Black Bean Soup

I've been modifying this black bean soup recipe I found for the last year now. It's a really tasty and hearty vegetarian dish, and trust me, that's something from a meat lover like me. The thing that really makes this soup win for me, is that while half of the beans in this recipe are left whole, the other half are puréed with some crushed tomatoes, and then added into the rest of the soup as a thickener. Having some corn really adds a nice sweet crunch as well. There are lots of vegetables, garlic, and it's seasoned with chili powder, cumin, and just a dash of balsamic vinegar to open up the tastes.

If you like kick like me , throw in a Serrano pepper or two, or a little Cayenne will always do the trick.

More hearty soups to come as winter approaches.

"winter is coming"

-L&A

A Halloween Party

Allie and I recently threw a Halloween party for friends.  The thing is, growing up in Chicago but living in LA, you really start to miss fall, and the feeling of autumn.  So when we threw this party, we focused less on the dress up aspect of Halloween, and more on that good fall feeling.  The foods we made remind us of fall growing up (well except for the berry pie, that's another story for later).

Nothing quite says fall and that old time Halloween feel as much as fresh apples hand dipped into home made molten cinnamon candy, commonly called Candy Apples.

Pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices always bring out the feeling of fall.  Above is a mini pumpkin cake, and below is a baby pumpkin pie with lattice crust top.

One of the most common drinks for the fall season is spiced apple cider, here it is made with butter, brown sugar, and cider, and is simmered with orange peel, whole cloves, whole allspice, and cinnamon sticks.  To kick it up we added some apple brandy and dark rum.

 Bellow are a couple of the steps in the making of this Three Berry Pie.  It is an all butter crust made in part with crushed almonds.  The filling is my own personal recipe which consists of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, along with a hint of cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice, to bring out the flavors and balance the sweet with tart.

If you would like a copy of a recipe of something you see here, send us an email with a favorite recipe of yours, and we'll send the recipe we used.

-L&A