Cole Slaw and Black Bean Soup

I made up some black bean soup a couple of weeks ago when my spouse was traveling.  We ate quite a bit of it while he was gone, but did not finish it.  Then, I got sick.  And well, after it comes back up, it kinda sours you on it for awhile.  Into the freezer it went.

It's still good though.  It's a crockpot recipe from 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes.  These crockpot recipes aren't easy in the "dump everything in a pot" kind of way.  To get good flavor from vegetarian recipes, it helps to develop flavor by sauteing vegetables and "blooming" the spices.  Still, it only required chopping vegetables and sauteing them one night, and tossing everything in the pot the next day.  I used canned black beans (I am using a lot of shortcuts now that the spouse travels 2x a month).

I also made some cole slaw with leftover napa cabbage and carrots.  It needed more oomph than I gave it.  I added peanuts and a lime-rice vinegar dressing.  But I think fresh onion or garlic would have helped.  Or sesame.

Here's an estimate of the cost of the soup:  Since I followed the recipe to the letter, I won't be reproducing the amounts or instructions.

Black Bean Soup
canola oil: 0.05
onions: 0.50
celery: 0.10
carrots: 0.10
garlic: 0.10
thyme: 0.15
cumin seeds: 0.20
oregano: 0.15
salt
black pepper
cayenne: 0.05
vegetable bouillon: 0.76
black beans: 1.38
tomato paste: 0.08
water
Total: $3.62 for about 12 cups, or $0.30 per cup.