Hearty Vegetable Tomato Soup

So, today I started out making black bean soup.  It's fall now, and I wanted something warm but filling.   I also wanted relatively quick, because when I'm doing school with the boys, I don't want to cook something that will take forever.  

I started out by chopping up all my veggies, and got those cooking, and went to the pantry to get my beans and realized I didn't have any canned black beans.  I had dry ones, but I needed them now, so that was no good.  

Well, I did have pinto beans, so I threw them in, and added the spices, and the broth and said a Hail Mary.  

When it had simmered for 25 min or so, I took 2 cups of the soup and blended it, and then added it back in, to make the soup creamier.  I then thought that some orzo would be nice so added about 1/2 cup or so, but then needed to add more water.  Broth would work too.   It really tasted kind of bland, I threw in 1 TBSP each of Basil and  Oregano and a little more salt.   The Basil made me think tomato would be a nice flavor, so I threw in a can of tomato sauce, since I was out of tomatoes.  The tomato was the key.  It was delicious!  Even my picky 8 year old ate it up.   

Here is the recipe:

Hearty Vegetable Tomato Soup

1 TBSP olive oil

1 med. onion, diced

2-3 cloves of minced garlic (or more, you can never add too much garlic)

1 bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 carrots, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1/4 tsp. cumin 

1/2 TBSP chili powder (optional)

3 cups vegetable broth

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed (or 3 cups cooked beans)**

1/2 cup orzo

1 cup water

1 TBSP oregano

1 TBSP Basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce

Heat oil in large sauce pan on med high heat.  Add veggies and cook for about 10-12 minutes.  Add garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook til fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  

Stir in broth and beans.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After the 25 minutes, take 2 cups of the soup blend in a blender until smooth.  Return pureed blend back into the pot, and stir in.   Add the orzo, water, tomato sauce, basil and oregano, and simmer for 9 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the salt, more or less, to taste.   

Notes:

* - I had already added the chili powder when I decided to try something else, so the end result was kind of accidental

** You can save the liquid from the cooked beans, called aquafaba as a replacer for egg.   It's also great for making vegan mayo.