Burritos with Avocado Crema

Here is an awesome recipe you should customize and make. I like to pop up here every once in while and put a recipe up. We have made this about 3 times. It's really good. I got fancy last night and made an avocado cream sauce which was finger-licking and plate-licking good.

I make a version of dry-baked burritos that use 10" tortillas that are stuffed with pinto beans, onions, garlic, potatoes, and 1 of the Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausages (or you could use Morningstar sausages). I've made this a few times and I never measure anything so here is an approximation. You can customize to whatever you have on hand.

Burritos with Avocado Crema
Yield: 4 servings

For burritos:
3/4 cup dry pinto beans, soaked for at least 4 hours, or substitute 1, 14 oz can of cooked pinto beans.
Olive oil
1/2 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 small waxy yellow or red potato
1 Mexican-Chipotle Field Roast sausage, crumbled
1.5 cups shredded cheese, like cheddar
8-10 10" tortillas

Avocado Crema
Yield 1 and 1/2 cups
Recipe adapted from the Hass Avocado Board here.

2 ripe avocados
1 lime
1/3 cup yogurt
some cream
water to thin
salt
Jalapeno, deveined and deseeded (optional)
Recipe follows in main directions

For garnishing finished burritos:
Thinly sliced lettuce, like Romaine
Chopped cilantro and spring onions

Directions:
1. Cook pinto beans and potato together in the pressure cooker. I use the smaller fry pan. Place soaked beans in cooker, and add enough water to the 1/2 indication level. Place whole, unpeeled potato on top of the beans. Cover, heat over high heat, and bring to high pressure. Cook 14 minutes on high pressure turning the heat down to maintain high pressure.

Since a potato has been added to the pan, watch the pressure cooker to avoid pressure falling once it reaches pressure.  Once time is up, use the natural release method to let cool. Once cooked and cooled, drain the pinto beans and peel the potato once cool enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 º F; Lightly grease a large baking tray that is 9 x 12".

2. In a wide and deep saute pan, heat up olive oil and saute the onion and garlic together. I usually wipe out the pressure cooker fry pan and use the same pan to avoid using too many pots. Add in the Field Roast sausage crumbles and then cube the potato and add it in. Taste for salt and add some if it needs it. Turn the heat off and stir everything together to combine it well.

3. Set out the tortillas and cheese on a plate. Taking 1 tortilla at a time, add 1-2 tablespoons of cheese and spoon about 1/4 cup or more of the bean mixture in the center of the tortilla. Take up the sides, and center it by pushing up then down. Fold the sides in from the middle and roll the burrito up tucking the sides inside so no filling spills out. Put seam side down in pan. Repeat with all burritos. Once done, set burritos in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes watching that the tops don't get too brown.

4. In a blender, add the flesh of the avocado, the juice of the lime, about 3 tablespoons of water, and the yogurt, and the jalapeno. Blend. If too thick,  thin with water and then add the cream. Adjust for salt and lime juice. You want it creamy but not too thin. Once done set aside.

5. Now to plate everything: Place 2 burritos on a plate and smother them with the avocado crema. Top with cilantro and spring onions and lettuce. Serve immediately.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some leftover burritos to devour. Happy Spring - almost Summer!

Pinto beans with green chilies

Last year I bought myself a pressure cooker. I use it all the time. I tell everyone about the glamorous lifestyle of cooks that own pressure cookers. I talk as if I'm an expert. Here's a list of why I love them:

• Pressure cookers (PCs) are fast. The cooking time for just about everything is reduced, sometimes by a third, and sometimes by half. 
• Beans cooked in a pressure cooker almost always taste better than any other method.
• I don't have to soak beans before cooking.
• Pressure cookers allow cooks to multitask seamlessly. 
• The new, or second generation, cookers don't have the loud hiss or the jiggle top pressure release. They are quiet.

Used daily they really do change the way you start to see ingredients and the time it takes to make things. The PC hasn't replaced everything in my kitchen, but it surely gets used at least 4-5 times per week.

Pinto beans cooked in a pressure cooker come out very creamy. This element of creaminess is great when paired with a little heat from the green chilies, and some acidity from fresh lime and cilantro. This is an excellent side dish, when paired with black bean veggie patties, or it can be served as a soup with some tortilla chips on the side. I won't judge.

Pinto beans with green chilies in 10 steps
Yield: serves 4 generous servings

Ingredients:
1 cup dry pinto beans, (see Step 1 of Directions below) 
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (see Step 3 of Directions below)
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a large or medium onion, diced
2 bay leaves
2 and 1/2 cups no-chicken or vegetable broth, or water
1, 4 oz can diced green chilies (such as La Victoria fire roasted diced green chilies)
1 tsp salt

For garnish:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
the juice of 1/2 of  lime

Directions:
Step 1: We are going to check out the awesomeness of the pressure cooker by preparing dried pinto beans but using the quick soak method of the cooker. Place 1 cup of dried pinto beans, 4 cups of water, and 1 tsp salt in the pressure cooker (OK to use the smaller fry pan with a 2.5 quart capacity). Close the lid and bring the contents to high pressure which is indicated by the second red ring. Cook for 2 minutes at high pressure, and then use the water release method to remove pressure. This means as soon as the time is over, place the cooker in the sink and run water down it's side to remove pressure and stop cooking. Remove the beans from the pressure cooker in a drainer, allow the water to drain away, and wipe out the cooker bottom. Proceed with the recipe. This is called quick soak. This can be done to any beans and then used in the recipe (This step replaces the usual soak and rest time for beans). *see my note below. 

Step 2: Heat the pressure cooker over medium heat (OK to use the smaller fry pan with a 2.5 quart capacity). 

Step 3: Add the whole coriander seeds and toast until fragrant about 5 minutes. Do not walk away because they go from toasted to burned very quickly. Remove the toasted coriander seeds to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.  

Step 4: Turn the heat on the burner to medium low. Add olive oil or butter to the PC. It will melt quickly since the pan will be hot. Add the onions right away and stir. Cook the onions until they are just translucent, about 5 minutes. 

Step 5: Add the bay leaves to the PC. Stir.

Step 6: Add the drained pinto beans to the PC. Stir. 

Step 7: Add the broth or water along with the diced chilies. Use water to get any residual chilies. Trust me, the flavor for this really is pulled together with the chilies. 

I did not forget the salt or spices - you add it at the end after the PC is done cooking! 

Step 8: Stir everything together, close the pressure cooker with it's lid, and bring to high pressure (the second red bar). Once the cooker reaches high pressure, cook 12 minutes. Once the timer goes off, turn off the heat, and move the PC to another burner. Use the natural release method; this is the method where the cooker sits and rests to come down to pressure naturally without doing anything to it.  

Step 9: Grind the coriander seeds and add the ground coriander to the cumin, set aside.

Step 10: When the cooker is ready, open up the lid, and taste for salt.  Add 1 teaspoon salt, the spices, and squeeze in the lime juice and cilantro. Give a quick stir and taste for salt. Remove the bay leaves. Serve with extra lime slices and cilantro to be passed at the table. 

*Note: You may omit Step 1 by using beans that have already been soaked and drained. 

Tex-Mex veggie burgers

Lately, I've been addicted to the Homesick Texan blog which I found from Rabbit Food Rocks, which I found from Herbivoracious. That is what I call blog shopping. So many cooks, so little time.

I spent an entire afternoon carefully gleaning what I wanted to cook from the Homesick Texan blog. Because I'm resourceful and a planner, I brought ancho chili powder back with me from my US visit.  Planner: bring back hard-to-find ingredients; resourceful: I came up with these Tex-Mex veggie burgers.

Oats make an excellent binder in veggie burgers. I think these could easily do without the eggs. Plan to use cooked rice and cooked beans (or canned beans) in the burgers. It saves time.

Tex-Mex veggie burgers
Recipe inspired from various postings on the Homesick Texan blog
Yield: 8 patties; use 1/2 cup measurement to shape and mold. 


2 cups of cooked beans (I used a mixture of pinto and red kidney 3:1)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, shredded or minced fine
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup mixed chopped parsley and cilantro
1 cup cooked long-grain rice (approx.)
3/4 cup oats, can use up to 1 cup, or a bit more
2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs, or homemade ones
2 eggs
SECRET (not-so-secret anymore!) ingredient: about 2 tbsp canned jalapeno chunks and a bit of their juices

Ancho chili powder
1 tbsp ancho chili powder
1/3 tsp cayenne chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp dried basil or oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika (such as Spanish or Hungarian hot paprika)
pinch cinnamon

To prepare the ancho chili powder, mix everything together in a small bowl and set aside. You'll use up all of it in the burger recipe.

Directions:
Note: Things that make this dish go faster: 1. have all the beans cooked before you begin. 2. have rice cooked. If you don't have cooked rice to start, begin by cooking 1 cup of long-grain rice (in a medium sized sauce pan add 1 cup of long grain rice and 2 and 1/4 cups water. Heat up over high heat, stirring the rice about two times, until the rice looks porous. Once it looks porous and filled with wholes and is bubbling like crazy but you don't think the water will cook off. Cover the rice with a lid, turn the heat off and let it sit there until ready to use (or let it sit there for at least 15 minutes, don't touch it). 

Alright have you located your beans and rice? Good.

Take cooked beans and place them in a large mixing bowl. To this bowl add chopped canned jalapeno chunks along with some of the canned juices. Add in herbs and mix together. Remove about 1 cup of the mixture and set this aside, then smash (with a potato masher) the remaining beans in the big bowl together.

Next, heat up 1 tbsp of peanut oil in a cast-iron pan over medium heat. Saute the onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers. When the mushrooms begin to brown at the edges, toss in the garlic and stir around until just fragrant. Is there anything better than the smell of sauteing garlic? For real.

Now back to the mashed beans. When the sauteed veggies are cool enough to handle add them to the bowl along with the chili powder. Using your hands or a big spoon mix everything together. Add in 1/2 cup of the oats and 1/2 cup of the rice. Start mixing everything together. You want everything to stick together without falling apart. Add the eggs and work it in little by little with the remaining rice and oats, and breadcrumbs. Using your hands is the best way to tell if everything is sticking together.

Place the bowl in the fridge and allow it to set for 30 minutes or longer. This does two things, it allows the oats to expand a bit, and it makes the mixture stick together. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup as a mold, spoon the mixture and tamp it down with a spoon (or your hand). Carefully, remove it; give it a few smacks against a cutting board and shape it into a patty.

Fry them 4 at a time in a cast-iron pan about 4-5 minutes each side before flipping. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber slices, pickled jalapenos, and anything else.

Baked potatoes with lemon, feta, and herbs

Before the holiday break, the hubs and I were invited over for a Christmas party. We ate baked trout that was steamed in foil packets. The seasonings were simple: bay leaves, lemon slices, delicate garlic slices, and olive oil. It was divine. I try not to be judgmental with my vegetarian ways but hot damn that fish was unlike anything that could ever be recreated in the plant kingdom. So sometimes I cheat, but my vegetarian self always wins. I had to recreate those flavors. My idle time is not spent being bored. I got to work.

I use new potatoes, garlic, shallots, lots of fresh chopped parsley, lemon, capers, red kidney beans, generous pours of olive oil and capers. I carefully arrange everything in small cute foil pouches, and then away they go into the oven coming back steaming an hour later. 

Oh heaven. This is vegetarian comfort food. Just in time for Valentine's Day too. I'll cook you this meal if you can come up with a prettier name than what I named it =-). Yes. They are not really cute, the foil gives them a rather industrial appearance, but trust me these are delicious.


Unwrapped baked potatoes








I really wanted to make these last two images an animated gif. I resisted.

Baked potatoes with lemon, feta, and herbs

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 packet of aluminum foil, or enough for 4 10" by 10" squares

4-6 small-medium new potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2" rounds

scant 1 cup fresh chopped parsley, can sub chopped dill
1/3 cup chopped shallots

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 lemon sliced (enough for 1-2 slices in each pouch)

4 bay leaves

1-2 tsp capers (do not rinse them)

1/2 cup feta cheese 

1-2 cups cooked kidney beans (canned beans are fine)

olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 º F; arrange everything on a plate, and then lay out foil squares (10" by 10"). 

2. The order in which the ingredients go don't really matter, although it's probably easiest to start with the potatoes. Pour a bit of olive oil onto the middle of the foil. Place a bay leaf on top and then place about 6 slices of potatoes on top. Top with parsley, shallots, capers, garlic and lemon slices. Arrange feta cheese and beans on top. Pour a generous glug of olive oil over the top, crack some fresh black pepper on top, and then fold into pouches like folding an envelope.

Repeat with the ingredients to make 4 pouches. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for an hour or less. Serve with some warm crusty bread to soak up the juices. 

I am the bean queen

I am the bean queen. Seriously. I had forgotten what an impression my mom's pantry had on me when growing up. I mean do you know anyone that has this much healthy protein lying stocked in their pantry? I think I missed one big and major first impression, and that is how freaking delicious home-cooked food tastes. Everyday, I've been flittering around my mom while she's cooking, and then I rush to my computer to type like mad when she starts telling me exactly how she did everything. I even forced her to measure things so I could come up with semi-recipes of her tried and true transplanted Gujarati recipes. My mom has been cooking things that her mother used to cook when she was a child. I'm looking forward to typing it up and sharing it on here.

Then I took out all of her beans and lentils from the pantry to bring you this bean and lentil pictorial. Belgian goodies promised to anyone that can name at least 3 types of beans and lentils that are not pictured here.

I love how my mom has used these old Tropicana orange juice glass jars. She collected all of them while she was working as a preschool teacher when I was in preschool. It's kind of scary to think of all that juice that was served to us preschool children.  

Below, I have tried to specify whether to cook like lentils or beans. Remember, lentils don't require long-soaking times to rehydrate. Lentils can be cooked quickly, up to 30-35 minutes. Dried beans need to be soaked, then cooked. See this post on the specifics to cooking beans and lentils. 

Green mung beans (cook these as you would lentils; they do not require long soaking times to rehydrate)

Cooked as lentils.

I have seen both types of chickpeas sold as "Kabuli." Treat both types as beans. 

Can be cooked as lentils; soaking them briefly should speed up cooking time. 

Split black gram lentils, or udad dhal, cook as lentils, but can be soaked. 

Mung vs moong. These are mung beans that have skinned and split. Cook like lentils. 

Treat as beans. 

Whole green peas can be treated as beans. When these are split in two, they are split green peas and should be treated like lentils. I always soak them just a bit (30 minutes) to get them softer. 

Pintos. My favorite beans.

Similar to channa dhal, but thickens up much more when cooked. Please ignore that I wrote pigeon peas. This was the last guy pictured, and I was just copying down a re-used label. 

5-bean chili with Leffe brown beer and chipotle peppers

I try to cook beans from scratch because I like that they aren't too processed, but I use canned beans too. To make it easier to use dried beans, I'll share how I normally prep them. I either soak the beans, in a huge bowl filled with lots of water, first thing in the morning, or I soak them overnight. If you soak them in the morning, you can cook the beans when you prep dinner; if you soak overnight, you can cook them first thing in the morning. They can cook, mostly ignored, in a large soup stockpot, or pressure cooker, or crock-pot (see this post on cooking beans and lentils). Once done cooking, you can store the cooled beans and broth in the fridge until ready to use. If you start doing this 2 days per week, you'll have lots of healthy beans to throw into random dishes. For example, stirring in a cup of mixed beans into a pasta dish, topping a salad, filling a burrito with them, or beans on toast. Or perhaps some spicy chili for a cool fall day?

I've used the Belgian Leffe brown beer for this because it has a balanced subtle sweetness, and I like the malty notes it left in the chili. Use any brown or amber beers (or really any beer you feel like dumping into a soup pot) with a nice body and aroma. Plus it's always cool to cook with beer. 

5-bean chili with Leffe brown beer and chipotle peppers

Ingredients: listed in order of use

Yield: 4 servings, about 1 and 1/2 cups

1 and 1/4 cup dried beans, (any mixture of dried black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, pinto beans, white beans) soaked and cooked; Canned beans are totally fine too. Use 2 or 3, 14 oz cans of different canned beans.

1 tsp olive oil

1 red onion

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup Leffe dark beer, slightly more if foamy at first (let it reduce by half), 

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 Tbsp chili powder (recipe below)

1 small canned chipotle pepper, about 1 tbsp chopped pepper, add more for extra heat

remainder of beer

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

1 cup corn, frozen or canned

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

cilantro to garnish

1/2 tsp salt (to taste if not enough)

yogurt and shredded cheese (optional for garnish)

Chili powder:

1 T of smoked paprika

1 T cumin

1 T oregano (or other mixed herbs such as thyme, mint,)

1/8 tsp cayenne powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

This is a variation that can be adjusted to your taste and preference. The smoked paprika is very delicious in this dish. I'd recommend adding a tsp to the chili just before serving. Mix all the spices together in a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.

Directions:

1. Saute onions and garlic in the olive oil. Once the onions turn a bit golden, add in 1 cup or more of the beer. It will foam and settle down, releasing a delicious smell. Let it reduce by half, then add in the green bell peppers.
2. Add in 2 T of the spice mixture and the chipotle peppers (a chopped chipotle pepper should be about 2 tbsp).
3. Add the cooked beans to the pot along with the about 1 cup of the bean broth. If using canned beans, rinse and drain them (it removes the salty brine taste), and use 1 cup water instead. Pour the rest of the beer into the chili, along with 1 cup of chopped tomatoes. Stir to combine, turn up heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Before serving add in 1 cup of canned corn (if using frozen corn add it in 10 minutes before the chili is done). Stir in rest of beer and 1tbsp of lime juice.

Top with a dollop of plain yogurt, shredded cheese and garlic bread.

Black bean salsa with avocado and cukes

This is a simple healthy fresh black bean salsa. It's perfect with chips or as a side. If using cucumbers, it stores up to 2 days. The cukes add a nice crunch, but can be omitted (I'm sneaking in more garden produce). The avocado hits the spot. This recipe changes with whatever I have on hand. Tomatoes, a combination of bell peppers, or corn can be used as well.

Ingredients:

Yield: approx. 2 cups

1/2 cup or more of dried black beans, soaked and cooked, or 1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped fine, about 1/2 cup

1/2 of a small red onion, chopped, about 2 T

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 small lemon cucumber, seeds removed, chopped fine, or 1/2 red yellow bell pepper chopped

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 canned whole jalapenos, chopped, or 1 jalapeno seeded and diced.

chopped cilantro to taste

1 tbsp or more of fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 of a ripe avocado, small dice. I like to cut all the way around the avocado, peel apart the two sides and gently make dices in the avocado flesh. Then I use a spoon to scoop them all out. This works well with ripe avocados.

Directions:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add in cooked black beans, the chopped red peppers, onions, garlic and cukes (or yellow bell peppers if using). Stir to combine.
2. Add in apple cider vinegar, jalapenos, lime juice, salt, and cilantro. Stir together and adjust for lime juice, heat, and salt.
3. Gently stir in avocado cubes, and fold gently to combine all ingredients.  

Bean and beet way-better-than meat balls

Bean beet balls on top of some pasta



Beets are lovely eh?



Prepping the beans and beets





These bean balls are made out of mashed kidney beans and a small shredded beet. They come together quickly needing minimal kitchen tools. Omit the beets if you don't have them, they aren't necessary, I just liked the idea of how the beets give them a nice color and nutritional boost. If using a food processor, process very lightly; a potato masher and 10 minutes is fine if you want to do it the lazy way. Just add ingredients one-by-one and mash in a large bowl. Chilling the filling allows it to set, but if pressed for time can be omitted. Be liberal with the spices - thyme, basil, marjoram, or any mixture can easily replace oregano. 

Yield: ~20 balls

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp garlic chopped

about 1 and ½ cups cooked kidney beans, or 1, 14 oz can kidney beans rinsed and drained

½ tsp salt

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

pinch cayenne

1 egg, beaten

1 small beet shredded

¾ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup oats

1 tsp water

olive oil to fry

Directions:

1. Add chopped garlic and kidney beans to a bowl. Begin to mash together lightly add in shredded beet and continue to mash until the mixture begins to come together. This should take 5 minutes. Add in salt, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Continue to mash together. Stir in beaten egg and 1 tsp water and combine. The mixture will be sticky. Add in 2 tbsp of bread crumbs and oats and continue to mix together until the bean mixture can hold together well enough (without crumbling).
2. Place the bean mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes.
3. When done, roll the bean mixture into small balls. Place them on a tray or plate and allow to chill for 15 minutes.
4. When ready to cook, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to a wide non-stick skillet. Heat over medium heat until hot. Add in half the balls and cook until golden 5-7 minutes. Carefully turn balls over so that each side gets cooked. Remove cooked bean balls and add the second batch to the pan. You might need to add additional 1 tbsp of olive oil. The bean balls tend to soak up oil, so cook them on medium heat until golden 15-20 minutes total for all of them. I leave them in the pan on low-heat so they are warm when the rest of the meal is ready.
5. Serve on top of pasta or in anything.   

Chili sin Carne (con frijoles!)

Tacos with chili con frijoles


Chili con frijoles

In my never-ending quest to satiate my Mexican food hunger cravings, I scoured the Leuven library to check out some Mexican cookbooks. I adapted a recipe from Tacos and Tortillas by Thea Spierings to be vegetarian and include more taco-esque ingredients. Cookbooks with simple pictures do loads to help with language learning.

If you've never had bean-based tacos I would highly recommend trying this. When I taught cooking classes, I often taught how to prepare simple healthy foods, encouraged trying new foods, and helped plan meals to make the most out of food budgets. In prepping tacos, I would recommend cutting half the beef with beans to improve nutritional content and extend food dollars. A lot of meals I taught revolved around beans – beans are high in protein, fiber, and nutrition. Beans cooked from scratch are dirt cheap (although they do take some planning), and they have a long shelf life. Canned beans can be very cheap, and require no cooking (besides heat and eat). The bean filling can be used in tacos, quesadillas, burritos, or served alongside some rice.

Chili sin Carne (con frijoles!)

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil

½ block of frozen tofu, defrosted and chopped fine (optional)

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped or mixture of red, yellow, or green bell peppers

1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2, 14 oz cans pinto beans (or mixture kidney and pinto), rinsed and drained, or 1 and ½ cups soaked pinto beans prepared with the soak and cook method

1, 6 or 8 oz can pineapple chunks in their own syrup, rinsed and drained

2-3 tbsp hot chili sauce

1 pack of taco shells

Fix-ins for tacos:

2 cups shredded lettuce

salsa (like this really yummy chipotle salsa)

black olives

chopped tomatoes or bell peppers

sour cream

avocado chunks or guacomole

Directions:

1. Heat up olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. If using tofu, add it in and stir fry until golden brown. Once golden, remove from pan and then add in onions and bell pepper. Continue to cook 5-7 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350° F.
3. Stir in jalapeno and garlic. Season with a bit of salt.
4. Add in pinto beans, tofu (if using), pineapple chunks, and hot chili sauce. Stir to combine until heated through. Meanwhile, place taco shells on a pan and heat up until hot.
5. Set out taco fix-ins on a counter and serve immediately.   

Refried Beans

With some pre-planning you can enjoy home-cooked delicious refried beans. This recipe contains no lard, so if you are a purist, you can sub in lard, but I made these veg. Home-cooked beans are better in this dish, although you could use canned beans. You can combine pinto beans with red kidney or white cannellini beans; black beans can be substituted for pinto beans. Soak 1 and ½ cups of dried beans overnight, or for at least 6 hours, and prepare with the soak and cook method (or pressure cooker, or crock pot, or whatever). Save the bean broth – you'll use it for the refried beans. Refried beans will last up to 4 days in the fridge, and can be frozen.

Refried Beans

Serves: 4-6

~2 cups pinto beans, cooked (canned is fine, you'll need 2, 14 oz cans rinsed and drained)

broth from beans

2 tbsp peanut oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp garlic

1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined, minced (optional)

salt

½ tsp paprika (optional)

1. Heat up peanut oil in a wide skillet – cast iron is best so you can mash the beans in the pot, but I mashed them carefully in a non-stick skillet. Once hot add in onion and cook until golden brown. Stir often.
2. Add in garlic and jalapeno and stir to combine. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, stir together, and cook another 3 minutes.
3. Add in beans 1 cup at a time. Add in ¼ – 1/3 cup water and let simmer briefly.
4. Once beans are hot start mashing the beans. As the water evaporates, add in more water.
5. Repeat with second batch of beans. Add in small bits of water to keep the beans from sticking excessively. The beans will thicken up.
6. Continue mashing until desired consistency is obtained. Adjust with salt and paprika.
7. Serve as desired (e.g. on nachos, in tacos, with enchiladas, on heuvos rancheros, etc, etc)

Black Bean Empanadas

Black bean empanadas with chipotle salsa

Empanadas on a baking stone

Serve these baked black bean empanadas with a fiery hot salsa and sour cream. A green and red cabbage salad with radish and lime would be a nice side. The black bean filling can be prepared several days in advance. Frozen defrosted tofu adds a meatier texture. You won't miss fried empanadas after trying this.

Black Bean Empanadas

Yield: 8 Empanadas

1 recipe samosa dough (below)

2 tsp peanut oil or olive oil, divided

½ block of frozen tofu, defrosted, and chopped fine (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced fine

½ onion, diced

½ cup bell pepper, diced

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked)

salt to taste

½ cup cilantro, chopped

½ cup - 1 cup of decent mild melting cheese (use queso Oaxaca or queso quesadilla if you can find it)

¼ cup flour for rolling the dough

1 egg, plus 1 tbsp milk, beaten together (optional)

Salsa and sour cream for serving

Directions

1. Prepare the samosa dough (or you could purchase ready-prepared empanada dough).
2. Heat up 1 tsp oil in a wide skillet. Once hot add in tofu and stir-fry over medium-high heat. Once tofu is golden-brown (should take 7-9 minutes) stir in garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove tofu-garlic mixture from pan.
3. Heat up the remaining 1 tsp of oil in the same wide skillet over medium-high heat. If the pan is hot you won't have to wait long for the oil to heat up. Add in onions and after 2 minutes add in diced bell peppers (if you are omitting the tofu, add the garlic at this step). Stir fry for 5 minutes until the mixture is sweating. Stir in oregano, cumin, and paprika. Add ½ tsp of salt.
4. Stir in black beans and tofu mixture and adjust for salt. I found ½ tsp adequate for salt. Stir in cilantro and set aside.
5. Set out cheese in another bowl.
6. Preheat oven to 425° F.
7. Lightly roll the balls in a small bit of flour, and roll out the dough balls on a lightly floured surface. Roll the balls into a 7-8” circle about the thickness of a corn tortilla. The dough will shrink back slightly.
8. Place 1 tbsp of cheese (or less) and about 2 tbsp of black bean stuffing on one side of the circle. Keep about a 1/2” border from the sides.
9. Fold the samosa over on the borders. If you lose some beans tuck them back in, or remove. Flatten the edges together with the tines of a fork. Make sure the empanada is sealed. Brush with egg mixture and place on a baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining empanadas.
10. When ready, bake at 425° F for 10 minutes, and then turn heat down to 375° F and bake another 15 minutes (or until golden brown).

Samosa Empanada Dough

(Recipe adapted from Aarti Paarti's samosa dough recipe)

I must say that I have used and reused Aarti Paarti's dough in many baked savory pastries. It's really simple to make, and can be prepared in the time it takes you to buy ready made dough from the grocery store. You could also make a galette dough, but this is a no-fuss pastry dough.

Yield: enough dough for 8 empanadas

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup pastry-flour

½ cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, add ¼ tsp of apple cider vinegar to ½ cup milk or soymilk, and let rest for 5-10 minutes – and if you don't have those, use ¼ cup yogurt thinned with ¼ cup water)

¼ cup vegetable oil

pinch salt

Directions:

1. Stir together flours and salt.
2. Add in buttermilk and vegetable oil to the flour mixture and stir together. Begin to knead the dough with your hands and once it starts to come together, turn it out on a floured surface and continue to knead for about 5 minutes until it comes together. The dough will be slightly oily but shouldn't stick to the counter.
3. Roll or form it into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes.
4. Once ready to use, roll out the dough into a 12” log. Cut the dough in half, and cut each half into 4 equal pieces.
5. Roll the 8 pieces into balls and let rest on the counter until ready to use.

Channa Masala

I love the smaller denser heartier black chickpeas or kala channa, but if you can't find them, regular chickpeas or garbanzo beans are fine. The term chickpeas and garbanzo beans can be used interchangeably, while black chickpeas are actually much smaller and darker. 

Since Indian foods tend to have longer ingredient lists with some hard to find spices (and who wants to buy a spice you'll use once?) try this: omit the things you don't have, and add the ones you do. Harder to find ingredients are marked as optional. This dish freezes well. Channa masala is usually served with rice or chappati (or naan), some yogurt, and salad. Try serving it on top of couscous. Couscous cooks in 5 minutes, and is a timesaver.

Channa Masala or Black Chickpeas Curry

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds (optional)

1/2 tsp udad dhal, (optional)

pinch asafoetida (hing), (optional)

1/2 cup onions, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced fine

1 small jalapeno, seeded, deveined and minced (optional)

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp paprika

2, 14 oz cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans or 1 and ½ cups black chickpeas or regular chickpeas prepared by soaking and cooking.

1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes (or 1-2 chopped tomatoes)

1 tsp fenugreek powder, if using seeds, toasted and ground (optional)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp garam masala (optional)

cilantro and green onions, optional for garnish

salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat up oil in a large soup stockpot. Once hot add in cumin seeds, udad dhal, and hing. Fry until fragrant.
2. Add in onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. Stir-fry.
3. Add in turmeric, cumin powder, and paprika. Stir everything together. 
4. Stir in chickpeas, tomatoes, fenugreek powder, and water. Add more water if too thick. Stir everything together. 
5. Partially cover and bring to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes.
6. Stir in garam masala, taste to adjust for salt, and top with cilantro and green onions.

Five Bean Chipotle Chili

This American in Belgium found canned chipotle in adobo sauce at Exotic World (get ‘jer mind out the gutter - it is an international food market). Where I also stocked up on over-priced hot sauce, pinto beans (my god do I love pinto beans), papadums, phyllo dough, Turkish feta cheese, and cilantro. 

This chili is perfect for cold weather. It comes together easily, and although the recipe calls for home-cooked beans, canned beans are a fine substitute. Chipotle peppers and pinto beans are among some of my favorite foods. This turns out to be a spicy chili which carries a lot of heat. Serve with some sour cream or yogurt, green onions, shredded cheese, and cilantro.  I made a quick chili powder out of some pantry spices. It's posted below the recipe.

Yield: 4 servings, 1 and 1/2 cups each

Ingredients:
1/3 cup pinto beans, dried
1/3 cup black beans, dried
1/3 cup kidney beans, dried
1/3 cup garbanzo beans, dried
1/3 cup navy or cannelini beans, dried
2 quarts of fresh water or enough to cover and soak the beans so that the beans can expand.
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup red onions or regular onions diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 T chili powder (recipe below)
2-3 cups water or vegetable broth (or 1 vegetarian bouillon cube)
1 chipotle pepper, chopped (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
2 T of adobo sauce
1 cooked, diced potato, optional
large handful cilantro, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped into chives.


Chili powder
Yield: 2 tbsp
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Prepare the beans using the soak and cook method or by using a pressure cooker.  Cook the beans with 1/8 tsp asafoetida powder and 1 bay leaf.  Asafoetida powder is meant to reduce the gas-causing effects of bean consumption. Set aside the cooked beans, until ready to use. Alternatively, you could use different varieties (kidney, pinto, black beans, chickpeas) of canned beans (14 oz cans).
2. In a large soup stockpot heat up olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add in garlic and onions and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add in chili powder and stir to combine.
3. Add in tomato chunks with their sauce and stir together.  Add in beans, water or broth if using, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and stir to combine.
4. Cook uncovered until the chili begins to boil, then cover the pot with a lid, turn down heat to medium, and simmer the beans for 30 minutes. Stir it often, and adjust for taste. You can add more chili powder or chipotle peppers if you want it spicier.
5.  If using the cooked potato, add it in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
6.  Garnish the chili with sour cream, chives, cilantro, and shredded cheese if desired.

Beanie Jose's with Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts

These are meatless sloppy joe's with taco seasoning, so I present: Beanie Jose's
Tempeh provides a meaty texture and the red kidney beans help pull everything together. This recipe was adapted from Mark Bittman's Almost Meatless Sloppy Joes which was featured in the May 2010 Cooking Light magazine.  This recipe is meatless and delicious.  Everything comes together in about 30 minutes, making this an easy weeknight meal.

You can use a ready prepared taco mix, or you can make your own.  Serve the beanie jose's on top of toasted kaiser rolls and top with sliced red onion rings.  I served with a side of roasted brussels sprouts. Preheat the oven to 400 F, prep the brussels sprouts, then heat the water for the tempeh.

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

2 c water
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T minced garlic, about 2-3 medium cloves worth
1/2 t salt
1/4 t fresh black pepper
3/4 cup tempeh, cut into 2" chunks (about 1/2 of a block of tempeh)
1/2 cup grated carrot (1/2 of a large carrot)
2 t taco seasoning (see below)
1 t brown sugar
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 t crushed red chili flakes
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
4-6 kaiser rolls
1 medium red onion, sliced into rings

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, heat up 2 cups of water over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in tempeh and simmer for 10 minutes. Simmering the tempeh helps reduce the bitterness.
2. In a non-stick skillet heat up the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Crumble tempeh and add it into the pan. Continue breaking the tempeh apart until it resembles grounds. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add in carrots, taco seasoning, sugar, oregano, and red pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in tomatoes and mix everything together.  Continue to cook for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, add half the beans to the pan, and mash the other half in a small bowl. Add in the mashed beans and stir everything together until the beans are heated through.
7. Top the bottom half of each roll with 3/4-1 cup of the beanie jose's. Serve alongside some onion rings.

Taco seasoning:
1 T ancho chili powder (you could also use dried chipotle powder)
1-2 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t dried onion flakes
1/4 t smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 t salt
1/4 t fresh black pepper
1/4 t red chili powder
1 t oregano, dried

1. Mix all the spices and herbs together. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 3-4 T (depending on if you add/minus ingredients)

Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
1-1/2 c brussel sprouts, (measure them whole, then cut them in half, or quarter them depending on size)
1 T olive oil

For dressing:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 T water
1 T olive oil
1 tsp capers, rinsed
1/8 tsp coarse sea salt
fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
1. Quarter or halve the brussels sprouts and toss them with 1 T of olive oil.
2. Place them in a pan and roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring often.
3. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
4. Toss the dressing with the roasted brussels sprouts and serve immediately.

Truffled White Beans with Chard and Tomatoes

I am in love with truffle oil. This is a simple healthy dish that uses swiss chard, cherry tomatoes, and white beans to show off the truffle oil.  Serve over rice or with these gruyere scalloped potatoes from Cooking Light.

I was lazy with photos today, so I'll leave you with some of my favorite parts of NC:




Truffled White Beans with Chard and Tomatoes
Serves: 4
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3-4 cups chard, chopped. If the stems are small enough (from garden chard, like Bright Lights chard) chop them fine and set aside.
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes or 1 tomato chopped,
1 14 oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper to taste
2 T truffle oil
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 c water

Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in red onions, chard stems, and garlic.  Cook for 4 minutes.
2. Once the onions and garlic mixture begins to brown, add in swiss chard. Stir every 2-3 minutes. Once the chard begins to wilt and reduce in size, move the chard around to expose the inside of the skillet. Add tomatoes.
3. Cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add in white beans, and cook until the beans are heated through, about 2 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with truffle oil and smoked paprika. Add water if the chard begins to look dry.
6. Serve immediately.

Chickpeas Curry with Spinach and Wild Rice

Recipe (from Manjula's Kitchen) here.

Manjula's Kitchen is one of my favorite South Asian cooking sites.  Her recipes and accompanying video instructions make her recipes easy to follow, and preparing Indian meals accessible. Most cooks of Indian origin estimate measurements without really knowing whether they used 1 tablesoon or 1 teaspoon.  This becomes a problem if you are using say red chili powder, or you end up turning a dish neon yellow with too much turmeric.  Her site is wonderful.

I've been toying with the idea of only cooking Indian foods for a month, where my main goal would be to try and cook the foods that I grew up with.  I don't even prepare the foods I grew up with, and I miss them terribly.

This week we ate chole or channa (chickpeas) with spinach and I served it with some parathas and wild rice. The chole turned out delicious. The leftovers were devoured the next day.  This took under 30 minutes to prepare. I reduced the oil to 1 T from 3 T,  found the ginger essential, increased the salt, and used canned diced tomatoes.  Boil-in-the-bag wild rice mix was a nice addition, and parathas heated up from the freezer (you can buy frozen parathas from a South Asian grocery store) rounded out the meal. Serve the chole with a side of yogurt.

Recipe (from Manjula's Kitchen) here.

Week of Meals

I started off last week with food on the mind.  On Sunday, I put together a week of meals (five meals). 

It didn't take too much time, maybe an hour or so, and I was able to reward myself for the effort with a nice home brew. I tend to get sick of planning, but I was motivated this week, and so I'd like to share. First here's the list of meals, and I'll post recipes below. 

Day 1: Mixed beans with tomato bruschetta

Day 2: Spaghetti with zucchini and basil

Day 3: Taco salad

Day 4: Mushroom and wild rice soup with peach-bibb lettuce salad

Day 5: Quinoa stuffed tomatoes with Cajun oven potatoes

On Sunday evening, Allison and Nico, came over for some dinner. We had gone on a bike ride to Mechelen along the canal or Vaartkom just north of the city. It was warm and sunny and was a break from how cold it has been in August.  During dinner, Nico and Allison talked about their 25 favorite meals. It was pretty hilarious because I think they have a shared Google Doc to plan meals. Nico is a fabulous cook (see here).  I loved their idea of a fondue-TV-movie dinner night and was inspired by their list of favorites, especially fried brie.

Here are the recipes:

Meal 1: Mixed beans with tomato bruschetta on homemade bread (Karl baked the bread).  

The beans are a simple recipe from my Deborah Madison cookbook.  It's a good way to use the small quantities of leftover dried beans. 

For the beans:

1 cup mixed beans, soaked and drained (any variety of beans will do, I used adzuki, chickpeas, white beans, and kidney beans)
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
few sprigs parsley and thyme
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp olive oil

Directions
1. Bring the beans, water, oil and aromatics to a simmer. Cover the beans slightly and simmer for 1 hour or until tender.
2. Season with salt, and serve with shredded parmesan, black pepper and fresh chopped parsley or other herbs.

Meal 2:  Spaghetti with Zucchini and Basil

This also came out of my Deborah Madison cookbook. I've made it a few times because the zucchini just melts in your mouth and the fresh basil is very tasty.

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Basil 

2 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise, then in bits across

1/3 cup olive oil (use much less on a non-stick skillet, 3 T is fine)

2 garlic cloves, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup milk or half and half (I used milk)

1 lb of spaghetti (or enough for 4-6 persons)

fresh parmesan

1/2 cup of basil, torn into chunks

1. Heat up olive oil  in a wide skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Start heating up the water for the pasta

3. When olive oil is hot, add in garlic. When garlic is fragrant add in zucchini. Cook over medium heat until the squash is soft and brown (about 20 minutes)

4. When pasta water is boiling, cook pasta.

5. When squash is done cooking, stir in milk, salt and pepper. Adjust for seasoning. 

6. Combine the spaghetti with the squash and top with basil and parmesan

Meal 3: Taco salad with chips

I substituted lentils for the smart grounds featured in the recipe.

Meal 4: Mushroom and wild rice soup with peach butter lettuce salad

The soup comes out of my Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals. It's a pretty good collection, although I found many recipes to be very meat heavy. 

Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

1 T olive oil

2 cups mushrooms, sliced (any mix of mushrooms will do)

1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped fine

1/2 cup red onion, chopped fine

1 package boil-in-the-bag wild rice blend

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2 T basil

2 T parsley

1 tsp dried garlic

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups milk (I used 1 cup soymilk, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup milk)

1. In a soup stockpot heat olive oil and add bell pepper and onion.

2. In a separate sauce pan heat up 2 cups water. 

3. Mix together ricotta, dried garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside. 

4. Add mushrooms to soup stockpot and cook 7 minutes. 

5. When the saucepan full of water boils, add in a boil-in-the-bag wild rice blend, and cook according to package directions. 

6. When mushrooms have cooked down, stir in cheese and milk. Add more salt if needed. Bring to a boil until the soup thickens a bit. 

7. Stir in wild rice and heat through. 

For the salad (serves 2)

1-2 cups washed Bibb lettuce

1 peach, sliced

2 T pumpkin seeds

Dressing:

1.5 T fig or other flavored vinegar

1 T olive oil

1 T water

salt and pepper to taste

Mix together dressing and toss with the salad. 

Meal 5: Quinoa stuffed tomatoes and Cajun oven potatoes

I made this when Nico and Allison came over. It looks like a lot of work, but if you prep things in order everything comes together in about an hour.

For the potatoes:

8 small-medium waxy potatoes, washed and scrubbed

3 T olive oil

For the tomatoes:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 and 1/2 cups water

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1-2 cups chard, chopped

6 ripe medium-large Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise and pulp removed in a bowl

1/2 cup ricotta

1/4 cup basil

1/4 cup parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp red chili powder

1/2 (or more) mixed beans (leftovers from earlier this week), omit if you don't have

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Quarter the potatoes in wedges and toss with 3 T olive oil. Set in a casserole dish and place in oven once hot. Ignore the potatoes while you prep everything else. These will take the longest to cook so get to them first. 

3. In a small sauce pan combine 1 cup quinoa and 2 and 1/2 cups water over medium-high heat.  Stir every 10 minutes. Quinoa will take 15-20 minutes to cook.  The quinoa is done when the water is evaporated and the quinoa looks light and fluffy. While the quinoa cooks you can prep the tomatoes and stuffing. 

4. In a wide skillet, heat up olive oil over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add in garlic and onion and saute for 3 minutes, or until onion is soft. Add in chard and continue to cook until chard is wilted. Turn off heat and set aside. 

5. In a greased oven casserole dish set tomato halves up.  Break apart the tomato pulp by chopping it up. You can mix it in with the stuffing or stir it with the chard-onion mixture

6. Mix ricotta, herbs, quinoa, salt and pepper and red chili powder together, stir in beans if you have them. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Fill the tomatoes with the mixture and then set them in the oven.  The tomatoes will cook for about 30 minutes.  Turn the potatoes to ensure they are getting nice and roasted. 

You can serve the roasted potatoes in any way, these are my 2 faves:

Rosemary with coarse salt and fresh pepper

Cajun seasoning

Just sprinkle over the potatoes once done and serve.