Beans and Rice are a favorite food at our house. Black, Red, Navy, Pink, Pinto - we love them all.
This recipe is my version of Cuban Black Beans (no meat) with a little of the Puerto
Rican influence from some south Milwaukee places that I remember. Is it authentic? Well, no.... But everyone loves them. I am happy to use dry beans but I never seem to plan well enough - so canned it is.
Also, this is a great dish for your Le Creuset Pot, or other heavy enameled cast iron pot with tight fitting lid.
Rice I am not going to tell you how to cook - we are eating more brown rice as it is moderately healthy for you (compared to white rice), but make whatever you like. Follow the directions on the package.
Black Beans - Made of Love
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium green pepper, chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic, minced (use fresh, and don't use a press)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced small. Feel free to substitute fresh pumpkin, or other squash)
1/2 can vegetarian broth
1/2 cup Alcaparrado drained(green olives, capers and red peppers (aka pimentos)- easy to find in your local mexican/puerto rican or other grocery.
1/2 cup sherry
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs ground pepper
1 bay leaf
olive oil
Saute onion and green pepper until very soft (in about 1 tbs olive oil), but not browned.
Add garlic, saute for another 2 minutes.
Add all other ingredients. Bring to simmer. Put on lid, cook for about 1/2 an hour. Check and add more broth as needed. You need to cook the sweet potatoes, but you don't want soup here - you want it fairly thick.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Some cooks add sugar at this point, but I find the sweet potato add enough, plus, way better for you. Many recipes call for vinegar, but the Alcaparrado adds that zing, plus extra.
Feel free to take a cup of the beans out, mash them fine and add it back in to thicken it up. After you have adjusted seasonings, keep at low for 10 minutes and serve.
Great thing about this dish is once it is cooked, you can turn it to low and it will be great for an hour or more - so it is easy to fit with the rest of the meal. Serve with a salad, roast pork or even better, crock pot cuban style pork shoulder My only change to that recipie is drop the chili pepper, use Penzey's Adobe seasoning in its place.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Cupcake Red Velvet 2011 - aka Fruit Bomb Red
Was Apothic Red or Cupcake Red Velvet First? Either way, they are clearly blended to achieve the same flavor profile.
BIG FRUIT
low tannin
sweet
Chocolate up front, in the middle and the end.
Apothic has a weird maple syrup component that Cupcake does not have (this is good) but otherwise very similar. Red Velvet is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah
Drinkable. Sweet. Easy to drink. Good with a steak. I like it better than the Apothic Red (which I find undrinkable). Under $10.
But like apothic, the wine becomes undrinkable after two or three glases. It is just to much. To sweet, to fruity it just becomes unpleasant. I want to like it, but cant
BIG FRUIT
low tannin
sweet
Chocolate up front, in the middle and the end.
Apothic has a weird maple syrup component that Cupcake does not have (this is good) but otherwise very similar. Red Velvet is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah
Drinkable. Sweet. Easy to drink. Good with a steak. I like it better than the Apothic Red (which I find undrinkable). Under $10.
But like apothic, the wine becomes undrinkable after two or three glases. It is just to much. To sweet, to fruity it just becomes unpleasant. I want to like it, but cant
Monday, April 9, 2012
Red Tree Pinot Noir, 2010
In Summary - A fine light red wine, with some fruit, decent with food.
Red Tree makes cheap wine - $5.99 at Festival Foods (plus a $2 a bottle rebate). However cheap in this case means a pretty decent wine that you can buy a ton of for an event and not be embarrassed by serving it nor draining your checking account.
Red Tree pitches it's wines this way - Redtree offers consumers fresh, fruit forward, distinctive varietals of consistent quality and exceptional value that are ready for immediate consumption. These wines are ideal as an aperitif and complement everyday meals as well as special occasions
Not sure how distinctive they are, but sure - it is on the list for consideration of wine's at the upcoming wedding.
Red Tree makes cheap wine - $5.99 at Festival Foods (plus a $2 a bottle rebate). However cheap in this case means a pretty decent wine that you can buy a ton of for an event and not be embarrassed by serving it nor draining your checking account.
Red Tree pitches it's wines this way - Redtree offers consumers fresh, fruit forward, distinctive varietals of consistent quality and exceptional value that are ready for immediate consumption. These wines are ideal as an aperitif and complement everyday meals as well as special occasions
Not sure how distinctive they are, but sure - it is on the list for consideration of wine's at the upcoming wedding.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
NEW - IMPROVED - EVEN MORE AWESOME -Creamy Tomato Soup - no dairy, vegan
ALL CAPS so it must be true....
This recipe uses canned tomatoes. The issue with canned tomatoes is that often they are a little acidic. Well, the typical way of dealing with that is adding a little sugar. Which kind of makes this a little less low calorie.
So - what to do?
Well, I had a rogue sweet potato on the counter, and I thought, why not? Sweet potatoes, in addition to be slightly sweet, have a fair bit of fiber and vitamens. And if it did not work, there was always sugar.
So, the same recipe, plus one sweet potate peeled, diced small. It makes the soup a little more orange, cures the acidity issue, and makes the recipe all the more healthy.
Cream of Tomato Soup - what a great dish.
Warm, comforting, and full of fat and not vegetarian. Whats a person a to do when they want one of the worlds great comfort foods but either can't live with the fat or are vegetarian?
For the life of me I cannot remember where I got this idea of a recipe, although clearly it is somewhat based on Tomato Bread Soup - a traditional italian soup that has stale bread in it.
My version pumps up the vegetables, as well as blenderizes the soup to make it creamy without the dairy (fake or real) product.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 Onion, diced (44 calories
4 Carrots, diced (100 c)
2 Celery stalks, diced (18)
1 Sweet potato, peeled, diced small (114 calories)
4 cloves of garlic, minced (?)
2 cans tomatoes (diced, crushed or whole)with juice, no sugar added(don't drain) (180)
2 cups water or vegetable stock (20)
3 slices whole wheat bread, stale works great, diced (270)
1 tbl spoon olive oil (don't have to use, but some fat is good for you) (120)
Basil (fresh or dried)
Salt and Pepper to taste (if using regular canned stock you won't need additional salt)
Couple of dashes hot sauce (tabasco, sriracha, whatever)
So, call that 850 calories or so, making 8 cups of soup - so about 108 calories per cup of soup.
Now, is this precise calorie counting? Of course not. Calories on labels are a sham and inaccurate. What type of wheat bread? How thick is one slice versus the other? However, it is close enough to know that this is a very low calorie soup, and it tastes great. Personally, I call this a 100 calorie per cup soup. Prove me wrong!
Plus, really super cheap to make
Possible additions -
1/2 cup dried red lentils (rinsed and drained)
1 can white beans (rinsed and drained)
Cooking Directions
Dice (finely) the onion, carrots, sweet potato, celery and garlic
Heat Le Crueset (type) pot over medium heat
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to hot pot
Add diced vegetables, saute till soft
Add Basil (or italian seasoning)
Add tomatoes, bread and vegetable stock, stir together
Add Hot Sauce
reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes (stir as the bread has a tendency to stick to the bottom)
Pour soup into blender, blenderize (or use a stick blender in pot). Be careful with this - the soup is hot, so pour carefully, make sure you have the top on firmly, and I usually put a dish towel over the top too! Don't fill the blender more than half way. I star on the slowest speed, then ramp it up to bassomatic speed.
Pour back into pot
Adjust seasonings
Keep warm till serving.
Interesting adds include red lentils or white beans. Put them in when adding the tomatoes and stock (or water). Red lentils cook very fast, so it does not add to the cooking time (much).
This recipe uses canned tomatoes. The issue with canned tomatoes is that often they are a little acidic. Well, the typical way of dealing with that is adding a little sugar. Which kind of makes this a little less low calorie.
So - what to do?
Well, I had a rogue sweet potato on the counter, and I thought, why not? Sweet potatoes, in addition to be slightly sweet, have a fair bit of fiber and vitamens. And if it did not work, there was always sugar.
So, the same recipe, plus one sweet potate peeled, diced small. It makes the soup a little more orange, cures the acidity issue, and makes the recipe all the more healthy.
Cream of Tomato Soup - what a great dish.
Warm, comforting, and full of fat and not vegetarian. Whats a person a to do when they want one of the worlds great comfort foods but either can't live with the fat or are vegetarian?
For the life of me I cannot remember where I got this idea of a recipe, although clearly it is somewhat based on Tomato Bread Soup - a traditional italian soup that has stale bread in it.
My version pumps up the vegetables, as well as blenderizes the soup to make it creamy without the dairy (fake or real) product.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 Onion, diced (44 calories
4 Carrots, diced (100 c)
2 Celery stalks, diced (18)
1 Sweet potato, peeled, diced small (114 calories)
4 cloves of garlic, minced (?)
2 cans tomatoes (diced, crushed or whole)with juice, no sugar added(don't drain) (180)
2 cups water or vegetable stock (20)
3 slices whole wheat bread, stale works great, diced (270)
1 tbl spoon olive oil (don't have to use, but some fat is good for you) (120)
Basil (fresh or dried)
Salt and Pepper to taste (if using regular canned stock you won't need additional salt)
Couple of dashes hot sauce (tabasco, sriracha, whatever)
So, call that 850 calories or so, making 8 cups of soup - so about 108 calories per cup of soup.
Now, is this precise calorie counting? Of course not. Calories on labels are a sham and inaccurate. What type of wheat bread? How thick is one slice versus the other? However, it is close enough to know that this is a very low calorie soup, and it tastes great. Personally, I call this a 100 calorie per cup soup. Prove me wrong!
Plus, really super cheap to make
Possible additions -
1/2 cup dried red lentils (rinsed and drained)
1 can white beans (rinsed and drained)
Cooking Directions
Dice (finely) the onion, carrots, sweet potato, celery and garlic
Heat Le Crueset (type) pot over medium heat
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to hot pot
Add diced vegetables, saute till soft
Add Basil (or italian seasoning)
Add tomatoes, bread and vegetable stock, stir together
Add Hot Sauce
reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes (stir as the bread has a tendency to stick to the bottom)
Pour soup into blender, blenderize (or use a stick blender in pot). Be careful with this - the soup is hot, so pour carefully, make sure you have the top on firmly, and I usually put a dish towel over the top too! Don't fill the blender more than half way. I star on the slowest speed, then ramp it up to bassomatic speed.
Pour back into pot
Adjust seasonings
Keep warm till serving.
Interesting adds include red lentils or white beans. Put them in when adding the tomatoes and stock (or water). Red lentils cook very fast, so it does not add to the cooking time (much).
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Food Made of Love - A Grandfathers Sandwich
Food Made of Love - this is the first article that I read that really gets it.
Almost exactly 16 years after that day, I thought of my grandfather and that bologna sandwich again. It happened just last week, as I sat, staring out the window of another airplane, looking over the cloud cover.
Almost exactly 16 years after that day, I thought of my grandfather and that bologna sandwich again. It happened just last week, as I sat, staring out the window of another airplane, looking over the cloud cover.
How to Wield a Knife
Great article from the Atlantic - I am appreciating the food section more and more.
Great Conclusion
No matter how much care you take, if you spend lots of time cutting meat you will cut yourself severely at some time or another. Often you will do so just when your first aid kit has hit bottom. No matter! If you have paper towels and plastic wrap handy, you have all the necessary first aid to get you to a hospital, or, less desirable, to the end of your shift. Simply wash the cut to remove any parts that don't belong to you and then wrap quickly with paper towels and plastic wrap, tightly if the cut is bad and you're on the way to the hospital, and less snug to make it through your shift without your injured extremity falling asleep.
It's my sincere hope that some of you out there will be able to avoid spilling your own blood at the expense of my own. Stay awake. Stay aware. Keep the plastic wrap handy.
Great Conclusion
No matter how much care you take, if you spend lots of time cutting meat you will cut yourself severely at some time or another. Often you will do so just when your first aid kit has hit bottom. No matter! If you have paper towels and plastic wrap handy, you have all the necessary first aid to get you to a hospital, or, less desirable, to the end of your shift. Simply wash the cut to remove any parts that don't belong to you and then wrap quickly with paper towels and plastic wrap, tightly if the cut is bad and you're on the way to the hospital, and less snug to make it through your shift without your injured extremity falling asleep.
It's my sincere hope that some of you out there will be able to avoid spilling your own blood at the expense of my own. Stay awake. Stay aware. Keep the plastic wrap handy.
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