for Sharon

Here's the recipe for African Chickpea and Spinach Soup, as I made it (I altered it slightly from the original). I got it from Vegetarian Times, but look as I could, I could not find it on their website. So, here it is:

-2 tsp. olive oil
-1 onion, chopped
-2-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 c. chunky peanut butter
-2 c. chicken broth
-1 tsp. paprika
-1 tsp. ground coriander
-1/4 tsp. chili powder
-1 can chickpeas, drained
-1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
-2.5 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed

1) heat oil in large pot over med heat. Add onion, saute 5 minutes, till soft and golden. Add garlic, sautee 2 minutes, or till lightly browned.
2) Mix peanut butter and chicken broth, set aside. (This was easier for me because I used reconstituted boullion, so my broth was hot. By the by, the easiest way I've found to reconstitute boullion into broth is to put the boullion in a glass Pyrex 1-qt. measuring cup, then pour boiling water - heated in a tea kettle - over the boullion, and stir. Easy to see how much you ought to add when it's in a measuring cup.)
3) Add paprika, coriander and chili to onion mixture, and saute 1 min., or until fragrant (like you would with a curry, mmm!). Stir in peanut butter mixture, chickpeas and tomatoes. Simmer. Stir in spinach. Simmer on low with lid on till suppertime. In my case, about an hour.


Warning: for some reason, this dish smells funny, but tastes good.

Enjoy!
-Jessica Snell