Crock Pot Bean Soup

I suppose I’m feeling sentimental because my mom visited me this past weekend.  She’s on her way home now, maybe flying over the mountains of Pennsylvania, or crossing that just-big-enough-that-you-might-mistake-it-for-an-ocean Great Lake Michigan.  She lives outside of Chicago where the family grew up and I, as regular readers surely know, live in Big Bad New York City.  The flight is only a touch over 2 hours but boy does it just feel like a long way home sometimes.

Mom flew in for just the weekend under the general premise that it’s her 59th birthday and what she really wants to do is to spend time with her daughters.  Life has been busy for me, last week especially so, and I hardly had a chance to look forward to mom’s visit let alone do those things that I, like everyone else, like to do to impress upon my mother that I lead a clean, safe, and adult life.  You know, things like clean my room, change my sheets, buy toilet paper, hide the bong, etc. Kidding, mom, kidding.  Anyway, I still can’t find it from when I hid it in college.

But what I did have time to do was to make some good, $0.50 per person, bean soup.  I had to buy the veggies on Tuesday because I was going to be too busy Wednesday and Thursday.  I was so stressed I even forgot the beans.  The Li’l Sis thoughtfully pitched in and bought the beans and chopped the veggies Thursday night.  Friday morning I added spices and flipped on the crock pot.   Friday lunchtime I ran out to buy a loaf of bread so I could dash out of work at the stroke of five to get home and clean before Mom’s arrival.  Instead I just crashed out on my bed until her cab pulled up.

It was just bean soup.  It wasn’t anything special.  It was borne of the necessity that I needed something hot, filling, and most importantly, ready when Mom arrived at six when I work until five.  It needed to be cheap so we sisters could splurge on Saturday to take her to one of Manhattan’s finest French restaurants.   It needed to be simple, easy, and something I’ve made and tasted so many times I could finish up with the lights off if I had to hide the state of my unwashed floors.

Mom’s eaten it a million times too but was careful to give the bean soup her fullest compliments.  Yeah, the soup is good in the way that it’s exactly what you’re expecting.  It’s modest, straightforward, and doesn’t hide its homeliness under a topping of mircrogreens.  It’s plain and cheap; it’s what grandma used make when times were tough.

But I think what mom was really saying when she complimented the soup was, “Thanks for taking the time to make me a home-cooked meal.”  Or “It’s really nice to spend time with you, Vanessa.”

Thanks Mom.  It was one of those few times when it mattered much less what we were eating than with whom we were eating it.  It was nice to spend time with you too.

ps. The sentimental nature of this post made me realize it would be a perfect contribution to the “Dishes of Comfort” food blogging event hosted by Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice and Orchidea at Viaggi & Sapori.  Watch for the roundup on November 16th or 17th.

Serves: 6
Time: 20 minutes of prep plus overnight and a workday hands-off in the Crock Pot

Crock Pot Bean Soup 

1 bag mixed beans, rinsed
2 leeks, chopped
3 – 4 carrots, cut into coins
4 – 5 stalks of celery, chopped
veggie broth or water and 2-3 bullion cubes
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
greens, chopped. optional
lemon, salt, and pepper to taste

Here’s how to make bean soup when you’re pressed for time.  It takes about 15 – 20 minutes to prepare the night before, 5 minutes the morning of, and it’s pretty much ready to go when you’re back from work.

The night before: To the crock pot, add the chopped veggies and rinsed beans.  Cover with water an inch over the veggies and beans.  Store in the fridge.

Morning of: Pour off the water from the beans and veggies.  Fill with fresh water and bullion cubes or broth to ½ inch over the beans.  Add the Herbs de Provence. Plug in the crock pot and turn on low. Will need to cook for 10 hours on low.  Less if you do a combination of low and high.

Afternoon of: pick up some good bread and a salad

Last minute:
Add some chopped greens, optional
Add salt and pepper
Drizzle over some olive oil
Slice lemons to serve along side

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 1st, 2006 at 6:25 pm and is filed under Soups & Stews, Any Season, Autumn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.