White Bean Dip

381.  On a hot summer's day it is enjoyable to share light meals and eat as much or as little as you so choose.  This was one of those days with a Mediterranean flavor.  It started with a delicious and so very simple White Bean Dip that I discovered from Giada on Food Network.  It called for great northern beans, which I soaked and cooked till tender.  You could also use cannellini or chick peas.  Once I made the dip I decided to grill chicken on skewers and a pan roasted sauté of mixed vegetables and toasted crostini since I didn't have pita on hand.

For my roasted veggies I chose to use a large pan on top of the stove or you could roast them on a flat tray in the oven till tender.  I included onion, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, pea pods, small colored peppers halved, fresh parsley and mint on high with a lemon olive oil and salt and pepper.  

The White Bean Dip was lovely, smooth and paired so well on bread or with the chicken.

How refreshing and satisfying!  Great summer vibes.

"Food brings people together on many different levels.  It's nourishment of the soul and body;

 it's truly love.  ~ Giada De Laurentiis

Best Baked Beans

219. Summer and Baked Beans seem to always go together. Whether they are accompanied by grilled meats or on the picnic table next to hot dogs and potato salad. Baked Beans seem to complete the flavor profile for summer. Unless, you try "bad" baked beans. You know, as you are walking along the buffet or picnic table. You try a scoop of salad, hamburger dressed or hotdog slathered with toppings, and then you take a large dollop of hot baked beans. You sit down, drape your napkin across your lap and dive into this plethora of pleasure. You thrust your fork into the beans, lift them to your mouth and wait for that delicious flavor. Instead of satisfaction, you want to spit them out and fast. Flavorless, bland, bitter beans. Beans poured out of a can and just heated up. Not pleasant in the least.

I think baked beans have gotten a bad rap because of those mistakes. But not this recipe! It is one you will pass on to friends.

Best Baked Beans

1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 can borlotti beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup butter

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 teaspoon mustard, yellow or brown

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

kosher salt & pepper

pinch of baking soda (removes the snappers ;o)

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 Tablespoon ketchup

In a small pan melt butter and add onion. Saute' for approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add mustard, sugar, syrup, salt and pepper, vinegar and ketchup. Blend together. Place drained and rinsed beans into an oiled baking crock, dish or casserole with high sides.

Pour seasoned mixture into beans and stir to cover all. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Cover with lid or tinfoil. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Serve hot but make a double batch, these beans will disappear fast!

Check out this recipe by Kevin and Amanda for their "Ultimate Baked Beans".

"If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!"

~ Shel Silverstein

JAG - Portugese Rice

214. This recipe is a variation of a classic Jagacida Portuguese Rice dish called "JAG" from the Cape Verde Islands. It is so basic and comes together in about one hour. I first had this dish during our first year of marriage when we stayed with friends. Wanda made this dish for dinner and It was so delicious I asked for the recipe. We grabbed a blank envelope, tore it open and I jotted down the recipe as Wanda shared it with me. I still use the original hand scrawled recipe each time I make it.

To save recipe select and drag to desk top and print or select and print from smart phone.

Saute' onions, and garlic in bacon grease with sausage, about 5 minutes.

Add water, rice and remaining ingredients except beans. Boil slowly 20 minutes. Add beans, turn burner off and cover.

Steam for another 10 minutes. Serves 6.

I made a recipe of Corn Bread to go along side and a crisp salad.

“Vamos Comer”  "Let's Eat"

"Lies have short legs."

~Portuguese Proverb

"It's roses, my Lord."

~Elizabeth of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, to King Denis of Portugal when he was about to discover she was feeding the poor with the palace's food.

Hummus

194. Hummus may be considered one of the oldest known prepared foods dating back to antiquity. The word Hummus in Arabic means chickpeas with tahini.

My recipe uses dried chickpeas, which I soak overnight and then cook till tender. The flavor is considerably different than using canned chickpeas. Then, drain and allow the chickpeas to cool in a colander. Many recipes call for tahini paste, which is basically toasted sesame seeds and olive oil blended into a runny paste. You could use tahini or just toast your sesame seeds as I have and add them. The flavor will be fresher and more full bodied. And you can adjust the taste rather than the tahini dominating and controlling the taste of your hummus.

I collect my ingredients and prepare them ahead.

Hummus

3 cups dried chickpeas, soak, cooked and drained

2 Tablespoons raw sesame seeds

lemon zest of 1 large lemon

juice of 1 large lemon

3 to 5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp cumin

3 teaspoons kosher salt, add more as desired

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cups olive oil, adding more as desired

1/2 cup water, more or less as desired

Collect ingredients. Place sesame seeds on a small baking pan. Toast in a 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Check seeds every 3 minutes and stir to prevent burning. (DO NOT OVER TOAST...the seeds will take on a bitter taste.) Sample seeds for a light toasted flavor. You will notice the oils being released as the seeds toast. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In a food processor place cooled chickpeas, cooled sesame seeds, crushed garlic, garlic salt, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, kosher salt, cumin and water. Add 1 cup olive oil and begin to process all on high.

As the mixture is processing add the remaining olive oil through the shoot till the desired consistency is reached. Allow the hummus to mix till it is creamy, smooth and not gritty, 2 to 4 minutes based on your processor.

Taste for seasoning to add more salt, garlic, parsley or oil. You may like your hummus to be creamy or dry. I like hummus to taste garlicky, salty and very smooth and creamy wet with a hint of lemon.

Place in a serving bowl and surround with any type of accompaniment: tortilla cut in wedges, toasted tortilla, pita bread, naan bread, crackers, bread chunks, bagel crisps, vegetables, etc.

We enjoy our hummus as a snack, accompanied with soup, as an appetizer or a wonderful "munchy for game night. Store your hummus in an airtight container or jar and cover the top with olive oil slightly. This helps to keep the hummus moist and locks in freshness. It will keep for approximately 2 weeks refrigerated...but I don't think it will hang around that long.

It is up to you what you would like to add to your hummus making process: toasted pine nuts, artichoke, curry, green onion, cilantro, green pepper, roasted red pepper, sesame oil, olives green or black, sun dried tomato, spinach.

التمتع

"He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician."

~Chinese Proverb

Shaker Bean Soup

179. I have the perfect soup recipe for you on a chilly autumn day. This recipe was in an old "Taste of Home-Country Woman" magazine many years ago. If you know anything about ToH, they include pull out recipe cards for you to place in your recipe box. And that is where this jewel is...in my "favorites" file.

When you first read the ingredients, it is difficult to assimilate the tastes with the finished product. But trust me, you will be in awe as you take the first couple bites and the richness and full body flavor of this soup surprises you!

Fresh ingredients are always my first choice, but frozen or canned substitutes work just as well.

Shaker Bean Soup

Country Woman (Taste of Home) Jan/Feb 1992

Grand Prize Winning Recipe

1 pound dry great northern beans

water

1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks (don't use a ham bone from a ham baked with cloves or spices.)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 large stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, shredded

kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree, or 6 fresh tomatoes chopped and crushed

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 cups finely shredded fresh spinach leaves, or one frozen package of spinach, thawed

Sort and rinse beans. Place in a Dutch oven or soup kettle; cover with water and bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. In the same kettle, place ham bone or hocks, 3 quarts of water and the beans. Bring to a full rolling boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until meat easily falls from the bone. Remove bones from broth and, when cool enough to handle, trim meat. Discard bones.

Add ham, onion, carrots, salt pepper and thyme. Simmer covered, 1 hour or until beans are tender.

Once beans are tender, continue with remaining ingredients.

Add tomatoes and brown sugar. Cook for 10 minutes. Just before serving, add spinach. This gives the soup a beautiful color with the bright green of the spinach.

The cook who shared this homemade recipe was Deborah, of Michigan.

You will be delighted to serve this delicious and beautiful, colorful soup. It is very hearty and filling. Perfect on a cold evening. And you will wait in line for seconds!

"Omit and substitute! That's how recipes should be written.

Please don't ever get so hung up on published recipes that you forget that you can omit and substitute."
~Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet)

"Recipes are like poems; they keep what kept us.

And, good cooks are like poets; they know how to count."

~Henri Coulette

Chicken Soft Taco, Mexican Rice & Bean Salad

48.  This is one of my favorite meals to make for my family.  I have to admit...it is a "go-to" menu at least once a month.    It is Chicken Soft Tacos with Mexican Rice and Bean Salad.    If you enjoy Mexican, this is a meal that will always encourage compliments...every time!  And it is my hidden agenda to have more legumes in my families diet.

First, Chicken Soft Tacos...I found this recipe on an Azteca Flour Tortilla package many, many years ago.  It has become a keeper!  I follow the recipe up until you fill the tacos...then what I do is oil a 9x13" baking pan and line the tacos, seam side down.  Then I sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top and bake in a 350º oven for approximately 30 minutes, till the cheese is melted and begins to brown slightly...I like the brown edges =-)

"Chicken Soft Tacos"

1 pkg Azteca Flour or Corn Tortillas

2 Tblsp vegetable oil

2 cups chopped tomato (or salsa if you don't have fresh tomato)

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed (my addition)

1 large green pepper, chopped

4 cups shredded, cooked chicken

½ tsp each  thyme and cumin

1 tsp chili powder...or more

¾ cup chicken broth

2 tsp fresh cilantro

salt and pepper

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add tomatoes, onions and peppers.  Heat for 3 minutes.  Stir in chicken, thyme, cumin, chili powder and chicken broth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 15 minutes (or till liquid decreases).  Stir in cilantro right before serving.  Heat tortillas according to package directions; cover to keep warm.  Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and serve.  Makes 8-10 soft tacos

"Mexican Rice"

4 Tblsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups uncooked long grain rice

2 cups beef stock

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 Tblsp chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Heat oil in a medium-size saucepan.  Add onion and rice and sauté until onion is clear and soft, about 3 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and cook one more minute.  Add beef stock, tomato, parsley, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes or till rice is tender. 

"Lilly's Cold Bean Salad"

1 14-16 oz can white beans, or prepare dried beans, soaked overnight and boil till tender, cool

1 14-16 oz can kidney beans, or prepare dried beans, soaked overnight and boil till tender, cool

1 cup corn, cooked fresh cut or frozen

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped, or ⅓ cup green scallion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 Tblsp white vinegar, or to taste

½ tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

Place all in a bowl and stir together till all ingredients are incorporated.  Refrigerate.  Just before serving taste to adjust seasoning and vinegar.  

Of course, I always serve this meal with a large bowl of sour cream, chopped or shredded romain lettuce, chopped tomato, cheddar cheese, olives, salsa and guacamole.  I also love to make homemade tortillas...it makes this meal even better!  I'll have to share my recipe sometime with you.

Sitting down to a meal with my family is very important to me.  We share in the table setting, the cooking of the meal and then in the feasting.  Everyone talks about their day and we always have much laughter...as well as the familiar, "finish your vegetables (or beans!), or you can't watch American Idol" threat.

"To us, family means 

putting your arms around each other

and being there."

~ Barbara Bush