incarnation. I personally wanted to add parsnips to this, but I forgot to pick them up at the store, so I made the soup as is. Per usual, I'm making for a average sized family or for lots of leftovers - if you like neither ;-) you could easily half or quarter this.


Cabbage Bean Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion (chopped)
1 or 2 cups of carrots (diced)
4 stalks of celery (chopped)
4 to 6 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced)
12 cups of water
1 or 2 bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon
48 ounces of canned white beans
1 cabbage (chopped)
Parsley (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

Directions
1) Lord, bless!
2) Begin by sauteing the onion, carrots, and celery in the oil over medium heat until the onion has become translucent, at which point add the garlic and saute another couple of minutes.
3) Add the water, beans, cabbage, and seasonings and bring the soup to a boil. Once it's boiling reduce the heat, cover, and simmer at least until the carrots and cabbage are tender.
4) Serve the soup as is or, if you're not fasting, with a nice dollop of sour cream or some grated parmesan and enjoy!