Cold Bean and Tomato Soup with Parsley and Cucumber

August 11, 2008 | Filed Under Beans, White Beans, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Parsley, Guest Bloggers, Fellow Bloggers, Herbs, Lucullian Delights, Fruits, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 28 Comments

Please help me welcome guest blogger Ilva of Lucullian Delights. Thanks, Ilva!

Paz

Paz was one of the first steady commenters on my blog, one day I started to get these nice and cheerful comments from her and since then she never fails to visit me several times a week. We have now known each other for almost three years and I hope we will remain friends for much much longer.

I think I can safely say that our secretive Paz is one of the nicest and most positive food bloggers you can find in our food blog community, not only does she leave sweet comments but now and then she even sends me emails to see how I am doing. Several times she has honoured me by posting about my recipes on her blog but this time I am posting myself here on The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz and what a treat this is! To be able to write a lot of things about her here on her own blog and knowing her, she is probably cringing like a worm on a hook in her chair right now! (Ha Paz, you should never have asked me you know!) When Paz asked me to be one of her guest bloggers, I was more than happy to yes, she is a very special person and she deserves all the help she can get when she asks for it so here I am.

I have decided on a simple recipe now when she needs to rest. Well she has to do (read: cook) something to keep going but she mustn’t overdo it, we don’t want her to slip into a non-cooking state of being again now when she has conquered her former kitchen demons so well do we? So here Paz, a simple tasty soup for you to cook that hopefully won’t tire you, I hope you’ll like it!

COLD BEAN AND TOMATO SOUP WITH PARSLEY AND CUCUMBER

Lucullian Delights

2-3 servings

250 ml/ 1 cup white beans, cooked

600 ml/ 2,5 cups tomato sauce

100 ml/ 0,43 cup water if needed, it depends on how thick the tomato sauce is

chili pepper

2-3 tblsp parsley, chopped

cucumber, finely chopped

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

- Put beans, tomato sauce, chili pepper, water (if needed) and olive oil in a pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

- Add parsley and then run in a mixer until smooth. Add salt.

- Before serving, top with large tablespoon of chopped cucumber.

Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon

May 14, 2008 | Filed Under Beans, Cannelini, Parsley, Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started to Cook, Herbs, Lucullian Delights, Salad | 16 Comments

After some dental surgery the other day, I am finally able to eat something other than "soft" food. I still have to be careful about what I put into my mouth and decided to make Ilva’s Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon. Actually, I didn’t have any chili peppers and used crushed red pepper. It worked. I not only liked the taste of the food but the texture as well — the sauteed eggplant, the soft cannelini beans, and the fresh parsley.

In many of my older posts, I’ve mentioned several foods that I never liked until I started cooking. Eggplant is one of those foods. Now, I love it and enjoy all the recipes containing it. Ilva’s recipe was no different. As with many of her recipes, this was NOT time-consuming to make. Yes! Thanks, Ilva!

Paz