Hello Hive friends
This soup was made with a few things in mind. With a challenge by 
I went over 5 dollars so I won't enter, but it's fun to try the challenge. We should all do this from time to time.
This is quite important to think about for many people. The prices of food here go up in winter and generally they increase over time.
Recently I've seen videos of people in the United States complaining about food stamp problems and starving. Many of them cried about not being able to supply their children with soda, chips and sweets. Don't get me wrong, I feel for people that truly struggle. I have been there.
The way I look at it, is that if you are starving, you do what ever you can to be nourished. For some people in this world, what I have made today would be a luxury. Yet it only cost me a little over five dollars.
The main ingredient is beans. In many struggling countries, this is a staple. I think that compared to some reckless diets that are considered normal western food, this is actually more nourishing.
Normally this bag of beans would be double the cost. However there are several grocery stores that have different prices. Where I purchased these beans, the prices are ridiculously high. This is why they have a markdown bin. These beans were expired. For me that is not a problem. I've used beans that were years old. They are dried and last for a long time. They are perfectly good but the store won't be able to sell them for full price with an expired date.
These peppers were also on the markdown bin. I used one green and one red.
I took carrot, celery, onion, garlic and parsley to assist. They were already in my fridge.
I wanted everything to be the size of the beans.
Navy bean soup
2lbs dried beans
2 large sweet peppers
4oz carrot
2 oz celery
1 oz parsley
1oz garlic
6 oz onion
11 oz potato
5 0z tomato paste
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili flakes
3 tablespoons salt or to taste
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons agave nectar or sweetener of choice
2 tablespoons white balsamic or lemon juice
Based on calculations the peppers that I used cost around 1.40$ and the carrot 40cents.
There is a store that has many items for the best price in town. A bag of carrots can be purchased for a few dollars.
I used one stalk of celery from a bag and based on my calculations it was approximately 25 cents.
I usually make a vegetable stock with carrots celery onion and garlic but this time I just added the items into the pot.
It was an after thought to put some potato in the soup. I happened to have some left from a 5 lb bag.
I calculated the cost of the potato that I used, to be around 1 dollar.
They were also chopped small, to cook faster and also to be well dispersed into the soup.
I always have a supply of garlic and onion. The calculations ended up at 35 cents for the onion and 40 cents for the garlic.
I never buy my onions loosely. It' more economical to get a bag.
It would have been preferred to use fresh tomatoes but there were no markdown tomatoes available. Usually there are.
Surprisingly a can of organic tomato paste was only 1.20$ while the regular one was more.
To add a little extra tang, I put a splash of white balsamic vinegar. To balance out the acidity, I added some raw agave nectar which is my go to sweetener for most things.
I kept a small piece of the onion, a few cloves of garlic and a sprig of the parsley to add to the beans while they were cooking.
Most of you already know that dried beans need to be soaked. I soaked mine overnight. You can cook them without soaking but you'll have the stove on much longer.
The average can of beans here cost around 2$ and give you around 2 cups of beans.
Cooking this package of beans gave me enough to have many bowls and put an abundant amount in the freezer to pull out at a later date.
There was quite a bit of foam that appears when they boil. I just skim it off or it will be everywhere.
The beans were left simmering for a couple of hours while I prepped the other items. I put half the salt in the pot while simmering and also added some bay leaves.
The onions were cooked in oil, then the tomato paste was added along with the garlic.
I make sure the tomato paste is well cooked so it doesn't have that raw taste that can spoil the taste of the whole dish. The spices were stirred into the pot as well.
The rest of the ingredients were added and stirred before adding liquid.
After adding the potatoes I mixed everything together.
After mixing items together I deglazed the pan with a little of the bean cooking liquid.
I covered and let it braise for around 5 minutes to braise.
The final step is to add the cooked beans to the pot with the liquid. I also decided to blend it roughly with an immersion blender to add some thickness. It needed a bit more water and to be further seasoned.
I was going with a Spain kind of vibe so I added some olives which I have had in my cupboard. I bought 3 cans for a dollar a month ago. My favourite grocery store has specials on certain products each week. The olives were on a while back. When I think Spain, I think olives. I have never been there.
The bread was in my freezer from a time when I quickly made some buns for a sandwich. It was time to pull it out.
In the end this cost approximately 7 dollars and could feed 4 people. Provided that these people don't mind meatless meals and that they have an average appetite.
This is a decent source of protein and fibre. Plus it was delicious, if i do say so myself.
Thanks for stopping by
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500
