Road not taken

I had intended to make Mark Bittman's beer- and honey-glazed black beans, thanks to a desire to be rid of one of two bottles of Stella Artois that have been stagnating in my fridge forever. Beer is not a tasty drink, but it is a tasty ingredient!

Turns out, though, that a long day running back and forth among three different hospitals plus a notable lack of honey plus a notable glut of vegetables equals a quick and lazy spicy black bean and vegetable soup with a beer- and tomato-based broth. And kale chips. And "oven-grilled" (read: broiled) peaches with a light thyme and brown sugar glaze.

Bunny ears made of kale!

It is probably a good thing that I ditched the original recipe. This soup was really, really spicy (that's what half a large habanero in a total of about two cups of soup will do to you), which appealed to my culinary masochism. In any case, the sweet peaches (and the ketchup in the broth) cut it satisfactorily. Oh, and those peaches are probably my new favorite thing in this world. I'm looking forward to making a goat cheese cheesecake with a thyme-glazed broiled peach layer. I'm just not sure what kind of crust I'll put it with, and I don't have a recipe for goat cheese cheesecake, so I'll have to figure one out on my own. Once I come up with something satisfactory, I'll let you know.

Oh, speaking of goat cheese, one more thing.

I didn't expect this to be as attractive as it is.

What do you do when you have a cup of beer leftover from your beer soup? Make yeasted beer bread, of course!

Spicy black bean and beer soup

Half a can of black beans

stems of three very large leaves of kale, chopped

1/2 small onion, chopped

1/2 habanero, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tomato, chopped

4 mushrooms, sliced

ketchup

beer

worcestershire sauce

broth or water

oh god, there was another ingredient, but I totally forget what it was... sorry, readership!

1 peach

thyme

brown sugar

In a little olive oil (or butter or other oil), saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and habanero and cook about a minute or until fragrant. Add the vegetables and beans and stir until they're heated through and beginning to soften. Add the ketchup, beer, worcestershire, and broth in a ratio that looks good to you, because I didn't actually measure. Bring to a boil, then turn to a simmer. Meanwhile, put a rack at the uppermost level in your oven and heat up the broiler. Slice the peach, not too thinly, and brush both sides of the slices with olive oil. Sprinkle one side with brown sugar and thyme; you don't need a lot of either! Broil them, sugar side up, until they're blistered and soft. Serve with the soup, which should have simmered for 20 minutes to half an hour.

Goat cheese and sage yeasted beer bread

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1/4 cup water

1 1/4 cup beer

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp goat cheese, plus more for the top

1/4 tsp black pepper, plus more for the top

1/8 tsp sage, plus more for the top

Let the yeast and sugar sit in the water until foamy. Add the beer, salt, and goat cheese, then add the dry ingredients slowly until it all comes together in a dough. Pour into a greased loaf pan and allow to rise until doubled. Preheat the oven to 375. Just before baking, brush the top with melted butter (I had to resist the urge to seriously slather it with butter, because damn, that would be good) and sprinkle with more pepper, sage, and crumbled goat cheese. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown.