09/29/05 Food and wines - Easy bean soup

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran, and today is food & wine pairing day. With a chill beginning to enter, the air we know that it is time for us to start thinking about cooking a bit more indoors and a little less out of doors. Today we are going to explore one of my favorite fall recipes and the wines that go with it. The days may have bright sunshine but the evenings are growing chilly and we find ourselves once again in search of some warm bowls of soup. I like easy soup that I can make by opening up a lot of cans and putting it together to cook for a half an hour while I finish up the day. Canned beans are just the ticket for this type of soup. And canned white beans are a great medium for just about any type of seasoning. Try cooking them with canned diced tomatoes and lots of fresh sage from your herb garden. You can add an assortment of vegetables like celery and carrots and keep it a vegetarian soup that is simple and goes well with crisp white wines like Pinot Gris and Viognier. Or you can do one of my favorite soups using canned white beans and really dress it up by adding sautéed onions, garlic and chicken stock. Throw in some cabbage and chopped up ham. I just buy sliced black forest ham at the deli of my local grocery store and chop it up and throw it in the soup. What could be easier? This is one of my favorite shortcuts to a savory meal. Accompany it with a glass of Zinfandel and a piece of crusty bread and the chilly evening will seem just fine. For this easy bean soup recipe visit our website at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.