Hearty Black Bean Soup + some big news

I have a great recipe to pass along, but first I wanted to share some big news.  Yesterday, I registered for the Big Wild Life Skinny Raven Half-Marathon!  It's done and paid for and now I have to train and get ready for it.  I am so excited and nervous all at once but I'm glad that I have until August to 'train' for the race.  I'm not expecting to be in the top ten or anything (ahahahaha) but I do want to take the race seriously and train hard enough that I know I give the effort my best on Sunday morning, August 18th.  I'm hoping to run some of the other local races over the summer to as a way to work up to the the half-marathon.

And now we can get to the food.  As you've probably noticed if you've ready any of my recent posts, we are on a soup kick here at my house.  Riggs loves soup, and I've discovered that I really do to.  Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, is the discovery that even Steve is happy having soup 2 or 3 times per week, sometimes even without meat (gasp).

This recipe is from Bob's Red Mill, and I usually always like the recipes provided on their packaging, and other than the bag of beans, I had all the other ingredients on hand.  Yay!

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Bountiful Black Bean Soup
hearty & delicious

2 cups roasted corn*
3 TBS olive oil (I used coconut)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 stalks of celery, including leaves, chopped
4 cloves of garlic (I always have garlic lying around, but wouldn't you know it, when I actually went to make this recipe, I realized I was out, so I had to use garlic powder instead)
8 cups veggie stock/broth
1/2 package of black bean soup mix
2 cups butternut squash, cut into large bite-size cubes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat; add onions and celery and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for one more minute.  Carefully pour in stock and scrape the bottom of the pan to release any brown bits.  Stir in the Black Bean Soup Mix and tomatoes.  Add the butternut squash and roasted corn.  Add herbs, stir and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 1-1/2 hours, stirring every 1/2 hour to prevent sticking.  Add more stock or water if beans and squash absorb too much liquid.

*to roast corn:  It is convenient to use frozen corn.  Preheat oven to 350.  Spread froen corn on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven and cool (or just pour right into soup like me).