Gluten-Free Food Storage Recipe: Black Bean Soup and Cornbread

This is the second post of a special 4-week series about food storage with food allergies. Special thanks to our guest poster, Ali Kat! Be sure to check out her bio at the end of the post. Don't miss the rest of the series: Week 1, Week 3, and Week 4.

Black Bean Soup (Does not contain wheat, gluten, dairy, shellfish, soy, eggs, or nuts)

This black bean soup is both delicious and easy to prepare. It is a great way to get protein when meat is unavailable, and it is low fat and heart healthy. It's great for using non-perishable ingredients and will warm you from the inside.

1 cup of mild salsa (make sure there is no distilled vinegar or caramel coloring)
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth (beware of modified food starch)
1 can of diced green chilies, small
1/2 can corn
1/2 tsp. limejuice

Sprinkle of shredded non-dairy cheese (can be frozen for up to six months)
Heat the salsa in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often for about five minutes. Add the beans, broth, chilies, corn, and limejuice, and heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve and top with dairy-free cheese.
Great with cornbread or corn tortilla chips.

Cornbread (contains eggs and soy, substitute where appropriate)

3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cup soymilk
1 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum, heaping
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten (you can use egg substitution)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Stir cornmeal into the soymilk and let stand for five minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Add cornmeal and soymilk mixture, egg, and oil. Do not over mix. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 pan and bake at 400 F for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Ali has primarily lived all over the eastern United States, most recently in the southeast. Her formative years were spent in the northeast with all the other granite stators who like to “live free or die”. She hails from a gigantic Mormon family, where she is the eldest, and evidently the bossiest. She has worked as a photographer and graphic designer for the last 14 years, and also studied clinical psychology at the graduate level. She has been living with known food allergies for over six years, and is involved in the gluten-free community online and in her local area. She writes for her own blog as often as possible, and photographs everything she eats whenever she remembers (which is often), along with everything else that interests her.

To become a fan of Ali Kat’s work, or at least and occasional online stalker, go to her blog at: http://yeagleyspawn.blogspot.com/