TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

This month I will be cooking Italian, but I will be cooking it without pasta, rice, or bread. The reason for the elimination of these main ingredients in Italian food, is that since I started cooking vegan gourmet, I have gained weight. I've been eating too many carbs, so I decided to cook this month with mainly beans, lentils, and veggies. (There is barley in this soup, but barley is a low Glycemic Index carb as it has a slow effect on blood sugar levels.)

I will accompany every dish with a different type of salad or vegetable and the salad I chose with Tuscan Bean Soup is out of this world (Celery Root, Radish, and Watercress Salad with Mustard Seed Dressing.)

Note: Do not cook beans in salted water. It will make
them tough.

Serves 4-6 as main meal; 8 as side soup

1/2 cup each dried cranberry beans, red lentils, green
lentils, green split peas, small white beans, and pearl
barley.*
3 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, thinly sliced and cut into 3/4" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
Bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaves, sage leaves, and
celery leaves**
3 quarts water
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup fresh parley***

Soak beans in water for about one hour. In a collander,
combine the beans, lentils, and barley. Rinse, drain, and
set aside.

In a large, heavy pot, combine the oil, onion, carrot,
celery, garlic and bouquet garni. Stir to coat with the
oil. Cook over moderate heat until the veggies are soft,
about 5 minutes.

Add the bean mixture, stir to coat with oil and cook for
one minute more.

Add the 3 quarts water and stir. Cover, bring to a
gentle simmer over moderate heat, and cook until the
outer shells of the largest beans are tender, about 45
minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until
tender, 15 - 30 minutes. Stir from time to time to make
sure beans are not sticking.

Remove bouquet garni, add the parsley and serve.

*I was unable to find cranberry beans so I used
Roman beans (cargamanto.)Red lentils can be found
at health food stores.

**I used dried herbs: 1/2 tsp thyme, 2-3 leaves sage,
and one bay leaf. I did not use celery leaves, but if
I did I would have used about a 2 tbs. I urge you to
buy a sage plant when you see it. You can dry it out
immediately if you cannot grow it. I just cut the leaves,
place on paper towel, and leave on counter for a few
days to dry. I have never seen it as leaves in a jar.
For a bouquet garni, I used a small muslin bag or you
can make your own by using a very small piece of
clean pourous cotton (a new hankie)then tied with a
piece of string after placing herbs inside. In the
case of this soup, I guess you can just add the herbs
to the soup.

***If you do not have fresh parsley, use one third of
1/4 cup of dried parsley.

I do not know where I got this recipe