I've been held hostage...

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. Recently, while traipsing through the Congo, I was taken captive by rebel guerrilla soldiers and held in a small hut made of elephant dung and grass. After 2 weeks, I began to consider that rescue may never come and that this may, indeed, be how it ends for me. Two days later, a helicopter landed just outside of my "holding cell". Men in military uniforms poured out of the chopper carrying machine guns and moving quickly about the compound. I had no idea if they were looking for me or even knew that I was being held at this location. As gunfire began to explode around me, I hunkered down below the window that I'd been peeking out of for so long and prayed that the camouflaged men would find me before my captors did. Moments later, the door to my room flung open and in walked Oprah Winfrey. In my damp, dark cell, I became overwhelmed by bright lights and camera crews. Oprah? Was I hallucinating? Then a very familiar voice sounded, "Here she is PEO-PUUUUUL". It was Oprah. After what seemed like an hour of talking about her girls' school in South Africa, she offered me a bowl of soup and instructed Gail to escort me to the helicopter. It took over 72 hours to get home, but here I am...sitting at my desk, with warm clothes and food to eat. I'm finally ready to blog again.

Okay....not really. I just wanted something more interesting than "I've had alot of laundry to do, the baby's having a hard week, and I haven't cooked anything but soup for 5 days". But...that's the reality of it. However, we have had some pretty good soup and since it's Fall and since most of you are probably not off traipsing through the Congo, but bogged down with work and obligations and gargantuan piles of laundry, I figured you might also be in need of a big ol' make-ahead-of-time-keep-in-the-fridge-all-week-comforting-pot-of-soup. No matter what type of week you've had...crying babies or hostage situations, this soup will make you feel like all is well with the world.

I posted something like this previously, but have tweaked it just a bit. Also, I wanted to tell you about the best cornbread EVER!

White Bean Soup

Cook 1 lb of dry navy beans in a pot of water (as directed, with about 6 cups of water) with 2 bay leaves. I usually cook the beans the day before and stick them in the fridge so they're ready when I need them for dinner the next night. ***Just a tip: Don't ever add any acid or sugar to dry beans until after they're cooked. They won't ever get tender if you do.***

In a seperate pot, sautee 1 large yellow onion (diced) in 1 tbsp olive oil. Do this over low heat until the onion is caramelized and very brown. Remove the bay leaves from the beans and add beans (along with their cooking liquid) to the pot with the onions. Then add the following: 2 large carrots (peeled and diced in small pieces), 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary (leaves only,finely chopped), 4-5 large leaves of fresh sage (finely chopped), app. 2 tsp. fresh thyme, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp black pepper, kosher salt to taste.

Now, there is a "secret" ingredient that I LOVE and use all the time. If you can find it, you really need to...I put it in everything and can't live without it! It is called "Bakon Smoked Torula Yeast". It is cholesterol, sodium, and fat free! If you live near the Chattanooga area, you can get it at the Wildwood Country Store. Otherwise, you can google it and buy it online. I buy large quantities, as I use it almost every day! Oh- so if you do have this on hand, stir in 2 heaping tablespoons. If not, you're missing out....I guess you could use real bacon if you wanted to, but I think that's an uneccesary addition of fat. MY DISCLAIMER: THIS SOUP WILL NOT BE AS GOOD WITHOUT THE BAKON SMOKED TORULA YEAST!!!!

Let the soup simmer for a while (covered) on medium/low heat until the carrots are tender.

Now, you know that as a Tennessee girl, I've been having cornbread all my life. Honestly, I've never been as in love with it as I felt I was supposed to be. Even "moist" cornbread sometimes seems a bit crumbly to me....it's kind of dangerous....ya know, the sort of thing that you have to be careful not to inhale or laugh while eating because the cornbread dust might shoot down your throat and cause you to have a choking fit??? For this reason, I have hardly EVER just eaten a piece of cornbread by itself. I use it as more of a base to pile pinto beans and slaw on top of, or to soak in soup. However....the discovery of this heavenly Great Smoky Mountains Cornmeal has changed everything. WOW. This is the best cornbread I've ever had. I actually ate the cornbread by itself and didn't even send it swimming in my soup! This cornmeal and this recipe are both awesome. Now, I'm crazy enough to make the 3 hour drive to the Smokies just to get this cornmeal. But, I realize that many of you can't do that. You may still want to try this recipe with another "brand" of stone ground cornmeal (NOT cornmeal "mix"). We've modified the recipe from the back of the Cornmeal bag a bit...there is a tablespoon of sugar, but don't worry...this is NOT one of those sweet, low-country, east-coast imposters...this is real cornbread!

Stone Ground Cornbread

• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (don't even think about substituting anything else)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. sugar (I think it's best with evaporated cane juice, but white sugar will work)
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup extra light olive oil (plus 3 more tbsp. for the skillet)- canola oil will work too

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Beat the first 5 ingredients together. Stir in cornmeal and flour. Add 1/4 cup oil and mix. Pour about 3 tbsp. oil into a cast iron skillet and heat over medium/high heat. When hot, pour batter into skillet. Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.