Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

Sometimes you need something fancy.  Risotto.  Yes, sometimes I need risotto.

Or bows on your clothes.  Or sexy shoes.  Maybe a night out on the town.

But sometimes you just need something cozy... jeans, warm socks, a comfy blanket.  Or sweet potatoes with bacon.  This is a cozy dish.  Like chicken noodle soup or mashed potatoes.  Cozy and easy.  Two adjectives that are perfect for these days that are getting shorter and energy levels that fall away as the sun goes down...

Pair it with chicken, eggs, or anything really.  It's one of those side dishes that might as well be the main dish. And honestly now, can you ever go wrong with bacon?  That's what I thought.

**Speaking of bacon, use any kind of bacon you want in this dish.  We are a turkey and beef bacon kind of family most of the time.  When using a lower-fat bacon, though, you will need to add some olive oil to the mix as there won't be as much fat to cook the potatoes.  Trader Joe's, as always, has a great selection of bacon.

SWEET POTATOES WITH BACON

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, October 2011

SERVES 4 •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES

ingredients

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 4 sliced bacon (see note above) + olive oil, if using non-pork bacon
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped sage
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  On a rimmed baking sheet, combine sweet potatoes, bacon, and sage; season with salt and pepper. Roast until sweet potatoes are browned in spots and tender when pierced with a knife and bacon is crisp, about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

                                                                                                         

COST: $4.99        COST PER SERVING (4): $2.25

Unprocessed    //    Gluten Free    //   Dairy Free

It's Still Summer + Tomato and Beet Salad

School has started and Labor Day weekend came and went... sounds like summer is over.

Except, it is not.  Don't let those shiny, new backpacks and rules about not wearing white fool you.  Summer is alive and well, and I intend to celebrate it a little more.  

It only comes around once a year, after all, and really is the best season. (Ok, maybe it is tied with spring. I sure do enjoy spring as well...)

If you look at a calendar or at the daily weather forecast, you will see that it actually is still summer, at least until September 22.  So I plan on rounding up, to October.  I will start celebrating fall in October.  Which means unlike the other blogs you are seeing out there, you won't see pumpkin and apple recipes popping up yet.  They will come, trust me, but for now I will enjoy the bountiful harvest of tomatoes, bell peppers, and summer squash.  I hope you enjoy them with me.

Long live summer!

PS -- How did I live this long without knowing how DELICIOUS roasted beets are?  They taste nothing like their might-as-well-be-eating-dirt raw/slightly cooked selves.  Expect to see more of these popping up in my recipes!

TOMATO & ROASTED BEET SALAD

From Everyday Food, July/August 2012

SERVES 4  •  PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME:  85 MINUTES

ingredients

• 1 pound scrubbed small beets
• 2 pounds tomatoes, preferably heirloom
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup crumbled feta
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Seal beets in a foil packet.  Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until tender, 75 minutes.  When cool, rub beets with a paper towel to remove skins; slice.
2. Slice large tomatoes, and halve cherry tomatoes, then arrange with beets on a platter.  Top with feta, cilantro, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

COST: $6.75      COST PER SERVING (4): $1.69

Spinach & Feta Phyllo Roll

Phyllo Dough: must be Greek for 'ingredient from Hell'

Seriously.  After tearing my tenth sheet of it and having it crumble under my fingers, I just about cried.  Cooking was supposed to be fun, and this was anything but.  Stupid phyllo dough.

I wasn't even supposed to have it to begin with.  I accidentally grabbed the box for it out of the freezer section while trying to get puff pastry.  They were side by side, and somehow I didn't even notice that I had the wrong one. But instead of taking it back I decided to do something with it.  With a little help from Google and Martha, I knew what I wanted to do.

If only I knew how tricky it was!

Sheet after sheet broke in my fingertips.  I used the damp towel, I thawed according to instructions... but I could not get the hang of it.  So I did what we all do these days: I whined and complained on Facebook.

And because of that whining and complaining I now have a date with a Greek grandma who knows her phyllo business!

Besides, when it was all said and done, the tears I almost shed out of frustration were for naught.  I thought I was going to have a botched recipe, but this dough had other plans and two delicious spinach & feta rolls emerged.

I guess we could say the ingredient from Hell yielded a dish from Heaven... Hallelujah!

** I have heard that it isn't always this hard, so please do not avoid using it because of me.  I know I have not made a strong case for using Phyllo dough, but the end result is more than worth any frustration to be had!

SPINACH & FETA PHYLLO ROLL

Recipe straight from EverydayFood, June 2009

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 packages (20 ounces each) baby spinach
• 1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 20 sheets frozen phyllo dough (from an 8-ounce package), thawed and cut to 8 by 12 inches

Directions

1. In a medium pan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Return pan to heat. Working in batches, cook spinach, tossing, until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain spinach and let cool. Press out excess moisture, then roughly chop. Add spinach, feta, and raisins to bowl with onion and season filling with salt and pepper. (To store, refrigerate, up to 2 days.)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll phyllo. Place 1 sheet on a work surface (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying); brush with oil. Lay another sheet on top and brush with oil. Repeat until you have 10 layers of phyllo. Spread half of filling lengthwise down middle of phyllo stack. Roll into a log, brushing the seam with oil before sealing. Brush log with oil. Using a small sharp knife, make 8 diagonal cuts on top. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling.
4. Place logs, seam side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cut into slices along slashes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note

When you unroll your phyllo, check to see if the stack measures 8 by 12 inches. If not, cut the phyllo to size. If serving the pie as a main course, double the recipe.

COST: $7.30  
COST PER SERVING (16 little pieces):$0.46
COST PER SERVING (4 large pieces): $1.83 

Garlic+Cilantro+Gouda Biscuits

Got up, went to work, felt icky, took my temperature, turned around, and headed back home.

TV, books, blankets, tissue, naps... all of those sound good but don't let it fool you.  Sick days suck.

Except when you have the stupidly brilliant (or maybe just stupid) plan to make biscuits because driving one mile to the store to buy bread just sounds like too much work.  And for some reason I forgot that making biscuits is not whipping up brownie mix...

I took Joy the Baker's jalapeno, cheddar, and chive recipe and looked in the fridge.  No cheddar, but I had Gouda.  No chives but I had cilantro.  And no jalapenos, but garlic might just give enough kick, right?

RIGHT.

Worn out, tired, messy, achy, cranky, and temperature warming up... dropped on the couch with a plate of these in my hands.

Totally worth it.

Sick days suck. But these biscuits more than made up for that.

GARLIC, CILANTRO, and GOUDA BISCUITS

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of milk + 1 teaspoon of white vinegar mixed to make buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped small
• ½ cup Gouda, cubed
• 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• Coarse sea salt for topping

directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 of the milk combo and egg. In another small bowl, toss garlic, cilantro, and Gouda together.

3. Add the butter to the flour mixture and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the flour resembles coarse meal.  

4. Ad the garlic mixture and mix until well coated.  Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the milk and egg mixture all at once. Toss together with a fork, making sure that all of the flour bits are moistened by the buttermilk. Dump the biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, just enough to bring the dough together.

5. Pat the dough until about 1 inch thick.  Cut the dough into 2 inch squares. Gather the dough scrapes, pat into a new circle and cut more squares. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.  (You can use a round biscuit cutter if you are fancy like that.)

6. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheets, brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle them with the sea salt. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. You can eat them straight from there the next day, or reheat in a 350-degree oven until warmed through.

 COST: $4.89           COST PER SERVING (12): $0.41

*Yes, you might have seen these pictures before.  Like I said, I was sick.  I think it is a good excuse to recycle ;)

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"We trust you..." {Sweet Potato Hummus}

I walked into Trader Joe's earlier today with a shopping list in one hand and bag with some return items in the other.  Up to the counter I went and started making my returns/exchanges.  You know, without a receipt, without a reason...  The beauty of Trader Joe's.

They took back the chips that I didn't like (because they were too crunchy for my taste) and made my exchange of coconut oil.  Not wanting to have to pay for the coconut oil again, I asked if I should keep it up there at the customer service counter.  Since I didn't have a receipt or anything... "No, just take it with you and tell the cashier you've already paid for it.  They'll be cool with it; we trust you."

We trust you.  

Three simple words.  And that's one of the reasons Trader Joe's has my business.  No having to prepare myself for battle; no one looking at me sideways when I want to bring something back.  They just take it, do whatever it is they do with it, and smile.

They trust me.

What would shopping -- or better yet -- the world be like if we all had that attitude?

Sure, I could have been dishonest. I could have eaten half of the bag of chips because I was hungry and then brought them back claiming I didn't like the texture or taste (which is, by the way, a totally acceptable reason to bring things back at Trader Joe's).  And they would have lost $2.  Two dollars isn't much, but if many people do that it adds up.  But they choose to trust, making me a more solid shopper, which will balance out what might be dishonestly lost.

They are making the right choice.  By trusting, they are not losing, but gaining.  I don't think life is much different... so I choose to trust.

Sweet Potato hummus

ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• Salt and pepper

directions

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a blender.
2. Combine the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, oil, cumin, and garlic in the food processor. Puree, about 1 minute; thin with water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and let cool; refrigerate, in an airtight container, up to 1 week. Serve with pita bread or make pita sandwiches.  

COST: $2.07  (Makes four cups)

Fried Brussel Sprouts with Paprika Dipping Sauce

Brussel sprouts.  It's one of those things that you always hear in conjunction with, "Ew!  YUCK!"  And so, I spent most of my life avoiding them.  There are enough yum things in the world, no need to mix in some yuck.

But then my husband tried some at work.  He came home singing their praises.  "Babe, have you had brussel sprouts before?  Really?  We need some!"

The next trip to the grocery store I threw some in the cart.  For him.  Because I was pretty sure it was another weird taste he had developed south of the equator.

Funny how these 'weird tastes' turn into 'good eats'.

That's right.  I enjoyed my brussel sprouts.  And I cannot figure out why the word 'yuck' has followed them around all these years.  

Last week I saw this recipe and knew I wanted to try it.  I even left a comment saying so, which was probably taken as, "Yeah, ok, that's what everybody says."  But I spoke the truth.  I wanted them, and I would have them. 

And have them I did.  Brussel sprouts -- YUM.

FRIED BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH PAPRIKA DIPPING SAUCE
Recipe totally copied and pasted from The Bitten Word.
Go visit.  You will be happy you did.

Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:

For the sauce

2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg (see NOTES)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 cup olive oil

For the Brussels sprouts

Peanut oil, for frying**
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved, retaining enough of the stem so that the sprout stays together (see NOTES)
Salt

Directions:

For the sauce: Combine the garlic, egg, lemon juice, salt and paprika in the bowl of a food processor or a blender jar. With the machine running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Process or blend until the mixture thickens, 2 to 4 minutes.

For the Brussels sprouts: Line a plate with paper towels.

Pour the oil into a Dutch oven or deep cast-iron skillet to a depth of 1 inch and heat over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, gently slide half of the sprouts into the oil. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, until the sprouts are browned and crisp. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate, season with salt to taste and repeat to fry all of the sprouts.

Serve hot, with Paprika-Spiked Dipping Sauce for dipping.

NOTES:

**I used olive oil to fry the brussel sprouts because I did not have peanut oil.  

Because the eggs remain raw, use pasteurized eggs if you have food-safety concerns.

Make sure the sprouts are completely dry before frying. If any moisture remains, the hot oil will splash and sputter, and you risk burns. If the oil starts to pop, hold a large pan lid or splatter screen over the Dutch oven or skillet to contain the oil.

COST: $4.77  COST PER SERVING (6): $0.80

Snow Pea Salad

This past week when I was gone I had the privilege of eating good food without any thought put into it.  Dinners out, dinner in, breakfast and lunch, it was all provided.  One of the perks of being a guest in a very kind home. 

And it was great!  Everywhere we went, whether in the house or out and about, the food was GOOD.  This was how I always imagined my life would be -- great food and little effort.  I used to have it all planned out... you know, marry someone who loves to cook and then I would be in charge of the dishes.  Sounded great to me. 

But I can tell you that times have changed.  Yes, I loved having all this food just appear -- it is like magic.  No thought, no planning, just sit and eat.  How easy!

It only took a couple of days, however, before I missed my little kitchen.  Not neccessarily the food in it because I was truly enjoying all the food there, but I missed the time spent in my little kitchen. 

I missed chopping vegetables.

Crazy, I know.

So this week, back in my own home, I am setting out to try new dishes.  The days are long and summer is here, perfect for preparing light and simple fare.  The first thing I tried out was to go with the beans, rice, and chicken I had left over in the fridge: snow pea salad. 

Let me warn you, the dijon makes it a tad bit spicy, but not spicy spicy, just a little bit spicy.  Good spicy.  But go easy on the Dijon or else it will be spicy spicy.  And if you are looking for some fiber in your life, this is your dish.  Super simple and just the right bit of zest to go on a bright colored plate along side kebabs or whatever else you like to eat on warm summery nights.

 

SNOW PEA SALAD

Recipe adapted from EVERYDAY FOOD, June 2012

INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound snow peas
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS.:

1. Mix mustard, vinegar, and olive oil together.
2. Shred snow peas.  I used the food processor with the blades out and the shredder side up on the slicer.
3. Mix and put salt.  Serve cold.

Viola!

COST: $2.70       Cost per Serving (4):$0.68

Sundays with Joy -- Avocado Fries

This weeks recipe was something I would have never in my wildest of wild dreams have come up with.  Avocado Fries. 

I mean, really the concept is simple... kind of like fried green tomatoes.  Which are amazing, right?  So why not with avocados?  Yet, I still would never have come up with this combination.  Just a few simple ingredients: avocados (obviously), eggs, flour, oil for frying, and bread crumbs.  It also called for Cayenne pepper, but you will never find that in my house.  Never. 

Instead of going for bread crumbs I decided to make them myself.  I figured out how to do this a few months back, and even though it is way easier to buy the store ones and the taste isn't that much different, I feel a sense of pride when I make bread crumbs from scratch.  I feel so... domesticated.

If you have never made bread crumbs from scratch, have no fear.  It is really, really easy. Takes about 10 minutes, too.  And you can season them any way you like.  There are four things you need:  bread, salt, seasonings, and a little bit of olive oil.

First, you take your bread (I used three slices of potato bread this time, but you can use any) and you grate it into, well... crumbs.  Makes total sense, right?  Throw those crumbs into a frying pan, add your salt and seasonings (I use garlic salt, oregano, and thyme), and drizzle some olive oil on top.  Turn the heat on to medium and then stir frequently for 5-7 minutes.  That's it!

Now that I had that done I was ready to go onto the actual recipe.

I have mentioned it before, but it is worth repeating.  I heart avocados.  Oh yes, I do.  So does my husband.  He likes them sweet, I like them salty, but whatever, we love them.  So this sight makes us happy.

There you go, avocado fries.  I must say, the concept is a little weird, right?  As my husband pointed out, "Isn't the point of eating fruit and veggies to be healthy?  Doesn't deep frying them kind of take that away?"  Hmm... Dude's gotta point.



But that didn't stop him from getting seconds, thirds, and then more...

So yeah, maybe not your healthy veggies-on-the-side that you go for, but a dish you can enjoy none-the-less.  And my thought is this: If I can do it to green tomatoes, why not to avocados?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

Recipe Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

INGREDIENTS:
3 slices of bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 avocados
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup flour

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Make bread crumbs (see above).
2.  Cut the avocados in half, peal skin off, and slice
3.  Beat eggs together.  Put the eggs, flour, and bread crumbs out.  Heat up vegetable oil in small frying pan over medium heat.
4.  Taking one piece of avocado at a time, dip in egg, then flour, and then bread crumbs.  When you have 6-8 pieces drop them (carefully) into oil. 
5.  Let cook in oil for 4 minutes, flipping once.  Carefully remove from oil with a fork and place on paper-towel lined plate.
6.  Continue dipping and frying until all pieces are done.

Cost: $3.74                  Cost Per Serving (4 servings at 6 slices each): $0.93

Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks... (Radish Toast)

I grew up eating very few vegetables.  Not just in quantity, but in variety as well.  As much as I am sure my mother would hate for me to admit this to you, I pretty much just knew peas, frozen carrot mixtures, and lettuce.  Sad, but true.  (Fruit, on the other hand, was a little more prevalent in our house.  Cookies and Lucky Charms were much more prevalent in our house.)

So now as an adult I am faced with the task of learning to like veggies I thought were gross for the first 20-something years of my life.

Like radishes.

I posted on facebook a week or so ago that I needed ideas to make radishes sound/seem better for me, and I was flooded with ideas.  Some simple, some a little gourmet, all delicious sounding.  The first one I tried: Radish Sandwiches.

The idea (via my friend Lindsey) went something like this: take bread, spread mayo on it, layer slices of radishes, and add a dash of salt.  Leave it open-faced and enjoy.

That sounded great.  But then I got to thinking... I like toast with mayo, tomatoes, salt, and then cheese broiled in the oven.  How would that taste with radishes?  And smoky mozzarella? 

As you can see, I didn't actually have any regular bread on hand, but I did have left over hamburger buns.  I threw those down, spread out the mayo, sliced those radishes, and sprinkled that mozzarella on top.  Popped that tray in the oven and broiled for five minutes.

That, combined with beans and rice and salad on the side, became dinner.  Twice.  Yes, simplicity can be wonderful. 

One radish recipe down, many more to go.  And I have no problem with that.

(Sorry, no fancy-pants pictures of the finished product.  It was dark.  I was tired.  The end.)

INGREDIENTS
Four slices of bread
Mayo
small bunch of radishes, sliced
salt
1/4 cup smoke mozzarella, grated

DIRECTIONS
Spread mayo on bread, layer radishes, sprinkle salt, and add a medium bit of cheese to top.  Put in oven on broil (high) for five minutes.  Make sure to check frequently to avoid burning bread.

COST PER PIECE: $0.38

The Glue that Holds Us Together... (Made-from-Scratch Black Beans)

Let me tell you a thing or two about Brazilian men.  No, wait, first let me tell you a thing or two I used to think about Brazilian men.  Back in the day, when I was single and ready to mingle, my friend Querubia kept saying, "Let me take you to Brazil.  The men will love you down there and you will find a great guy."  And my response?  "No, thank you.  One of those boys will make me fall in love and then run away with my heart, leaving me in the dust.  Nope, not for me." 

Oh, how life teaches us to "never-say-never"! 

So now I have this Brazilian man by my side.  Yes, he was good at making me fall in love with him.  And unlike the stereotypes I had been told, he did not leave me in the dust, left to pick up pieces of a broken heart.  Quite the opposite actually.

So now I feel qualified to tell you a thing or two about Brazilian men.  First of all, they love the women in their lives.  Mom is their superhero.  Sister is their confidant.  You know when they say to look at how a man treats his mother to see how he will treat his wife?  Brazilian men have that one down.  They know how to treat a woman.  (Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, and I speak based off of what I know/see from my life and the lives of my friends, but this seems to ring true for most situations.)

Other very important things to know about Brazilian men -- soccer is king.  Don't try to come between a Brasileiro and his soccer team or death and destruction might come your way. 

The beach is life. 

Love is not just something said, but something shown. 

And beans and rice keep a smile on his face.

I knew going into our marriage that would have to learn to make beans and rice the Brazilian way.  He learned a whole language for me (or mastered it, as he was already learning it), so it only seemed fair.  My idea of opening a can of beans and throwing them into a pot was not going to fly anymore.  It was time to actually make beans, not just heat them up.  The taste difference is totally worth it.  Beans from the can are good, don't get me wrong.  But my beans?  Well, I eat them by the spoonful.  Cold.  Straight out of the fridge.  Yup, they are that good.

My husband is very good at eating American food (and by American food I of course mean Italian-Mexican-Greek-Anything-we-want-to-eat food).  His friends freak out, FREAK OUT, when he says something like, "I think the last time I ate beans was three weeks ago."  "WHAT?!" they shriek.  "Your wife is starving you!"  But I am proud to say he quickly comes to my defense with something along the lines of, "No, she is not.  You should try her food and then you will see why I don't need beans and rice all the time."  Nope, he does not need nor eat it all the time, but I do try to get some in front of him every once in awhile.  Right now we are on about once a month.  But when we do... SMILE from ear to ear.

Today I am just sharing the recipe for beans because I believe you already know how to make rice.  And before I can show you how to do Brazilian rice (which is different than throwing it in the rice cooker), I need to get really good at it.  I am only there about 15% of the time.  So for today, make some rice in the rice cooker or whatever to go with these beans.  As long as you are not feeding them to a Brazilian you should be fine ;)

I think I do them differently than others do, but this is how I have figured out how to make beans my Brazilian friends approve of.  First, I add the beans and the water and boil for about twenty minutes.  Then I put the lid on the pressure cooker (after adding some vegetable oil and salt) and cook for another half an hour-40 minutes.  Finally, after the the pressure is gone, I add onion, garlic, and bay leaves and boil for another 15 minutes.  This gives the beans a nice fresh flavor with flavor-packed mouthfuls of everything good in life.  Yes, it takes some time, but we make enough for five days and eat it every single day until it is gone.  And I do not complain once.  Because I (now) love beans and rice, too.

My Bean Recipe:Ingredients -

1. beans (about 1 1/2 cup)
2. 1/2 onion, chopped
3. three cloves of garlic
4. salt, much more than a pinch (maybe 2 teaspoons???)
5. two bay leaves
6. a little bit of oil
7. 3 cups of water 

Directions -

1. Sort and rinse beans.  Add to pressure cooker.  Cover with water until about knuckle-deep.
2. Boil for 15-20 min.  Add more water at end if needed.
3. Cover with lid, and cook on high until the pressure cooker starts singing.  Lower heat to medium and cook for 25 - 35 minutes. 
4. Turn off heat and let cool down so the pressure releases. 
5. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and oil, and bring back to a boil.  Boil for 15 more minutes.  (Add more salt if desired).

Viola!  Delicious (and incredibly nutritious) beans!

Cost: $1.90        Cost per serving (with rice): $0.25

Who knew eating fresh felt so good in your mouth and in your wallet?  Not to mention in your body! ;)

And the sun came out... (Arugula Salad with Oranges and Beets)

Remember when I quoted those ever-wise words of Annie?  Well, it happened.  The sun came out, both literally and figuratively.  There is sunshine everywhere today, including my soul. 

It started this morning.  I woke up with the ability to breathe again.  Yes!

Yesterday I was thinking how we so often say things like, "I will never take the ability to breathe for granted again!"  For example: I used to live on this little (and by little I mean teeny-tiny, 1/4 of a square mile in size TOTAL) island with about 15,000 people living on it.  Yes, it was a little claustrophobic at times.  But that was OK.  I am incredibly sanguine, so that didn't bother me that much.  But the showers, oh the showers...  Not only were they cold, but they were salt-water.  And sometimes, when the power went out, which really was more than "sometimes" and instead like half of the time, we had to go get buckets of said cold, salt water out of a well.  That had cockroaches crawling all over it.  In this dark basement room.  (No, I am not making this up, and no, I did not walk to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways.)  During these moments I would hear myself saying, "I will never take clean and warm running water for granted again!"  But then I returned to the States.  Sure, the first few days I was in awe at the beauty of the faucet.  It didn't take long, however, for me to forget how wonderful that actually is and now I totally take it for granted -- unless the water heater breaks.  Then I find myself remembering my little island and how this used to be the norm and I think, "HOW IN THE WORLD DID I SURVIVE COLD SHOWERS ALL THE TIME?!" 

The point is this:  I can breathe again, and I know I am going to take that for granted.  Shoot -- five hours into and I already do.  And that is OK.  I am ready to take that for granted again.  That cold is over and I can fully live again.

Sunshine.
Then, on the way to work, the sun was actually shining, and shining brightly.  It wasn't warm, but it was bright.  I slid open the sunroof, turned up my music, and tapped my toes along with the beat. 

Sunshine.

So I bring to you today a sunny side dish.  A little salad, to be exact.  The beets and oranges, when cooked, release some of their juice which is used a little olive oil and salt to create the dressing.  The arugula has its own wonderful (albeit slightly bitter) flavor.  Mix it all together and you get something light and yum.

By the way, if you don't like beets, try this anyway.  I used to think beets tasted like the ground.  Actually, I still do... but it doesn't taste bad to me anymore.  And these beets you see up there in the picture are awesome because they are already steamed and peeled and you just have to heat them up for this recipe, although they are also great cold.  This little box has six or so beets in it.  Much easier than peeling, steaming, and then cooking with the oranges.  You could also use regular beets, of course.  Either way though, use them!  They are some of nature's wonders.  And remember, it is March.  The time of sunshine is near... yesssss!

Salad from Real Simple, October 2011

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 45m (or 30 minutes if using the TJ's beets)

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound beets, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 oranges, cut into large chunks
• 6 cups baby arugula (5 ounces)

Directions

Heat oven to 450° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the beets with 3 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast until beginning to soften, 13 to 15 minutes. Add the oranges to the baking sheet and roast, tossing once, until the beets and oranges are tender, 15 to 17 minutes more. Add the arugula and toss to combine.

Cost: $4.74                   Cost Per Serving (4): $1.19

Pear & Arugula un-Flatbread (The Quest for the Perfect Flatbread, Part 1)

There's a little something that I do when I find something I really like at a restaurant:  I try to figure out what they did to make it taste so darn good.  See, I have this idea that if some cook in a restaurant can do it, so can I.  The problem is that other than the Olive Garden, most restaurants aren't willing to tell you how they do it.  (The Olive Garden, however, posts many of their recipes online, which if you ask me is quite wonderful.)  This means that if I try something that I really really REALLY want to have at home I am then on the quest to make it happen.  Which would be how I learned to make some great avgolemono soup... but that is for another post, another time.  This particular quest that I am on right now is how to make the pear and arugula flatbread from this place:

Have you tried this stuff???  This flatbread is so incredibly delicious that I cannot even explain it to you.  It is, wow... top notch.  Top notch.  But alas, there is no recipe out there for it so it is up to me to find out how to do it.

First, I played around with my toppings.  We tried pears with arugula and blue cheese broiled on toast.  It was nice, but I was missing something.  So I went back to The Cheesecake Factory, ordered myself some of that flatbread, and realized I needed caramelized onions.

That was easy.  So easy.  I had never caramelized onions before, but now I feel a whole new world is opened up to me.  I want to put caramelized onions on burgers, on fish, on everything.

My husband told me it made the house smell like In-n-Out.  That means it was a success ;)

Then I needed to find out how to make flatbread.  According some website I found via a Google search, I could make flatbread with pizza dough. 

Well. 

Maybe it worked for them, but not for me.  My flatbread, as yummy as it was, was not FLAT bread, but Puffy bread.  But that's OK... I am on the right start and I am not done yet.  I will make the perfect pear and arugula flatbread sometime soon, I promise you that.

In the meantime, I don't mind enjoying Pear and Arugula Puffy-bread and I thought you might enjoy it, too ;)

 
THIS TIME --

INGREDIENTS:
1 pack fresh pizza dough
1 pear, chopped
1 cup arugula
1/2 cup soft cheese
3T olive oil
1/2 white onion
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Follow directions for pizza dough or flat bread dough for prep. 
2. To caramelize onions, chop the onion into slices.  Cook with 1T of olive oil over medium-low heat, stirring often.  Let cook for about 30 minutes.
3. When pizza dough is ready, spread out in shape you want and spread 2T of olive oil on top.  Put all toppings on the dough and cook for 8-10 minutes on 400F.

COST:  $5.20          COST PER SERVING --
                                       As the main dish (2): $2.60
                                       As a side (4): $1.30