Remembrance, Soup and Good Friday

In the early morning hours one-hundred and ten years ago today, a maritime disaster pierced the social conscience of the entire world. When the Titanic slipped below the icy waters in the North Atlantic, 1,514 souls were lost.

Often when people gather to recreate that faithful night in a Last Dinner Party, it is the First Class 10-Course Menu that is recreated. Some pick and choose, others recreate in the spirit, and some go all out from start to finish. No one thinks to recreate that final meal served to Second or Third Class passengers. Yet theirs is the highest number of lives lost, with the most tragic being Third Class passengers. The Titanic struck an iceberg late in the evening of April 14, sinking early in the morning of the 15. Easter that year was April 7. Just seven days earlier, many families aboard the Titanic had attended services together and given thanks for their salvation. I find that somehow disturbingly ironic.

Today is Good Friday. The faithful believe that on Good Friday Jesus was put to death on the cross. He was the Lamb of God who took away our sins. Have mercy on us.

Let your face shine upon your servant;
Save me in your mercy.
Be strong and take heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Psalm 31:17, 31:25, Luke 23:46

Good Friday, while not a Holy Day of Obligation, is a day of fasting. Today’s definition of fasting means eating 3 small meals that together are less than a typical single meal. In our house, we eat only one meal on Good Friday, in a smaller portion. Typically that single meal is soup. Today, on this day of Remembrance of the Titanic, soup seems a fitting choice since one of the last meals served to Second and Third Class passengers was a vegetable-bean soup. Feed the body, comfort the soul.

Spicy Black Bean Soup
2 cans Black Beans, rinsed & drained
1 (14 oz) can Mexican Stewed Tomatoes, cut up
1 (14 oz) can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
1 (11 oz) can Mexican Corn
2 (4 oz) Chopped Green Chilies
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 Celery Rib
2-1/2 tablespoons New Mexican Red Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ground Cumin

Rinse black beans, drain well. Empty into the bowl of a slow cooker. Pour juices from the Mexican tomatoes into the slow cooker. Cut tomatoes into bite-size pieces, add to the cooker. Add diced tomatoes with juices. Drain Mexican Corn, add to the cooker. Dump green chilies into the mix. Add chicken stock, stir to blend.

Clean celery rib, trim ends. Slice celery, add to the cooker. Season the soup with chili powder and cumin. Stir to distribute the seasoning throughout.

Cover and cook on HIGH for about 4 hours or until heated through. Ladle into bowls, serve and enjoy.