I love the colder weather lately! It has sent me into the kitchen once again, on a mission to create delicious, healthy and warming meals for the family. One meal we used to eat quite often last year was my homemade soup. This soup is something that I created and modified over the past couple of years and is a real favorite around here. I love to make a big pot of my homemade soup because it lasts for at least two to three meals and is great to have on colder days. This afternoon I got busy making soup and buns so that we could have a wonderful warming meal together.

All that hard work paid off. It was delicious and I put a smile on my family’s face! That makes it all worth it and reminds me why I love to cook. 🙂

Mixed Bean Garden Vegetable Soup

Makes one large pot of soup, feeds a family of four for at least two meals

• 3 cups mixed beans (see note)
• 10 cups of water
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons of fresh dill
• 3 rounded tablespoons vegetable bouillon powder
• 5 ribs of celery, chopped
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into coins
• 1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped
• 1  (796 ml) can of diced tomatoes

Note: You can buy mixed beans at any grocery store. I would usually use mixed beans that I would buy in bulk, but today I just mixed whatever I had in our cupboard. My mixture included, red and green lentils, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, red kidney beans and adzuki beans. You can use whatever dried beans you like or have on hand.

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once the water has come to a boil, add the beans and return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and continue to lightly boil for 50-60 minutes or until soft. Make sure to stir often.

2. While the beans are cooking, chop up the onion, celery, cabbage and peel and cut the carrots.

3. Bring the 10 cups of water to boil in another large pot with the onion and the dill. Boil for about 5 minutes to bring out the flavor of the onion and dill.

4. Add the carrots and celery. Boil the carrots and celery together for about 5-10 minutes, then add the cabbage. Continue to boil on medium-high heat for another 5-10 minutes more, until veggies are beginning to soften.

5. At this point, the beans should be done and ready to drain. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the pot with the rest of the soup.

6. Stir in the diced tomatoes and the vegetable  bouillon powder. Taste and see if you want to add even more vegetable bouillon.

7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, to bring the flavors together and completely cook the vegetables through. The soup is done when the vegetables are nice and tender.

8. Serve.

I always make buns whenever I make soup, they go together perfectly. You can prepare the buns before beginning the soup to make sure that they are ready at the same time as your soup is.

Whole Wheat Buns

Makes 6 buns

• 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

1. Place the yeast, syrup and warm water together in a large mixing bowl. Allow the yeast to sit for 5-10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Add the oil and sea salt to the yeast mixture.
3. Add the whole wheat flour 1/2 cup at a time, whisking in the first 1 1/2 cups and stirring in the next cup with a wooden spoon. Reserve 1/4 cup of flour.
4. Knead the dough lightly for about a minute and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
5. After the dough has risen and doubled in size, punch it down and sprinkle on the last 1/4 cup of flour . Lightly knead the dough again, until soft.
6. Divide the dough into 6 equal sections.
7. Roll the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover again and let rise 35 minutes more.
8. Preheat the oven to 400°F
9. Once the buns have risen, place them in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden.

Autumn really enjoys helping out with the buns.

We have a lot of fun baking together! This is honestly the most fun I have with my kids. I hope that they fall in love with baking and cooking someday too.

All that hard work really does pay off. There is nothing like home-baked bread or buns! Your house will smell amazing too! I always double this recipe because the girls love to eat homemade buns and they are a lot of work. You can always freeze them afterward too, so that they stay fresh. If you do make these I suggest eating them fresh right out of the oven with a bit of margarine, that is when they are the best.

Another beautiful day! 🙂