Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ready in: 55 minutes
Ingredients: (fresh, organic preferred wherever possible)
Rice:
Make a batch of brown rice (in a rice cooker if you have one):
1 cup of brown rice, 1 Tablespoon coconut or olive oil, 2 cups water
Soup:
2 Tablespoons coconut or olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1-3 Tablespoons ground cumin
1-3 Tablespoons ground chili pepper
2-3 Tablespoons fresh or dried cilantro
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
optional: 1 Tablespoon epazote
2 cartons or cans vegetable broth
2 (12 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1-3 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers
1/2 bag frozen corn or 1 (11-ounce) can whole kernel corn
1 can black beans or pinto beans
12 ounces tortilla chips
1 avocado diced
Directions:
Cook the brown rice; our cooker takes over an hour, so I always start this first.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until lightly browned, add the onion and stir until lightly browned, then add spices and fresh vegetables; cook until all are tender. Pour in the broth, add all other soup ingredients except avocado and tortilla chips. Bring to a boil, reduce to low heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Serve in bowls over handfuls of crushed tortilla chips and rice. Top with avocado.
(Thanks to my sister Gayle for this recipe, which she found online somewhere, and I’ve modified since. The photo below is the last portion of leftovers, which are every bit as tasty as when first cooked.)
tortilla soup (leftovers)