Lots of big flavors—cumin, garlic, celery, red bell pepper, tomatoes, jalapeño pepper and smoked ham hock—blend into a satisfying soup with a Southwestern kick. Go to recipe.

This is being a strange winter. Last Friday, for instance, the high flirted with 60ºF. In Chicago. Saturday, it dropped all day to the 20s. By Sunday night, it was 15. And on top of everything else, it isn’t snowing. As Marion points out in a post about a 6-inch tall fop on her blog, 9591 Iris, there has been no measurable snow in Chicago for more than 300 days.

But strange or not, it’s still winter, and that had me thinking soup. This soup started with a remembered ham hock not getting any younger in the freezer. My first thought was black-eyed peas, but there was also a bag of dried black beans in the pantry with similar faded youth issues. So black bean soup it was. Continue reading “Southwestern antifreeze: lively, hearty Black Bean Soup with Ham Hocks” →