For May, I decided to go with a Mexican soup in honor of Cinco de Mayo. This month’s recipes are for Mexican Black Bean Soup and I paired it with a colorful and tasty Mexican Kale Salad. Here is the link for the soup recipe, https://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/mexican-black-bean-soup-chorizo/.

I especially like this recipe because of its flexibility.

I usually like to make black bean soup from scratch but didn’t get to the grocery store to buy dried black beans. I had canned spicy black beans from Whole Foods on hand, so I used those. The recipe calls for Chorizo and I used a delicious plant-based Chorizo (also from Whole Foods). It was spicy and delicious. I couldn’t tell that it wasn’t pork sausage. I sauteed the onions and jalapenos with the sausage mixture and added canned diced tomatoes. You can use fresh or canned ingredients for this recipe, so it can be made quickly. I added a little Chipotle seasoning and cayenne pepper. I couldn’t find serrano or poblano peppers, so I doubled up on the jalapeno peppers. The recipe was quick, easy, and delicious.

The Mexican Kale Salad was also easy to prepare. Chopping vegetables is the only time-consuming part of either recipe. The dressing was quick and easy to make, and it was delicious over the fresh vegetables. The dressing has avocado in it, so it should be used in about 24 hours or it will start turning brown. It’s hardly noticeable and doesn’t affect the taste of the salad, but you do need to be aware of timing when using avocado in any recipe. Here is the link to the Mexican Kale Salad recipe, https://ifoodreal.com/healthy-creamy-mexican-kale-salad/.

The soup was hearty and satisfying and the salad was light and refreshing making it a perfect combo for a May meal.

Next month, I will be preparing Italian Wedding Soup with a Chicken Wrap.

The Twelve Months of Soup

January – Chicken Noodle Soup and Mandarin Orange Salad

February – Seafood Bisque and Strawberry Spinach Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette Dressing

March – Potato and Leek Soup and Beet Salad

April – Vegetarian Vegetable Soup with a Vegetable Panini

May – Black Bean Soup and Mexican Kale Salad

June – Italian Wedding Soup with a Chicken Wrap

July – Minestrone Soup with a Hoagie

August – Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Quinoa Salad

September – Tomato Basil Soup with a grilled Cheese Sandwich

October – Slow Cooker Black Bean Chili and Pomegranate and Wild Rice Salad

November – Butternut Squash Soup with a turkey sandwich

December – Split Pea Soup with a Ham Sandwich