Recipe for White Bean Vegetable Soup

• 4 inner stalks celery, including leaves
• 1 medium onion
• 4 small carrots, diced
• 4 slices jalapeno
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 T oil
• 1 T herbed salt
• 2 lbs. dry great northern beans (You could use any white bean, but I'm partial to Great Northern.)

Soak beans overnight and cook according to package directions. Add 2 bay leaves before you start the cooking process. When beans are nearly finished cooking, chop onion and celery in a food processor. Saute all produce in oil until carrots are soft.

Remove the bay leaves. In a blender, puree roughly 4 cups of beans and water. Return to pot and stir. Consider the thickness of the soup and how much puree you want. Add vegetable mixture and herb-salt to beans, reheating as necessary.

Serving suggestion: In deep plate, ladle soup over thick, hearty, multigrain (for color) bread and sprinkle with paprika.

Cheddar Vegetable Soup

Inspired by Moosewood Cooks at Home

• 1/2 large onion, sliced
• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 small celery stalks, diced
• 1 small-medium sweet potato, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 Tablespoons McKay's Chicken-style Seasoning (vegetarian boullion)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup cheese curds, diced small

Saute onions in soup pot or sauce pan about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add sweet potatoes, carrots and celery. Stir. Mix seasoning in water and pour into pot. Cover pot and cook about 10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft. (The original recipe called for white potatoes. I think they sometimes take longer to cook. Sweet potatoes seem to cook faster to me.) When vegetables are soft, add milk then cheese. The key is to have small cubes of cheese and to add them gradually so they don't clump.

Ladle the soup into a blender. (Be really careful because the blender may splatter when you turn it on. I have a silicone trivet that I cover the blender with so the soup won't splatter and burn my fingers. A towel could work, too.) Reheat soup and serve garnished with fresh herbs as desired. I bet green onions or chives would have been yummy if we had had any. Also, ground red pepper seemed to be a nice addition, too.