Beans and Greens

It's a classic combination with seemingly infinite pairings. Here, I used my CSA kale from the Colvins with some dried Great Northern beans. I also threw in the radish tops I had since I didn't have quite enough kale (we made Garlic and Greens Pizza already with some of latest batch of kale). I think mustard greens would be good with chick peas (and maybe some curry powder thrown in!). Use your imagination and let me know in the comments!

Beans and Greens
~How to Cook Everything, 10th ann edition

• 8 oz. dried white beans or chickpeas or other white bean, washed, picked over, and soaked if you have time
• 1 medium onion, unpeeled (but cut off any dirty stem ends)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole clove (optional)
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch (about 1 1/2 pounds) fresh greens: broccoli raab, romaines, cabbage, mustard or turnip greens, kale  or collards, spinach, bok choy, arugula...
• 1 T. minced garlic, or more to taste
• 2 T. olive oil, or more to taste
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan and/or crispy bread crumbs (like chunky homemade ones fried in a little bit of butter...)

1. Put beans in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cut a slit in the onion and put the bay leaf and clove in. Put onion in pot. Adjust heat so mixture bubbles gently; cover partially and cook, stirring occasionally.
2. Prep greens: wash well. Cut off any stems bigger than 1/8-inch. Chop coarsely.
3. When beans begin to soften (anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on bean and whether or not they were soaked), sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, until beans are tender but still intact (about the same amount of time as it took for them to soften).
4. Add greens and cook 'til they are tender, 10-30 minutes (lettuce and spinach won't take long at all; kale and collards will take a while... factor this in for your beans--they'll get pretty mushy if you add kale to them when they're already quite soft).
5. Remove onion. Taste and adjust seasonings. About 3 minutes before serving stir in garlic and olive oil. Spoon beans and greens into individual bowls and garnish with cheese and/or bread crumbs.

Serves 4

The "Bowl" Approach

I don't know about you, but sometimes it's hard to think of what to do for dinner. And sometimes, honestly, wrapping little things up in a tortilla is too much work (especially when you have little hands that CANNOT hold their burrito/taco in such a way as to keep the insides, well, inside). Or a stir-fry is just not the right "mood" but you still have lots of rice on hand....

Enter: the "bowl" approach

We've discovered several "bowls" that our whole family loves and they can be customized to suit the family member's taste/needs. My friend Megan, who blogs with me at Redeemed Reader, has been telling me for YEARS to try a Javanese dinner that's the same feel, so I'll be posting her recipe in this same line up. It's going in my try-this-soon-file for sure.

My "plan" is to post some of our favorite bowls regularly in the weeks to come. They're fantastic ways to use up bits and pieces of leftovers, odds and ends from the CSA basket, or ways to vary ingredients for picky eaters and/or food intolerances. So, look for these in the weeks to come:

• The Burrito Bowl
• The Fajita Bowl
• The Sushi Bowl
• The Korean Bowl ("bibimbap"--I actually have a "real" recipe I've used for this one!)
• The Breakfast Bowl
• The Javanese Bowl

While you're waiting for my recipes, have you tried this approach with your family? What's your favorite "bowl" combination?

Spice Snobbery

It's easy to get used to better quality herbs and spices. If you grow your own, then you'll be committed to fresh herbs whenever possible (especially for herbs like basil). I grow several basic herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, and mint) and buy the rest of my dried herbs and spices at my local food co-op. I've always bought my spices and dried herbs in bulk--places like Earth Fare, Whole Foods, the co-op, etc. It's worth it. They're cheaper and fresher. You have to transfer them to containers when you get home, but that's not a huge deal. I keep a running list of things I'm getting low on and end up buying new batches 1-2 times a year. Not a huge time commitment and a definite noticeable difference. And I only grow the easy herbs (oregano is part of the mint family, for instance, so that should tell you something about its...um...growing habits....).

I'm about to overhaul my whole spice system thanks to Carrie's new Tupperware job! Tupperware makes a spice carousel/spice containers that look like a good replacement option for my most used spices (AND, it's on sale RIGHT NOW). So, today, I pulled out all my spices to see what I need.... and I have a LOT of spices! Roughly 60! Who knew?!

Valiantly, I tried to get rid of some. I essentially threw away some duplicates and combined a couple of jars. What in the world do I do with all of these? Admittedly, some are very seldom used, if at all. Thankfully, most of those are in seed form instead of ground, so they stay fresh a lot longer. But, by keeping some really random spices on hand at the back of the spice cabinets, I can whip up my own seasoning mixes when I don't have something on hand that a recipe calls for. I posted my Taco Seasoning recipe earlier. In the next few weeks, I'll post some more in case you want to make your own blends, too! Instead of keeping random jars of various "dry rubs" or "grilling spices" or what have you, I keep the raw materials on hand and can whip up small amounts of stuff when we need them (or large amounts of things we use a lot). Here is the list of my spices (and you certainly don't need to rush out and buy these. Like I said, some are VERY seldom used--but that's the beauty of buying them in bulk... I can buy just a very small amount).

• Allspice, ground
• Allspice, whole
• Anise seed
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Basil (dried, crushed--not ground)
• Bay leaves 
• Cajun seasoning*
• Cardamom, ground
• Cardamom, seed
• Cardamom, whole pods
• Cayenne
• Celery salt
• Celery seed
• Chili powder*
• Chinese 5-spice 
• Cinnamon sticks
• Cinnamon, ground
• Cloves, ground
• Cloves, whole
• Coriander, ground
• Cumin, ground
• Cumin seed
• Curry powder*
• Dill 
• Fennel seed
• Fenugreek, ground (one of those spices I've RARELY used) 
• Garam Masala*
• Garlic powder
• Garlic salt
• Ginger, ground
• Herbes de Provence*
• Italian seasoning*
• Jerk seasoning*
• Lemon pepper
• Mace, ground
• Marjoram
• Mint, dried
• Mustard seed, ground
• Mustard seed, brown whole
• Nutmeg, ground
• Nutmeg, whole
• Onion powder
• Onion salt (THE key to a good turkey sandwich!)
• Onions, minced, dried
• Paprika, basic
• Paprika, Hungarian
• Paprika, smoked
• Poppy seed
• Poultry seasoning*
• Red pepper, crushed
• Rosemary
• Safflower--threw it out. NEVER used it. Not once.
• Saffron threads (hoarding these...)
• Sage, rubbed
• Savory, dried
• Tarragon
• Thyme, crushed
• Turmeric, ground

*these are blends you can make on your own fairly easily

Whole spices like cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. are used in making Chai Concentrate and other similar things.

Taco Seasoning Mix

When we got married, my husband said he didn't like Mexican food. (gasp!) Anathema! It turned out that he didn't like taco seasoning/tacos. Well, I don't either! One day, I had a recipe that called for taco seasoning, and, of course, I didn't have any. I found this recipe in my freezer cookbook, but left out the chili powder (was also out of that!). I think that the chili powder is what turned us off of regular taco seasoning because we really like this mix without it. Hence the "optional" next to that particular ingredient.

~From Meals for a Month

• 1/3 c. dried minced onion
• 2 T. dried minced garlic
• 1/4 c. chili powder (optional)
• 1 T. ground cumin
• 1 T. ground coriander
• 1 T. smoked paprika
• 4 t. sugar
• 4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 1/4 t. white pepper (or use more black pepper)
• 1/2 t. red pepper
• 2 T. cornstarch
•  

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix well with a fork to blend. Pour into container, seal, and store in a cool, dry place.

Use 2 tablespoons to substitute for a 1.25-oz package of commercial taco seasoning.


~Makes 6 batches/"packets"

Homemade Biscuit Mix

This is not rocket science, but it is handy to know/have. Lots of holiday recipes call for Bisquick (like sausage balls!), but you may not have any on hand. Alternately, this mix enables you to mix up biscuits in a jiffy!

~From allrecipes.com

• 9 c. flour (I used half white and half white whole wheat)
• 1/4 c. baking powder
• 1 T. salt
• 2 c. Crisco or butter (I used butter)

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly; a food processor is handy for this. You will need to store this in the fridge if you used butter (freezer if you use this infrequently).

To make biscuits like our favorite Cracker Barrel Biscuits, do the following:

• 2 1/4 c. biscuit mix
• 2/3-3/4 c. plain yogurt

Mix together with spoon. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead gently a few times. Pat out to desired thickness, cut, and bake at 450 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until browned. To make drop biscuits, skip the patting out step. (You will probably need the larger amount of yogurt if you are doing drop biscuits)

Smoky Black Bean Dip/Spread

We are BIG black bean fans around here (well, my husband and I are... the kids are coming around). My husband also is a chipotle addict; no matter what the recipe is, he would add a bit of chipotle to kick it up a notch. We use this dip as a quesadilla filling. Spread it on and sprinkle some cheese on top. It would make a great addition to a wrap as well or dip for tortilla chips (MUCH less fattening than queso dips). And, important in this day of increasing grocery prices: it's cheap!

• 2 cups cooked black beans plus 1/2 cup cooking liquid or water (about 1 can)
• 1 T. oil (or less if you're cutting back)
• 1/4 c. chopped green onions
• 1 t. grd. coriander
• 1 t. grd. cumin
• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro (optional but great)
• 1 t. chopped chipotle chile (or just one whole chipotle chile)*
• juice of 2-3 limes
• salt

*from those canned in adobo sauce; keep leftovers in a ziploc bag in the fridge--they'll keep for a few months

1. Heat beans and water in a pot until warm.
2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat; add onions and spices and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes.
3. Put beans, onion mixture, cilantro--if using--and chipotle in a blender (let cool slightly) and puree. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

~Makes about 2 cups