Love Soup and Bean in Love Mix

Since Mike and I love cooking so much, we found various ways to cooking-related ideas into our wedding. One example is the wedding favors we created.

We had originally considered giving out spice rubs; it seemed appropriate to give something that our guests could use several times in various different ways. However as the weather grew colder, we found ourselves drawn to a new idea: soup mixes. So we decided to make two different soups. One was a pasta soup, and one was a bean soup.

Love Soup

For our Love Soup Mix, we were inspired by two different allrecipes.com recipes:

• Love Soup Mix in a Jar
• Layered Patchwork Soup Mix

I liked the idea of making a soup with the various ingredients (minus the bouillon granules) in the first recipe, and the seasonings in the second recipe. Bouillon often contains too much salt, so I wanted to skip it and allow our guests to season their own batches to their liking.

Directions

1. In a large pot, brown 1 pound ground beef, stew beef, chicken, sausage, or meat alternative cut into bite-size pieces in a little olive oil.
2. Remove the tricolor pasta from the top of the jar and reserve.
3. Add the rest of the jar's contents to the pot with 6 cups* of your favorite stock (chicken, beef, vegetable) or water, or a combination of both.
4. Let the soup come to a boil and simmer 45 minutes.
5. Add tricolor pasta and simmer 15 minutes more.

*This amount of liquid results in a thick soup. For a thinner soup, add extra liquid.

She said

When we tested this recipe, we originally used only half of the ground pepper that was called for in one of the allrecipie.com recipies. The result was still much too peppery for us. So, for the jars we made for guests, we used substantially less. Part of the reason why our test sample came out so peppery may be because we used a new container of ground pepper, which was still very packed with flavor. The ground pepper that is typically in so many kitchens (including ours) is not so fresh, and so it has lost a lot of its punch.

We used chicken sausage as the meat in this recipe. It turned out well. I think it'd also be very tasty with other meats, or even meat free.

He said

With the strong pepper, and the sodium in the chicken sausage, this soup really didn't need much added salt, so I'm so glad we skipped the bouillon. We even used a low sodium broth. I imagine if you use water, if you don't use a salty meat, or if you like your soup really salty, that you would need to add salt or bouillon or both.

We also made, but didn't test, a gluten-free variant that substituted or omitted all gluten ingredients (pastas and barley).

Bean in Love Soup

The bean soup was strongly inspired by Be Prepared: Five-Bean Soup Mix. We again tweaked the mix to exclude the bouillon and salt, but otherwise this soup is pretty much as originally written. This recipe led us to dehydrated vegetables (which we bought from North Bay Trading Co), and we've used them in Spanish rice and other quick meals since. And the bean soup is a hit: Mike and I both loved our test batch.

Directions

1. Pour the beans into a large bowl (to allow them to increase in size as they soak), and remove the seasoning bag. Cover the beans with at least 3 inches of cold water. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
2. Drain and rinse the beans.
3. Place the beans, 1 teaspoon of oil (optional), and the seasoning mix in a large pot.
4. Add 4 cups of your favorite stock (chicken, beef, vegetable) or water, or a combination of both.
5. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover.
6. After the soup has simmered for 45 minutes, add one 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with their liquid.
7. Simmer for 15 more minutes, or until the beans are tender.

She said

I'm not much of a fan of lima beans, but they worked really well in this soup. They added a different texture; combined with the other beans, the result was really nice.

I've read that once you add an acid to beans, the beans don't soften as well. Therefore, it's a good idea to add the tomatoes near the end of the recipe.

He said

There are several varieties of bean in this recipe, and they all cook at different rates. We both like our vegetables with some bite to them, so an overnight soak plus an hour of cooking was just about perfect. If you like your beans soft, simmer for up to 30 minutes extra before adding the tomatoes.