Cabbage (And Other Good Stuff) Soup

Geniale Genie's Note:

This a hearty, comforting, and colourful soup when I was all tomatoed-out and craving cabbage soup. If you have a food processor, the preparation should be really quick and simple. Can also be made in a slow-cooker. Freezes well.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• ½ cup dried white kidney beans , soaked overnight (*see note)
• 1 cup wild rice (I used red)
• 1 yellow onion , sliced
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 small cabbage , quartered and sliced
• 5 small carrots , julienned
• 5 small red potatoes , julienned
• 2 celery ribs , diced
• 1 red bell pepper , julienned
• 8 -10 cups vegetable broth , divided
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley , chopped
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 3 tablespoons steak spice
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 italian tofu sausages (optional)

Directions:

1. Soak rice ain lukewarm water whilst preparing vegetables.
2. *NOTE: If you haven't soaked the beans, you can soak them along with the rice, but your cooking time will be longer.
3. In a LARGE pot, place onion, garlic, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, celery, and red pepper, add 2 cups of broth. Cover.
4. On maximum temperature, steam vegetables 10 minutes.
5. Drain and rinse the rice and beans and add to soup along with the seasoning and remaining broth.
6. Cover, and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rice and beans are done, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add broth while cooking. Remove bay leaf.
7. NOTE: If using sausages, dice and add 10 minutes before the end of cooking time.

Reviews

[ksduffster]

This was very good, despite my version ending up more toward the stew end of the spectrum. I made it in the slow cooker and let it cook all day. By the time I got home about 9 hours after turning the cooker on, the rice and to a lesser extent the vegetables, had absorbed almost all of the broth, which, admittedly, I probably should have anticipated. I think next time I'll make it in the crockpot but add the rice at the end, either cooked ahead of time or cooked in the soup.