Tortilla Soup

The pattern is this:  I cook a huge pot of something at home - way more food than I intended or could possibly consume - and then I bring it to work and try and force it upon others.  But this time, I am keeping all of the delicious soup to myself.  If I could only eat one soup for the rest of my life, it would be this.  Which is saying a lot - this is a blog of my favorite food:  soup.

For the Soup:
4 small onions, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic
a couple of dried chili peppers, ground to powder
2 dried shiitake mushrooms, ground to powder
3 serrano peppers, seeded and diced
1 small eggplant, peeled and chopped
2 large zucchini, peeled and chopped
2 T cumin (or to taste)
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved, sprayed with olive oil, and roasted in a 350 oven for about an hour (until completely wilted and some browning has occured)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 c dried black beans, cooked
soy sauce, to taste


Cook the onions in olive oil over low heat while you chop the vegetables, they should be well-cooked (getting on to carmelized) but not too brown.  add garlic, eggplant, peppers, zucchini.  Add spices - the cumin and chili peppers and mushroom powder.  Oregano might also be good.  Add water and tomatoes, bring to boil, simmer until vegetables are falling apart.  Add beans, add cilantro, add soy sauce (but not too much, especially if you're adding a salty garnish.)

I thought it would need lime juice (but forgot to buy limes), but even without the yogurt (which is a sub for sour cream) it was perfect.

Pictures forthcoming.

TOPPINGS:
tostadas, broken
Cilantro Cream:  Combine 1 cup yogurt with one bunch cilantro and 5 green onions and several cloves garlic in food processor, blend until smooth