Cookbook Club: Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans

Garlic is good for more than just keeping the Vampires away...

 In the middle ages Monks used Garlic as protection against the plague, Hippocrates used garlic vapors to treat cervical cancer, and during WWII (when antibiotics were scarce) Garlic poultices were placed on wounds.
I have been using Garlic, along with groves of Oranges, to fight away a nasty cold! Now I don't know if the whole "Garlic helps prevent..."line is just an old wives' tale but at this point I am willing to try anything!

 Last week I lived off Veganomicon's Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans. And it was Dee-lish! Another recipe A had no problem helping with, which always means a success.

2 bulbs roasted garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, dices as small as possible
1 cup long-grain brown rice*
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 teaspoons salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
56 ounces of water (Use the tomato can and fill twice!) 




Preheat soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, until translucent.
Add the rice, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, then add the water.
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. 
Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and into a small bowl. Use a fork to mash the garlic into a relatively smooth consistency, then add to the soup once the rice is nearly tender.  
When the rice is completely cooked, add the beans and heat through. 
Serve and enjoy (oh and don't forget to remove the bay leaves!)

*A note from the author said to make sure you use long-grain rice because short-grain rice does not cook in tomato broth. 
I still had a problem with the long-grain rice not cooking completely. I ended up adding another can of water and letting the soup simmer for an extra 20-30 minutes.