Spicy Black Bean Orzo Soup

The recipe for Spicy Black Bean Orzo Soup (p160) was full of promise. It had four things I love just in the title alone, especially spicy and soup. My interest was also piqued by the addition of sun-dried tomatoes, which pair so well with black beans.

Overall, it was very good. A little different for a black bean soup in that you puree this one, and the orzo goes in the bottom of the serving bowl and is then topped with the soup. Our carb portions are likely way off anyway, but I didn't have nearly enough orzo to go with the amount of soup I had. Next time I would double the 1/2c called for in the recipe. I would also (of course) double or triple the jalapeno as I didn't really get any spicy notes. Mixing in a little Tabasco Chipotle perked this soup right up and closed the flavor loop.

This one wasn't served to Grandma V as I assumed it would be too spicy for her. Mr. V's initial comment was "It's good, it's just really mellow for the time it took to make it." I would make again, but with the addition of more jalapenos, more orzo, and more sun-dried tomatoes. Geez, I'm becoming a stereotype of myself.

--The Divine Miss V

Banana Orzo Pudding

Banana Orzo Pudding (page 477).

I had a couple of bananas that were sitting around on my counter, heading south, and this recipe seemed like a more interesting way to use them up than my standard banana bread.

The recipe was quick and easy. The most time-consuming part of the recipe was cooking the orzo, which really didn't take long at all. Once I had that step finished, the rest was a breeze, and the Supertoddler and I were curled up on the couch with a warm bowl of pudding in the blink of an eye.

The flavor was fabulous, even though I'm not a big fan of cinnamon. The orzo seemed a little odd at first, but really fit in with the flavor and provided a much more interesting texture than standard rice. The Ninjahusband couldn't get over the weirdness of there being orzo in the pudding, however, and insisted on calling it "banana pasta".

After the Supertoddler and I consumed a bowl, we put the rest in the fridge for later. The texture changed a lot once it had been refrigerated, but I think it was definitely good both warm and cold.

I would definitely make this again, as a little something sweet to eat, especially if I had random homeless bananas sitting around.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl