Weekend Coffee Share

Posted byMariaPosted inDalarna, Recipes, SwedenTags:, , , ,
A beautiful fall day

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share! Can I offer you some coffee? Or tea? There is a beautiful fall day outside 57F/14C and partly sunny. My children are feeling much better, and I managed to get some me time earlier today. I walked around a lake, and stopped to meditate at a beautiful spot. The sun was reflecting in the water, there was a gentle breeze, and the air was filled with the scent of the surrounding pine trees = a perfect fall day. 

Rowan tree

The rowan trees have tons of berries this year, there is an old saying that if the rowan trees have lots of berries there is going to be lots of snow the coming winter. We’ll see 🙂 I like snow.

My homemade soup mix; red lentils, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and black beans.

I had some times on my hands this week and among the things I did was preparing my favourite soup mix, just perfect for cold winter days. When I lived in Las Vegas I had Sprouts Farmers Market around the corner. I loved shopping healthy food there, and one of my favourite things was their soup mix, that you can buy in the bulk section. I later started making the mix myself, I use red lentils, garbanzo beans, black beans, and kidney beans. I believe it’s green lentils as well in Sprouts mix. It’s so easy having all these goodies in a beautiful glass jar. The shelf life if properly sealed, and stored in a dark place, is very long, I’d say several years. It would never last that long at our house, but I did prepare several jars of the soup mix. When I make the soup I take 1/4 of a jar in a big bowl, add water and soak overnight. The next day I mince one garlic (not one clove, I like garlic,) I fry the garlic in olive oil, add the soaked soup mix and new water to cover the mix and then some. I let everything boil for a couple minutes, and after that simmer for 1-2 hours. I always add salt and pepper. I sometimes add any fresh herb that I happened to have at home, I often add chili. If I have vegetables that should be used soon I’ll add them to the soup. Sometimes I switch the garlic for freshly grated ginger. The variation you can make are endless. Legumes are a rich source of B vitamins, various minerals, protein and fiber. It’s a very healthy, hearty, and inexpensive soup.

How are you doing? I feel at peace. I deep cleaned my home this morning, and I’ve spent time alone in nature. I have nothing I need to do this weekend. Life is good. Next week is going to be a busy week at work, and a relaxing weekend is perfect. I might go on a longer bike ride tomorrow. Even during a relaxing weekend with no particular plans, I like to get out and get some exercise. My son told me about a lake that I have not seen, I might check it out tomorrow. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while. 

Have a refill on your beverage and tell me about your weekend plans! 

Thank you so much for the lovely company, and an extra thanks to Natalie for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share! Have a fabulous weekend! 

Love,

Maria 

Published by Maria

It’s all about experiences, and the healing power of nature. Life is about choosing happiness. My gypsy soul have taken me to many different countries, and definitely taught me to be more humble. I enjoy growing my own food, and spending time outdoors. I now reside in the region where I was born: Dalarna, Sweden. I am a mom, a kindergarten teacher, a minimalist and a gardener. Love, Maria

39 thoughts on “Weekend Coffee Share”

  1. I would love to try your soups, Maria! Perhaps I can mail some soup mixes from Sprouts? I don’t know what the restrictions are on that if any. Enjoy your weekend! ❤️ BTW, today’s forecast is sunshine and 100F. ❤️

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    1. Thank you John, you are so sweet. I don’t think it would be viable sending dry good with the mail, it would be very costly, and uncertain if it would get here, but I do appreciate the kind thought. You could try their soup mix 🙂 it’s almost exactly the mix of beans and lentils I have in the photo. Nowadays it makes more sense to me to purchase the ingredients individually in those large packages I wrote about last week, and then mix them myself.

      Sunshine and 100F sounds like weather you would enjoy ❤ Have a great rest of your weekend!

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  2. My wife LOVES this type of soup…we also make a winter pistou that adds more vegetables…hearty as a meal in itself! As for the weekend, it’s The Hollywood Bowl tonight, celebrating the film music of Composer John Williams – which mean 10,000 light sabers will sway in motion to the “Star Wars” theme!

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    1. Your wife got good taste 🙂 I like that you can modify it to eat by the season, adding any local, or homegrown veggies you can get.
      Have fun tonight! I bet 10,000 light sabers is an experience.

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  3. Hi Maria. Beans are a personal favorite, so easy to use and so good for us. My personal favorite remains the normal black beans, but lentils also appear as being both easier to make up and taste wonderful.
    It’s about time for me to grab some very late breakfast and wander back to bed to continue my recovery.
    Stay safe my friend.

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  4. Your soup mix looks so pretty in a jar, but I bet it is even better and delicious all cooked up. Fall is soup season!
    It is Labor Day here, as you probably know, and the weather is perfect. Dry, sunny, 70s. Nice to have a break from the rain and heat. Sept. and May are my favorite months, the ‘bookends’ of summer when the temps are beautiful.
    We have a family picnic tomorrow and I’m looking forward to seeing siblings that I haven’t seen since Dec.2019. I’m a bit nervous, too, as the Delta variant seems to be surging even amongst the vaccinated. To hug or not to hug, that is the question. 😉 At least it will be outside.
    Take care and enjoy your week ahead. ❤

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    1. There’s some soup cooking on the stove right now, I’d love to send some with you in a thermos for your picnic. I do hope you have a great time with your family ❤ September and May are wonderful times, I've never thought about them as 'bookends' but that makes a lot of sense.
      Be safe and have a wonderful rest of your weekend! ❤

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  5. Just reading about your soup and spending time alone in nature makes me relax! How lovely. And I’m delighted to hear about someone else who loves garlic as much as we do. 😍 One clove of garlic equals one garlic in our house too. Garlic is good for you! Although I need to be careful with it (and basically everything else that tastes good) because I’ve had some stomach problems lately. But some of the good stuff seems to work.
    Good to hear your kids are doing better!

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    1. There is some soup simmering on the stove right now, I’d be happy to get you some 🙂 Your visit to the forest this week, and being a part of a camera club sounds lovely! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

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    1. Thank you! This mix is almost exactly like the one Sprouts have. I would love to hear what you think, if you do try it 🙂 Thank you for your lovely company. Have a great rest of your weekend!

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  7. So happy your children are well. How wonderfully yum. I would never thought of putting black beans in a soup. I will definitely try your mix. I love storing food in glass jars.
    It is just glorious to see all the wonderful nature land that you can visit. It really is something that keeps us well & is very calming. Thanks for sharing your world.

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    1. Thank you! We love all types of beans in our family, especially my daughter. I store most of my dry goods in glass jars, I think its beautiful, and they last a long time + it’s easy to keep things tidy and fresh.
      It is great seeing you my friend ❤

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  8. Am glad to hear your children are feeling better and you have some me time to enjoy nature. Beautiful photos of the lake and the rowan trees. Your soup mix sounds great. I’ll try making this soup with beans and lentils when the weather gets cooler. Thank you for your #weekendcoffeeshare.

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  10. Hi Maria, so good to hear your children are better. That’s great news! Thanks also for the directions for your hearty soup mix! I’ve bought many prepackaged dried soup mixes and some I buy from Trader Joe’s on occasions I make the drive there. These soups are my favorite too make in fall and winter months too!! YUMMY
    Your outdoors is so beautiful, and so happy you’ve had a relaxing weekend before the busy week ahead! I’m here in Colorado visiting my oldest sister this weekend. I realized I hadn’t been here in about 8 years so I’m happy I’m able to spend this long weekend here. We are catching up meeting up with her family and grandkids all grown adults now!!
    Thank you for the coffee my sweet friend!! 💖 Have a wonderful week!! ❤️🐴🤠❤️

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    1. Thank you Diana! I saw on facebook that you are in Colorado, how fun! Time flies 🙂 I’ve only been to Colorado once, on a road trip, all I remember is that out was beautiful vistas everywhere..and it was windy 🙂 Enjoy your family time ❤ Have a great week ahead!

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  13. Your bean mix looks fabulous! And so very pretty too! I love making soup… and perhaps today I may make some… it’s a wee bit chilly here today in Pennsylvania.
    I have to be honest… when you commented on my blog I did not know it was YOU! I see you have a new blog now. And it’s so good to hear from you! I’m following you now and so happy all is well my friend! I look forward to seeing more of your posts!
    Happy Sunday to you!

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  14. Sounds like you had a good week and all the best for next week I assume you will be back to teaching. Our Grandson starts back too. He is going into Grade 2. We had so much lockdown school closure last year I don’t know how the kids will move up to higher grades. But we shall see. Our daughter is back to full time work now which is good for her. She enjoys her job. I am having a quiet weekend which is a pleasant change for me. Thanks for the tea Maria.

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  15. Hi Maria
    Glad you had some refreshment time
    And the soup ingredients do look great in that glass jar
    I would just need to add lots of meat and bone broth to mind – hah
    Anyhow cheers to a nice month ahead for you and the family

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  16. I LOVE shopping at Sprouts. In fact, I was just shopping there today! I love the idea of putting together your legumes in a jar for soup. Dried legumes will last a long time in storage.

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