Herrera's Bean Soup. Greasy, spicy, and addictive. Perfect for today, icy, 19 degrees F. You really need the remains of a bone-in ham, but a half-pound of bacon, diced and fried up in an iron pot will do nicely.
With jalapeno cornbread muffins, and huge tumblers of iced green tea.
I'm doing that, tonight.
Bean Soup (inspired by Herrera's Restaurant in Dallas, Texas)
1 lb. pinto beans, rinse, pick over, and soak overnight
bacon, chopped
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (seeded, if you're cooking for wimps)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped (1/4 of a bunch)
4 cans chicken broth
2 1/2 cans water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tspn chili powder
Fry bacon until just barely crisp. Remove from pan and drain. Leave lbacon grease in the pan and fry the onion, peppers, and garlic until onion is transparent. Pour everything into a cast iron pot and simmer until beans are tender. Turn off heat and stir, mashing some of the beans against the side of the pot.
Gets better by the next day. You can used dried cilantro; it seems to work just as well. If you're in a hurry, canned pintos seem to work as well.