Black Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup

It's not soup season in New York right now.
It's turned into a sauna... a furnace... a sweat lodge... a manure pile... I've got a million of these.
But at 52 and rainy in Juneau right now, soup season never ends. So enjoy.
I'm going to go hang out in the free AC on the subway.

Black Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup

2 lbs tomatoes- halved
2 15 oz cans, or 3 c uncooked black beans (cook them first).
2 red peppers- whole
3 dried chipotle peppers (soak in hot water for 15 mins before)- whole
2 carrots- peeled and diced
6 garlic cloves- peeled
1 1/2 red onion-sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
Black pepper
2 c uncooked rice
2 c (at least) vegetable broth
1 c frozen corn


-if you need to, cook the black beans (soak in water for 6-8 hours. Put in pot with 3 c water and some seasoning (I used onion powder and black pepper), let boil, then simmer until cooked, about 45 mins).

- Roast the vegetables- heat over to 350, cover a baking sheet with foil. Put the tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions and garlic on the tray, splash with olive oil and pepper. Roast for about 55 mins, stirring occasionally, until they're brown.

- cook the rice.
-Take out the vegetables, let them cool enough to handle. Seed the peppers.
-Put half the vegetables in the food processor, add in 1c vege broth and 1 c beans. Process until smooth. Transfer to soup pot. Do the same with the remaining vegetables, 1 c vege broth and 1 c beans.

-Once all the vegetables have been processed and put in the soup pot. Add the remaining beans and bring to boil. Reduce heat, add in corn and rice. Let simmer and get good for about 10 mins, adding in more broth if needed.
- Season with salt, pepper, avocado, a little cayenne (if that's your style), serve with sour cream, yogurt or whatever your little heart desires.

Things have been busy and I'm epically failing to keep up with all the new music coming out.
Billboard posted the top 10 summer songs from 1985 to 2011 and not to be outdone, NPR quickly followed suit with the top summer songs from 1962 to 2011.

I've tried to top them all by creating my own ultimate summer playlist.
Good for every summer from here on out.

(I don't actually know what constitutes a summer playlist... so here's a list of songs I'll probably be listening to until my deathbed).

Paul Simon- Graceland
Simon and Garfunkel- Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
Carly Simon- You're so Vain (In honor of my summer working selling cheap t-shirts to tourists, where we literally listened to this song on repeat, for 3 months)
Rick Springfield- Jesse's Girl
Old Crow Medicine Show- Wagon Wheel (in honor of every Allen Marine summer)
LMFAO- Party Rock Anthem
Nickel Creek- Scotch and Chocolate
Tune-Yards- My Country
Punch Brothers- Rye Whiskey
Rilo Kiley- Teenage Love Song
Daft Punk-Around the World
The Decemberists- Don't Carry It All
Jurassic 5- Freedom
M.I.A- Paper Planes

And to be completely honest. I spent the summers from ages 14 to 18 listening to this on repeat.