BPA Free Soup!

I got rid of my crock pot a few years ago in a move because it never seemed to work.

Now, a confession: late last year, I found another crock pot in the basement of my building with a note taped to it: "It works!" So yeah, I brought it home, washed it thoroughly, watched carefully to make sure nothing crawled out of the motor, and put it into use.

The "new" crock pot worked out just fine* for those black beans, and I made a very tasty spicy black bean soup (with ginger and chili pepper flakes) with no canned-bean taste and no BPAs.**

Next up: yellow split peas. Probably spicy again, with whole mustard and cumin seeds (popped in a hot pan in oil, like popcorn).

And after that: leek and potato. For that one, I'll have to use the actual stove.

*I poured boiling water over the beans, soaked overnight, then cooked for a few hours.

**Did you know that tin cans with beans, tomatoes, spaghettios, and anything else you might be buying in them are made with plastic containing BPAs? And because the contents are put into the cans hot, there's potentially more leaching than from water bottles. Treehugger has a good article with links to even more information. Eden and Trader Joes are a couple of companies that make BPA-free cans, but you'll pay a premium.

This is the major reason why I'm trying to cut back on cans and cook with dry beans instead.