Mondays with Maida - Giant Ginger Cookies

Page 40 in the old book / page 71 in the new book

These truly are giant cookies. I was afraid I was making them too big, but I ended up with a couple more than the 28 that the recipe says it makes. I'd guess that each cookie has over 1/4 cup of dough. Once again, these cookies were amazing the day they were baked. They had a crunchy exterior and were soft on the inside. They are the most strongly spiced of the last several spice cookies, with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and mustard. They are beautiful mahogany-colored cookies studded with currants and, in addition to the spices, flavored with molasses and coffee.

You might be tempted to make these cookies smaller, but I think that would be a mistake. I expect the inside of the cookies would be harder or at least drier. Better to share one with someone and enjoy the cookie as it was intended.



Although these were well received at work, I was less fond of them the day after baking. The outside had softened up a bit and I think that the flavor may have intensified (is that possible?). I prefer a more mildly spiced cookie, but others in my office seemed to really enjoy these. If you like strongly spiced cookies, I guarantee you'll like these. If you serve them the day they're baked, I think most anyone would find them hard to resist.

Next week – Sunflower Coconut Cookies

Nutrition Facts

Dining with the Bloggers – February 23rd

This week Zarah and I decided to try some Asian recipes. With the exception of an occasional stir fry, I have seldom cooked Asian food at home, so this was a welcome opportunity to try something new.

I was immediately intrigued with the idea of making soy milk from scratch when I first read pinkcocoa’s IMBB 11 post. I don’t drink soy milk very often (and when I do it is of the chocolate persuasion), but I have cooked with it from time to time. Mostly, though, I was just curious to try homemade soy milk. I also wanted try pinkcocoa’s okara pancakes which are made with the ground soy (okara) that is a by-product of making soy milk. I found that pinkcocoa’s instructions for making soy milk were quite easy and I was very pleased with the results. This soy milk has a pleasant beany flavor which is unfamiliar to me, but is something I think I will grow to like. I used it in the okara pancakes and also made some chocolate pudding – both were quite good. The pancakes were moist and delicate with a sort of nutty texture that I really liked. Using okara in cookies or quick breads would add an interesting texture as well as nutrients and fiber. If you drink or cook with soy milk, do give pinkcocoa’s recipes for soy milk and okara a try!

With this week’s Asian theme in mind, I started wandering around the numerous Asian food blogs out there that are written in English (Santos’ list of Asian women’s food blogs is an excellent starting point if you are similarly inclined) and came upon Ruth’s my little cyberspot. I was exploring her recipe archive and thought her recipe for Zha Jiang Mian (Beijing noodles with thick minced beef sauce) sounded easy and yummy – a perfect weeknight dinner. I made it last night, substituting Udon noodles for the Taiwanese noodles. I had originally intended to add some chili flakes since Ruth mentioned the dish would normally include something spicy, but I forgot. Even so, I thought it was delicious. It is a hearty meat sauce flavored with hoisin sauce, sherry, ginger, onion, and garlic. I don’t know how Udon noodles compare to Taiwanese noodles, but I thought they worked well with the sauce. This is a recipe that I will definitely make again.

That’s all from here – now hop on over to Zarah’s to see what's cooking at her place.

Mondays with Maida - Sour-Cream Ginger Cookies

Page 39 in the old book / page 74 in the new book

OK, first off I have to say – these were really good cookies. They smelled really wonderful while they were baking, they had great flavor and perfect texture, and they even had ICING! But...they did cause me a little anxiety. I had the last batch in the oven and was mixing up the icing when it suddenly dawned on me…the egg white in this icing isn’t going to be cooked. It was quite late and running to the grocery store for pasteurized egg whites wasn’t an option. I was willing to eat the cookies, but I wasn’t sure if I should bring them to work. I had visions of making the evening news…”...health officials announced earlier today that the salmonella outbreak that affected 26 in suburban Maryland was traced back to a single uncooked egg white…”

After agonizing over it for a little while, I finally decided to bring the cookies in to work but to assuage my guilt I would fully disclose the potential risk associated with eating them. I sent the following email:

From: Cathy
Sent: Tue 2/15/2005 10:53 AM
To: everyone
Cc:
Subject: cookies up front - please read below...

These have uncooked egg whites in the icing – it shouldn’t be a problem for most people but there is a small risk of salmonella. Anyone who is immunocompromised (big word from Phil) shouldn’t eat these – this includes people with certain medical conditions, the elderly and anyone who’s pregnant.

Anyway… they are sour cream ginger cookies

(My friend Phil put it much more succinctly…anyone who qualified for the flu shot should not eat these cookies.)

Happily no one got sick and all the cookies were eaten. These really were very tasty cookies - they have brown sugar and molasses and are spiced with ginger and cinnamon. The icing has vanilla and a touch of butter in it and was quite good. The recipe was recently reprinted in the Seattle Times (which oddly enough, didn't mention the egg white concern), so you can try them too!

Next week – Giant Ginger Cookies

Nutrition Facts

Dining with the Bloggers - February 16th

This week Zarah and I decided to try out some ingredients we’ve never cooked with before. My first new-to-me ingredient is pomegranate molasses. Amy at Cooking with Amy has been raving about this stuff for quite some time now and had really piqued my interest. It is a reduction of pomegranate juice that is sweet and tangy and is commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. I couldn’t find any in the stores near me, so I mail ordered some (definitely NOT the cheapest way to get it!). It arrived last week and I turned immediately to Amy’s blog for some ideas on how to use it. I found her very easy recipe for Tangy Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce, which is so good I could eat it with a spoon. I broiled some boneless chicken breasts and brushed on some of the barbecue sauce near the end. That was good, but I think I enjoyed the leftovers even more…I cut up the chicken and reheated it in a little more of the sauce and served it over rice.

Looking around on the web, I found this comparison of several different brands of pomegranate molasses. Turns out the brand I bought, Sadaf, is one of the sweetest (it is made from sweet American pomegranates) and most suited to desserts. Guess I’ll have to hunt around some more for one of the other recommended brands – Cortas is highly recommended in this comparison and by Amy. I look forward to trying pomegranate molasses in some other recipes and playing with it on my own. Thanks to Amy for introducing me to this wonderful ingredient!

I’ve tasted fleur de sel before, but had never cooked with it. Over a year ago I printed a recipe from Clotilde’s Chocolate & Zucchini for Lemon and Fleur de Sel Butter Cookies. I can’t remember now if it caught my eye because I had recently purchased some fleur de sel, or if I purchased some fleur de sel because I wanted to try these cookies. Whichever it was, both the recipe and the fleur de sel languished in my kitchen for quite some time, but Valentine’s Day and our try-new-things theme brought this recipe to mind. These are delicate butter and almond cookies that have a thin sugar and lemon glaze. I was disappointed that I couldn’t detect the fleur de sel, but the cookies were very good. The recipe calls for 5 to 7 pinches of fleur de sel. I used 6 pinches and I would guess my pinches were a little stingy – next time I would definitely use more. These are rolled cookies, but the instructions are quite different. Rather than chilling the dough and then rolling it, you roll it between two sheets of parchment (I used waxed paper) and then chill it. This is a neat trick, which makes rolling them out nearly fool-proof. I used two sizes of heart cookie cutters (small and really small) and they were very cute. I presented a plate of the cookies to my parents for Valentine’s Day and brought the rest to my office. If you follow my blog, you know my coworkers have been eating a lot of my cookies lately, but that didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for these cookies – I even received one request for the recipe.

Don’t forget to stop by Zarah’s for another sweet new ingredient.

Mondays with Maida - Mountain Honey Gingersnaps

Page 38 in the old book / page 73 in the new book

I was a little disappointed in these cookies. For some reason, between the description given in the book and the list of ingredients, I had high expectations. I was hoping for a crunchier cookie, but the two I had weren't especially so (someone else said the one they had was, so the batches may have come out differently). Everyone at work seemed to like them OK, but nobody was gushing. I thought they were altogether ordinary.



In addition to ginger, these cookies are spiced with cinnamon and cloves. There's not a tremendous amount of ginger, so they don't have the punch you might expect from something called a gingersnap. The instructions said to bake them from 13 to 15 minutes, but I had them in the oven about 10 or 11 minutes. That may well have been my problem. Based on their color I assumed they were done, but I expect the additional time was necessary to achieve the crunchiness they are supposed to have.

If there weren't so many other cookies I like better (not to mention all the others yet to try) I'd say these were worth another try. If I did make them again, I would try leaving them in a little longer. If you're fond of spice cookies but prefer them on the milder side, you might be very happy with these.

Next week – Sour Cream Ginger Cookies

Nutrition Facts

Dining with the Bloggers - February 9th

When Zarah suggested that we focus on breads this week I knew immediately which recipe I wanted to try. Just before Christmas, Alberto from Il Forno posted about his recipe for flavored dinner rolls. The picture was beautiful, the rolls sounded delicious, and Alberto had what struck me as a really great idea for flavoring them – green pepper! I made them last weekend and I swear – they are the most beautiful rolls I have ever made. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, this is such an easy recipe – the mixer does all the work. The first rise is done overnight in the refrigerator. I’ve never done this before and had a few moments of doubt when I pulled the dough out of the fridge the next day (it had dried a little on top and was a little soggy on the bottom), but I shaped the rolls, left them to rise again, brushed them with an egg wash and baked them. When I pulled them out of the oven I was completely awed. They were a gorgeous shade of brown, all shiny from the egg wash, and perfectly risen. They were delicious too – poofy, eggy and (since I used green pepper) just slightly peppery. I stuck most of them in the freezer and plan to impress my parents with them when they come for dinner this weekend! Thank you Alberto!

Every so often I wish I had a recipe for a whole grain quick bread. I’ve gone looking for one a few times and come up empty each time. I went through this again last week and luckily thought to include my folder of printouts and magazine clippings in my hunt. There I found a recipe for Toaster Oat Bread that I had printed from Kelli’s blog, Culinary Epiphanies, way back in August. I checked to see what I needed from the store, but didn’t really pay close attention to the recipe until I actually started making the bread, and then I did a double-take. There is no added fat – no butter, no oil, no eggs – nada. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I went ahead with it and, guess what… it was good! The bread is surprisingly moist and the texture is much lighter than I expected. The only adjustment I think I would make next time around is to add a little more salt. Out of curiosity, I entered the recipe in my cookbook software to see how this bread weighed in for nutritional value. Figuring 16 slices to the loaf, each slice has 106 calories, less than a gram of fat, almost 2 grams of fiber, and about 4 ½ grams of protein.

If you haven’t already, stop by Zarah’s and see what goodies she’s found this week!

Mondays with Maida - Connecticut Nutmeg Hermits

Page 37 in the old book / page 71 in the new book

I love nutmeg - so I wasn't surprised that I liked these cookies so much, but I was surprised that I couldn't taste the nutmeg in them. The recipe calls for 3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and no other spices. Perhaps I was tasting the nutmeg but not recognizing it.

These are simple cookies with brown sugar, raisins and walnuts. They are cakey with a slightly crunchy exterior. That little crunch was still there the next day, too. Both the mixing and baking of these cookies were uneventful. The dough went together easily and the timing given in the recipe worked well.

I wasn't the only one that liked these - they went over well at work also. This is one I would make again. I may try using more nutmeg, but I'm also curious to try no nutmeg, just to see if I can tell the difference.

Next week – Mountain-Honey Gingersnaps

Nutrition Facts

Vintage Savory

Not long ago I was trying to get the shelf where I store my spices under control (they’re so packed in there it doesn’t take long before it gets completely topsy-turvy), when I once again came across my jar of savory. I’ve only used savory for one thing all these years – to season mashed potatoes – so I don’t go through it very fast. I’m not sure if using savory in mashed potatoes will sound strange to the rest of the world, but I grew up with savory-seasoned mashed potatoes. In fact, I must have considered it essential when I was younger, for I believe this is the first spice I ever bought. And I don’t mean just any old savory; I mean this particular jar of savory!

I realize that in this food-loving community of food bloggers, owning, not to mention using, a nearly 30 year old jar of savory (yikes – that dates me big-time!) is heresy, but I assure you that the remaining contents of that jar have not yet been reduced to sawdust. I don’t make mashed potatoes very often any more, but when I do, I still add a little of that savory and while its scent may have become muted over the years, the familiar taste and aroma are there and can still evoke powerful memories.

If I remember right, I bought this jar of savory the summer before my sophomore year of college when I first began cooking for myself. I can no longer recall that shopping trip, but because of the now yellowed price sticker which reads “our low price” (the price itself is now illegible), I know I purchased it at Memco. My little kitchen back then consisted of a hotplate, a toaster oven, and some shared space in my roommate’s small refrigerator. My pantry was the bottom drawer of my dresser, which housed not only canned goods and other food items, but my trusty Swing Away can opener (which I still have), a single pot, and a few other essentials.

So, you see, I can’t throw out this jar of savory. Perhaps twenty or so years ago it might have been possible, before it and I had lived in four homes and two states together. Now we have too much history to part ways like that. The only way now is for me to use it up … not that I’m in any hurry.

Music in My Kitchen

There’s a little meme going around. If you follow food blogs you couldn’t have missed it – it’s been popping up everywhere. I was hoping it would somehow bypass me, but Zarah tagged me earlier today. So here goes…

What is the total amount of music files on your computer?

Less then 3MB – not counting the sample music files that were on the PC when I got it. There are just three songs: the Amateur Gourmet’s “Meow Mix” to the tune of Memory (which is hysterical and makes me laugh out loud – but perhaps you have to be a cat owner to fully appreciate it), the music for the Maine state song, and (ahem) me singing the Maine state song (it’s a long story).

The CD you last bought?

I haven’t bought any for myself in years. I filled up my CD rack and stopped. Since my interests are primarily in classical and opera, it doesn’t really seem necessary to keep buying more. The last CDs I bought were for my mom for Christmas – they were Josh Groban and Cobalt Blue (Paul Spaeth).

What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?

Gosh, I don’t remember. Sadly, music is not a big a part of my life these days, though it was at one time. Maybe I need to do something about that!

Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

1. L’improvviso from Andrea Chenier – (Umberto Giordano, sung by José Carreras) this and the rest of the Three Tenors concert turned me on to opera back in 1990. It was a gradual thing, but over the course of the next couple of years I became immersed in it. I subscribed to and also became a volunteer at the Washington Opera. There I got to work in the costume studio, assist with auditions, work in the business office, and get a fantastic behind-the-scenes view of the opera world.
2. Ride On, King Jesus – (Traditional, sung by Denyce Graves) I attended a vocal competition in the early 1990’s in which Denyce Graves was competing. In an early round of the competition I had a seat just a couple rows from the stage and Ms. Graves sang this spiritual. It was a performance I’ll never forget.
3. Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Samuel Barber, sung by Dawn Upshaw) – this is somewhat arbitrary. I wanted to include something sung by Dawn Upshaw since she is another performer that made a huge impression on me when I saw her in recital. She has a beautiful, clear voice and an extremely warm presence. She sang mostly German lieder in the recital in which I saw her, but this song is on a CD I have and is one I’ve always liked. The text (from James Agee’s writing) and music go so well together and both are incredibly beautiful…“…it has become that time of evening when people sit on their porches, rocking gently and talking gently…”
4. West Side Story – (Leonard Bernstein) I know, this isn’t a song, but I can’t pick just one.
5. Yesterday – (The Beatles) I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved this song.

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

The first person that came to mind was Renee, since I miss her so badly at Shiokadelicious, but Alberto has already asked her. So begging their forgiveness in advance, here’s my list…

1. Alice – because she was one of my first friends in the food blogging world and I’d love to hear her answers.
2. Adam – because he’s so funny and I really enjoy his blog and he was such a good sport when it took me forever to get to his IMBB entry. I’m sure he will put an amusing spin on this.
3. Laura – because she leads such an interesting life – I expect her answers will be fascinating (either that or she has no time for music!)

Dining with the Bloggers - February 2nd

Zarah of Food & Thoughts and I have decided to team up and co-host Dining with the Bloggers. Each week you’ll hear from both of us about tried and true Blogger recipes. So when you finish up here, head on over to Zarah’s for the next course!

My first experience with a bean burger was some sorry excuse from the frozen foods department. I’m pretty sure I never even finished eating the contents of that package. It was quite some time before I tried another and when I did it wasn’t out of the freezer case. It was actually just a few months ago at a time when I was well into my current love affair with beans and that bean burger, another wonderful recipe from Alice, was a revelation.

Flash forward to IMBB 11 when I laid eyes on Lenn’s big (dare I say beefy?) bean burgers. Who needs hamburgers? Lenn’s Southwest Blog Burnin’ Bean Burgers are delicious – spicy, smoky, and completely satisfying. They are mixed in a bowl by hand, so you don’t need to drag out the food processor, and the mixture holds together quite well, so frying them is a breeze. I enjoyed them as leftovers as much as I did the first night. I highly recommend this recipe!

Alongside the bean burgers, I had some of Esurient’s Crash-hot Potatoes. This is almost more a technique than a recipe – partially cooked little potatoes are squooshed, brushed with oil, seasoned, and then roasted to perfection. They’re a lovely combination of soft and crispy. I’ll definitely be making these again.

Mondays with Maida - Whole-Wheat and Honey Hermits

Page 36 in the old book / page 70 in the new book

And now for something new and different…ladies and gentlemen I present the un-chocolate cookie! I actually made these two weeks ago, so I’m a little fuzzy on the details now, but these are quite good if you like dried fruit and nuts. I was worried that they wouldn’t go over well at work since I had hinted before I brought them in that the next cookies would be spice rather than chocolate. Having become accustomed to their weekly dose of chocolate, my co-workers were less than enthused at the prospect. I even received an email that said, “Forget spice”. The day I brought these in though, it seemed every time I passed the author of that email, he had a cookie in his hand. One time I passed him and even got a thumbs up!

The cookies are easy to mix up, though there are quite a few ingredients. The dough reminded me of my mother’s fruitcake batter with just enough to hold the fruit and nuts together. The cookies are loaded with currants, raisins, dates, and walnuts. In fact, they make me think that maybe back when this recipe was first published the cookies might have been considered “healthy”. In addition to the fruit and nuts, they have whole wheat flour (and no white flour), honey, raw sugar, spices, eggs, milk, and….oh yeah, a stick of butter. I had a little trouble keeping them evenly sized as I spooned them out, but these are fairly rustic looking anyway, so I didn’t worry about it much.



Warm out of the oven, these are a real treat – just barely crunchy on the outside, but warm and soft on the inside. A day later they had firmed up a bit, and the exterior crunch was gone, but they tasted great with all those spices, fruits and nuts.

A little off topic, but still on the subject of Maida…I found this 1997 Saveur article about her a little while back and printed it out. I just ran across it again and thought some of you might enjoy reading it. The author paid Maida Heatter a visit at her home and talked with her as she baked a cake. At the time the article was written she was eighty-something and was doing 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning before spending most of the day in the kitchen!

Next week – Connecticut Nutmeg Hermits

Nutrition Facts

IMBB 11 Round-up - Part IV

OK – here’s the last installment!

Sam’s N-BASH & PEGG (Navy Bean Smoked Haddock & Poached Egg) is something to behold! Sam of Becks & Posh has prepared a beautiful chowder-like dish with navy beans, smoked haddock, potatoes, onion, and peas and a perfectly formed poached egg perched on top. Sam recommends that you use a “beautiful, fresh piece of undyed smoked haddock” which apparently is quite difficult to find, but not to worry – she has provided an on-line source!

Pinkcocoa at Pinkcocoa Tabetai has made some really great looking Okara Pancakes. Okara is the ground soy that is leftover after making soy milk. Turns out it is rich in nutrients and fiber and makes a pretty mean pancake! Pinkcocoa has also created a chocolate variety for all us chocoholics. Now, you might be wondering where in the world you would ever find Okara, but in a later post, Pinkcocoa tells you how to make soy milk yourself from dried soy beans! It doesn’t look at all difficult and not only do you end up with the freshest possible soy milk, you can make yourself some of those Okara Pancakes!

After browsing through one of her cookbooks, Kelli of avoir une famille n’est pas comme un téléroman was inspired to prepare three different chilis and invite some friends over for a chili tasting party! She made Cabin Chili with Meat, Vegetable Chili, and White Chili with Chicken. According to Kelli the white chili was good and spicy and the vegetable chili was slightly sweet from the corn and sweet potatoes. Kelli served this array of chilis with salad, grilled pita and garlic bread. Sounds great!

Jessica of Su Good Eats is another first time IMBB participant with a brand new blog! Her IMBB entry and very first post features a Black-Eyed Susan Cake that is made with black-eyed peas! It’s actually loaded with wholesome ingredients including whole wheat flour, apricots, raisins, pecans, and spices. Jessica thought the cake had great texture and was nicely moist, but that the spices weren’t as pronounced as they ought to be. She has some ideas for an interesting twist on this cake that I hope she’ll report back on!

Reid of ‘Ono Kine Grinz has been eating out a lot lately, so when IMBB rolled around he thought it was the perfect occasion to fix himself a healthy vegetarian meal. His Three Bean Chili is made with garbanzo beans, black beans, red kidney beans, zucchini, Okinawan sweet potato, and onion. The contrast of the sweet potatoes and the spicy seasonings sounds really delicious. I think I’m going to having to try this one!

Over at Chronicles of a Curious Cook, Ellen has prepared some Pinto beans for us. Since IMBB sort of snuck up on her, she used the quick soak method to get her beans going, then cooked them with onion, bacon and a little chili powder. The pintos can be served as-is as a soup or side, or mash them with a little bacon grease and cook down and you’ve got some tasty refried beans! Ellen suggests spreading them on a fried tortilla and then topping it with a little lettuce, cheese, salsa and avocado for a really yummy meal!

Fatemeh of Gastronomie thought she was going to have trouble coming up with something to make for IMBB since she’s not crazy about beans. However, when she started thinking about her favorite Persian dishes, she realized an awful lot of them were made with beans! Lucky for us, as she has decided to share with us her recipe for Khoresht-e Gheymeh Bademjan, or "Eggplant and Lentil Stew". It is a beautiful, savory stew with yellow split peas, beef, onions, and little eggplants topped with crispy potato matchsticks.

Owen at Tomatilla! made two great dishes for IMBB: his own Warm French Lentil Salad and a Tarka Red Lentil Dahl from Madhur Jaffrey. The salad is a mixture of lentils de Puy, cabbage and finely chopped smoked almonds seasoned with rosemary and lemon. The dahl was prepared from a favorite Madhur Jaffrey book and is well loved in Owen’s family!

You have to take a look at Meg’s Zen Chili! Meg at Too Many Chefs prepared White Chili and Vegetarian Black Bean Chili and served them side by side in a really attractive and creative presentation. The white chili has lingots (like navy beans), black-eyed peas, turkey, a chili pepper, and crème fraîche; while the black bean chili has black beans, tomatoes, chili paste, garlic, shallots, and whiskey (!). Individually, each of the two chilis sounds amazing, but as a pair they are irresistible!

Viv of Seattle Bon Vivant was ready for a simple home cooked meal after an eight course feast the night before. The Puerto Rican Style Stewed Beans (Habichuelas Guisadas) she decided to make were just the thing – satisfying in every way! Red kidney beans in a tomato-based sauce flavored with freshly made sofrito, along with butternut squash, capers and olives – what’s not to love?

Those sweet little azuki beans put in another appearance at A La Cuisine! where Clement used them to make Fried Azuki Bean Ice Cream. He’s still perfecting his frying technique, but both the ice cream and Azuki bean sauce can stand on their own and Clement has shared both of his recipes with us. I won’t be frying ice cream anytime soon, but I can’t wait to give his azuki bean ice cream a try!

Pim of Chez Pim has brought us a simple but elegant preparation of flageolets to serve with a roasted leg of lamb. The flageolets are simmered in chicken stock with sautéed onions and garlic and then served with the reduced stock. Follow Pim’s advice and serve the flageolets right under the leg of lamb so that they’ll soak up all that great flavor!

Adam from the Amateur Gourmet made a Winter Bean Soup with cranberry beans, red kidney bean and wheat berries. He wasn’t crazy about the soup the first night and questioned whether he even liked beans. The next day the beans had softened and the flavors melded - Adam ate two bowls. Adam likes beans.

Which (finally) brings me to the last three entries, all of which are posted here on my blog: my Aunt Gail’s recipe for hummus with lots of garlic and tahini; my brother Bob’s post about making baked beans and his treasured antique bean pot (these are the beans I grew up with and they really are the best!); and lastly my Beans and Greens soup which I highly recommend!

Thank you all for participating in IMBB 11. There are so many wonderful dishes here – I really can’t wait to start trying them! By the way – I think the final count was 73 entries!

Update - 1/29/2005

From Kitchen Monkey, a belated beany breakfast - Huevos Rancheros (al Mono). Monkey attended high school in New Mexico and enjoyed Huevos Rancheros in many different restaurants, but it was just a couple of years ago when it suddenly occurred to him that he could make this favorite himself. He has made it many different ways since then, but says that the one he offers us now is the best. He sautees the black beans with fresh tomatoes, roasted garlic and freshly ground cumin and serves them up with the requisite fried eggs and tortillas, a delicious chile arbol sauce, some monteray jack cheese and a little fresh cilantro.

Update - 2/7/2005

But wait, there's more! Another belated entry from Melanie at Gastronomicon. Melanie made some Blazing Vegetarian Chili, which sounds easy, yummy, and healthy!

IMBB 11 Round-up - Part III

Without further ado…Part III!

Molly at Spicetart learned while doing a bit of research on her bean of choice that the Garbanzo is the most widely consumed legume in the world. Her response? “Right on world!” I couldn’t agree more, especially when those Garbanzos are served up in something as tasty as Molly’s Chickpea Tomato Stew with Moroccan Flavors. I’m a sucker for anything with chickpeas and spinach, but add tomatoes, raisins and some sweet and smoky spices and I’d say you’ve got a real winner!

Jeanette from Our Kitchen has brought two beany dishes to IMBB. The first is Sinigang na Pata, a sour soup with a tamarind soup base and featuring fresh ham hocks, green beans, and bok choy. The second is her Clay Pot Pork and Beans, a tempting mix of great northern beans, pork chops marinated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, caramelized onions, tomatoes, aromatic vegetables, and herbs baked in Jeanette’s beautiful sand pot. Both dishes look and sound absolutely delicious!

Shana (aka owlfish) has found yet another use for that versatile sweet red bean paste. Her lovely individual bread puddings have a layer of chunky sweet red bean paste sandwiched between the bread layers. The “puddinglets”, as Shana calls them, are flavored with a little vanilla and cinnamon and once removed from the oven are topped with some confectioner’s sugar and nutmeg. If you’re not sold already, just take a look at the photo and see how gorgeously puffed and toasty brown they are. Shana, couldn’t you spare just one?

Over at Foodgoat…something tasty every day, Roselle’s Black Bean Mushroom Chili is a tasty mix of black beans, mushrooms, tomatillas (or tomatoes and lemon juice when a snowy day inspires you to dream up clever substitutions for missing ingredients), onions, tomato paste or puree, chipotle peppers, and an assortment of spices. It will warm you and fill you up with its hearty goodness – just the thing on a cold, snowy day!

I had not visited Christina’s blog, The Thorngrove Table, before…but now that I have, I will definitely be going back! She has a fascinating discussion on the history and lore of the fava bean as well as two 15th century recipes for favas. The first is Fresh Fava Beans with Herbs and the second is Puree of Dried Young Fava Beans with Onions, Apples and Sage. Both sound like they would perfectly satisfy the modern palate.

I knew Alice at My Adventures in the Breadbox was going to love the theme of beans, but even I didn’t imagine how much she’d love it! Alice has served up a three course black bean feast! First up is a moist and chewy Black Bean Chipotle Bread, then classic Huevos Rancheros, and finally Big, Bad, Black Bean Brownies. All three offerings look delicious!

Kelli at Culinary Epiphanies says, “Say yes to lentils!”, even if her boyfriend and Monty Python beg to differ! Her answer to them might be called Italian/Middle Eastern/Greek fusion cuisine – her very own Mujadara Frittata. Mujadara, as Kelli explains, is a mixture of lentils, rice and onion. This serves as the base of the frittata, over which the beaten eggs are poured, followed by a topping of Feta cheese. She calls it crazy fusion, I call it yummy!

Alan and Jenny at Sweet & Savory have made Mung Bean Mochi for this IMBB. I love the story of how they decided what to make – sounds like one they may be recounting for years to come. Anyway, their mochi are just gorgeous. This is the third incarnation of these sweet treats in IMBB 11 and with each I have become more convinced that I must track down the ingredients for these and give them a try.

Hana at Kitchen Crusader has prepared megadarra, which goes by many names including mujadara as Kelli referred to it. Hana’s simple and elegant recipe will nourish your body and soul. The lentils and brown rice are seasoned with garlic, bay, cumin, and coriander, and then topped with caramelized onions. Serve it with yoghurt and peppermint on the side and you’ve got a meal. If you’d like a little pork with your beans, do try Hana's Pork and Beans with pinto, navy, AND great northern beans! They are baked (or simmered if your pot can’t take the heat!) together with pork neck and a sauce of tomatoes, onions, herbs and lots of garlic. What a delicious meal!

When Valentina’s hunt for a suitable bean recipe came up short, she put ingredients she had on hand to good use and threw together her very own Purple Bean and Kale Soup. The purple comes from the red cabbage used in the vegetable stock, because when your choice is between red cabbage and pickled cabbage…well, what’s wrong with purple soup anyway? Actually, the finished soup, with great northern beans and kale, looks really great – stop by MeMoiJa and see for yourself!

Zarah from Food & Thoughts managed to break away from her Playstation (hey – her exam is over and she’s on vacation!) long enough to whip up (or should I say whiz up?) some Meatless Vegetarian Meatballs. Just throw some green beans, kidney beans, red bell pepper, garlic and smoked paprika in the food processor and you’re halfway there…Zarah pan fried them and served them with some yoghurt and lemon wedges. They look so good!

Alberto of Il Forno (and father of IMBB!) has prepared an Italian classic – pasta e fagiole. But Alberto’s version is a little different, due in part to necessity and in part to Alberto’s artistry. When he couldn’t find any of the bean varieties typically used for pasta e fagiole in fresh or dried form, Alberto decided to try black eyed beans (or peas). He then took inspiration from the little black and white beans, and decided to tint half of the pasta black with squid ink. The final touch is a crispy garnish of fried pasta. Alberto said he’d “taken care of his bean creative impulses” a little while ago, but his pasta e fagiole in bianco e nero con tria showcases yet more of Alberto’s creativity!

I really hope to wrap this up for good tomorrow night. Thank you all for being so patient with me. Also, I realized today that when I changed the title on the round-up, I changed the permalink as well. I know there are a couple of sites that have links to the IMBB round-up, so I’m posting parts III and IV separately and will modify the earlier post to include links to the later parts. Good night!

IMBB 11 Round-up - Parts I & II

It is finally here! The emails started even earlier than I thought they would, with the first two waiting for me Friday evening when I got home from work. With a big snow storm forecast for Saturday, I was scurrying around that evening and early Saturday to get my errands done and lay in provisions for a cozy weekend at home. But by mid-day on Saturday, with snow falling outside, I settled in to read the early entries for IMBB 11. Wasn’t this the perfect weekend for beans?

The first trickle of email on Friday and Saturday was merely a hint of the onslaught to come! By Sunday afternoon, the deluge was in full swing and I felt like Lucy in the candy factory, reading and summarizing one for every two or three that came in. So here they all are in order of arrival…

The first email was from Lynn of To Short Term Memories, who was headed off for a ski weekend. Lynn made Mame Daifuku, a Japanese sweet dumpling made with sticky rice dough, studded with peas (or beans) and filled with red bean paste. They’re gorgeous and sound delicious – I’ve got to find a source for sticky rice flour!

From Laura at Cucina Testa Rosa we have a warm and hearty soup for these cold days - her grandmother’s Pasta “Fazool”. Loaded with Parmesan cheese, pasta, and Great Northern beans, it sounds like true comfort food. Can’t wait to try it!

When I announced IMBB 11, I said there were no restrictions on the form of beans used – they could be dried, canned, in the pod, sprouted, etc. At that time I never dreamed there was a dish that used bean leaves – but there is and Karen of The Pilgrim’s Pots and Pans has brought it to us. It is a Philippine dish made in her town called Tipé Câmangyáng. In addition to the beans themselves and the bean leaves, it also has pork, shrimp, onions and garlic. It sounds and looks delicious! Karen also has a very interesting post that tries to sort out some of the confusion arising from the various names we give beans in different parts of the world.

I tend to forget that when it is at its coldest here, it may be a blazing summer day in another part of the world. Niki from Esurientes – The Comfort Zone reminds us that beans aren’t just for cold days! She has prepared Summer Clams ‘n’ Beans with baby clams, cannellini beans and mint and enjoyed it with her mom and a beautiful Melbourne summer sunset. It is a beautiful dish and tempts me to give clams a try…

Nupur prepared Pan-Fried Sprouted Lentils, an Indian dish traditionally served with rice and dal. In addition to the sprouted lentils, it has onion, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, and an assortment of spices. In addition, Nupur has provided some tips on an easy way to sprout lentils. It looks incredible and I’m going to have to add it to the line-up of things to try!

I have not had pea soup since I was a kid, and at that time it was something I very much disliked (so much so that when cleaning up after dinner, I would try to get the ham bone into the trash before my mom remembered to tell me to save it). I am certain now that I would really enjoy it, but just haven’t gotten around to trying it again. Christine from I like to do stuff has made Split Pea Soup with Ham and has convinced me that I must try it again…and soon! Not only does her soup sound delicious, her method of making it in a crockpot sounds incredibly easy. Unfortunately, there was a little incident…but Christine will have to tell you about that!

Elsa at macbebekin decided to recreate the Spicy Thai Peanut and Black Bean Chili that she recently enjoyed at a nearby sandwich joint. Her efforts paid off and her Thai Peanut and Black Bean Soup sounds spicy, rich and just plain wonderful. She reminds me too that peanuts are also legumes – I hadn’t considered that someone could have submitted a peanut butter sandwich as an IMBB 11 entry!

Gillian of The Queen of Tarts whipped up a Black Bean Soup for this IMBB, her first. She enjoyed her soup (which sounds delicious and evidently was) with some corn muffins.

Maureen from Hungry Mouth is also participating in IMBB for the first time and chose to recreate a dish she encountered during her travels in Greece. It is Gigantes Plaki – a mixture of gigantes, onion, garlic and tomatoes and various herbs and spices that is usually served as an appetizer. Check out Maureen’s post for what looks to be a delicious recipe – also follow the link to see some wonderful pictures and stories of her travels in Greece.

Beans aren’t normally thought of as the makings of dessert, but Santos’ strong suit is definitely her beautiful and elegant sweets (not to mention her beautiful and elegant photos of said sweets!). For this IMBB she has brought us two varieties of daifuku – Strawberry and Persimmon Daifuku. For each the fruit is filled or surrounded with a chunky and sweet azuki bean paste and then wrapped in sticky rice dough. They look amazing and it is worth a trip to the scent of green bananas just to gaze at them!

Dagmar of A Cat In The Kitchen is still recuperating financially from a recent trip to the Maldives and so managed to put together a delicious meal that is filling and comforting from ingredients she already had on hand. She made Red Lentil Soup and Sesame Crescent Rolls. Dagmar may have tired of this soup for the time being, but I suspect many of us will be enjoying it in the very near future!

Over in Germany, Petra of Chili und Ciabatta has prepared Green Lentil Salad with Balsamico and Pumpkin Seed Oil. It is a warm salad of green Puy lentils, onion, garlic and herbs, and little bits of carrot, leek, celery, and scallion. It is dressed with balsamic vinegar and pumpkin seed oil. It sounds (and looks) so good! It is garnished with sprigs of chervil from Petra’s own garden that were picked from under the snow!

Rachel at brown bread ice cream in her first IMBB has given us not just a fantastic little cake, but a wonderful ode to the virtues of soy – no, not its healthy qualities, its YUMMY qualities! She was browsing in a book store and saw a tasty recipe for Soufflé Cheese Cake. Once home, she used the memorized recipe as a starting point, but then completely overhauled it. The result is her exquisite little Fuwa Fuwa Soy Milk Cakey. Another must try!

Anne at Anne’s Food doesn’t like most beans (though I’ll bet she’ll soften her stance after she reads all these IMBB entries!), but did find one bean in Spain that she thought was lovely. The beans she used in her Gorgonzola Risotto with peas, mushrooms and broad beans traveled all the way from Spain, courtesy of her dad, and have been waiting in her freezer for a special occasion like IMBB. She put them to good use in her delicious risotto, which I’m sure was well received by her lucky guests!

Mia at Nosh made not one, but two bean soups. Actually, the word “soup” almost seems too pedestrian to describe her first submission – Potage St. Cloud, a puree of fresh peas, onion, potatoes, parsnip, and carrots seasoned with curry and richened with half and half. Mia’s second offering is Coconut Bean Soup, another beautiful soup with navy beans, red bell pepper, tomatoes, curry, and coconut milk. Both look delicious and either would be the perfect antidote to a cold winter day!

In Paris, Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini found a very special bean on which to base her creation. It is the Tarbais bean, grown only in Tarbes and the only bean to be protected by a Label Rouge and regional appellation. Clotilde’s Salade Tiède de Haricots Tarbais à l’Huile de Noix is a simple warm salad that allows the star ingredient to shine. The delicate Tarbais beans are complemented by peppery arugula and dressed with a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, walnut oil and mustard. It sounds amazing!

From snowy Wisconsin, Irene of Cuisine Capers brings us a warm and hearty Weisse Bohnen Eintopfen or White Bean One Pot Casserole. This is comfort food of the best kind with white beans, smoked Polish sausage, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and celery and served with rye bread and cheese on the side. It looks and sounds delicious!

Annalyn of Ajay’s writings on the wall brings us her very own Beanie Burgers. Her recipe got its start in a Filipino cookbook, but she improvised a bit and came up with a tasty burger of white kidney beans, potatoes, tuna, celery, carrot, onion, and more. They sound delicious and are, no doubt, good for you too!

Charlotte of Love and Cooking, is in northern California where the first hint of spring is apparently a good price on asparagus! Inspired by a dish served in her favorite vegetarian restaurant, Charlotte put together her own take on Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce. Served over rice, Charlotte’s creation sounds like something to be enjoyed any time of year!

Barrett at Too Many Chefs has come up with a stunning Mexican Black Bean Tart with Cornmeal Crust. I must make this, but I’d rather have it waiting for me downstairs. Right now. Barrett has very helpfully provided some tips on substitutions should you have trouble getting a hold of Chihuahua cheese or Anaheim peppers. He has also suggested a rather brilliant accompaniment…Margaritas!

I’ve always heard that cassoulet was a lot of work, but after reading Tom’s excellent (illustrated) step by step discussion of the two day process, I know it’s a lot of work! I’m sure the lucky souls that were able to share his masterpiece with him would say it was worth the effort! If you haven’t already done so, stop by Butter Pig and judge for yourself.

Babe of Babe in the City – KL has brought us another bean dessert – Red and Kidney Bean Sweet Soup. It is a beautiful mixture of red beans, kidney beans, and sago pearls in a sweet broth that can be served hot or cold. According to Babe, this is easy to make and a favorite in her house!

Derrick of An Obsession with Food, like his friend Tom, also decided to tackle a cassoulet. With his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, Derrick also delves into the origin of the dish and pokes a little fun at the labor intensive process. Despite all the funning, though, Derrick produced a delicious cassoulet, which he served on a bed of braised chard. Not content with a single Herculean culinary feat, Derrick also made an eye-dazzling dessert – with beans! His Black Bean Tuiles are ever-so-thin wafers made with “black bean essence” that are sandwiched with a sweetened cream cheese mixture and topped off with several tasty garnishes. Altogether, a couple of amazing accomplishments!

Like Charlotte, Ronald over at loveSicily also has spring on his mind. He has made a warm Butter and Green Bean Tuna Salad that is dressed with a vinaigrette and served cradled in a frittatina bowl. Both the salad and frittatina are seasoned with lemon thyme and the whole ensemble is garnished with sliced red onion and sprigs of lemon thyme. It’s a beautiful presentation and looks really delicious!

Next up is another cassoulet, but this one is different. Stephanie of Half Baked brings us her Quick Cassoulet made with great northern beans, chicken thighs, and Italian sausage. This may not be the traditional cassoulet, but it sounds delicious nonetheless!

You know, as I write this it is way past my dinner time and you guys are really killing me! Here’s another bean burger that sounds oh so good. Lenn from LENNDEVOURS presents his very aptly named Southwest Blog Burnin’ Burgers. Made with small red beans, corn, onion and breadcrumbs and spiced with jalapeno pepper, chipotle chili powder and Spanish smoked paprika, they look like they would really hit the spot!

Shawn from Everything And/But Nothing prepared an All-American Crockpot Chili for this IMBB and sent along a few lagniappes as well! Her chili sounds delicious with spicy sausage, ground sirloin, onions, peppers, tomatoes and herbs and spices galore. Best of all you throw it all in the pot early in the day and it cooks long and slow so you can savor the aroma all day. Shawn prepared some Stewed Black-Eyed Peas for New Year’s, which also sound yummy, and has links to several other recipes in her post.

You’d think that falafel would be terribly healthy, but the truth is they’re usually fried and have quite a different reputation. In fact, someone I know once referred to them as a vegetarian’s cheeseburger. Nicole from baking sheet recognized this and decided to remedy the situation by baking her falafel. Her Oven Baked Falafel look scrumptious and browned beautifully in the oven despite the fact that they have practically no fat. With “handfuls” of parsley and cilantro, they have a lovely green hue and, I expect, great flavor!

Linda from At Our Table prepared a lovely White Bean Risotto with great northern beans, Arborio rice, Asiago cheese, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs. Linda’s no fuss approach appears to yield fantastic results – the risotto looks rich, creamy and absolutely delicious!

Requia of Chez Requia made a New Year’s resolution to participate in the next IMBB! So even though she has been terribly busy lately, she managed to find time to make a beautiful dish of Rice and Brown Lentils with Sesame and Parsley. It looks like a snap to make and with its mixture of colors and textures should be quite yummy!

Stay tuned – lots more to come! If you don’t see your entry here, please don’t worry – I have 23 more entries, not including the ones posted on my blog. Oh my gosh – my GMail notify is dinging at me again – make that 24!

P.S. - Mondays with Maida has been postponed - I hope to get it posted later in the week (if I ever finish this round-up!)


Part II

I’m well rested and ready to dig into some more beany delights. Are you ready? OK then, off we go…

First stop is Moira’s brand new food blog, Who Wants Seconds? For her first IMBB Moira has prepared a delightful salad with not one, but two beans! Her Puy Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese also includes green beans, carrots, red onion, celery, and cilantro and is dressed with toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar. A light but completely satisfying meal for those of us who may have over-indulged a bit during the holiday season!

Amy of Cooking with Amy asks, “Do you ever make impulse purchases?” I’m willing to bet that not only would most of us have to answer yes, but that many of us would have fallen for those gorgeous, jewel-like black Beluga lentils just as Amy did. IMBB gave Amy the perfect excuse to break open the package and create a new soup, her own Beluga Beauty Soup. This medley of lentils, sweet bell pepper, onion and garlic spiced with garam masala, ginger and a little cayenne is the only excuse you need to find some black Beluga lentils and make a little impulse purchase of your own!

Jennifer at The Domestic Goddess has made a soup to bring a little sunshine to even the coldest day. It is Creamy Chickpea Soup, or as her husband refers to it, “Liquid Falafel”. With chickpeas, tahini, chicken stock, carrots, onion, cumin, a touch of this, and a touch of that, this delicious soup will warm you from the inside out and probably leave you humming too!

For this IMBB, Debbie of words to eat by decided to try something new – farro, an Italian wheat-like grain. She gathered ideas from a number of recipes and then produced her own scrumptious Farro and White Bean Soup with Escarole. This is a hearty and comforting soup with a silken broth, soft beans, sweet chunks of vegetables, and chewy nuggets of farro. Sounds like the perfect thing to see you through a cold winter day…or even a blizzard!

Donna over at There’s a Chef in My Kitchen has come up with a new twist on hummus, Hummus Spiked with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions. This was the perfect thing for her afternoon football party with a garnish of sun dried tomatoes and some kettle potato chips alongside for dipping. Donna says that its combination of earthiness, saltiness and sweetness are irresistible…even to those (like me) that are not so fond of blue cheese. With all those other great ingredients, I think I just might believe her!

Ella at The Devon Dumpling is another IMBB first-timer. Having just seen Supersize Me, Ella was inspired to create a healthy Big Mac…a Big Mac Falafel! With chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, and even a special sauce, these “burgers” are bound to please! If you’re not convinced, just take a look at the photo…McDonalds can’t possibly compete!

Kate at Accidental Hedonist has brought us beans for breakfast! Her Huevos Motuleños combine black beans, ham, eggs, and peas on a corn tortilla and the whole thing is topped with a yummy sounding tomato habanero sauce. What a way to start the day!

If you’ve made a resolution to watch what you eat in the new year, then you should head over to Alice’s blog, Tea Time, and give her Chicken Chowder a try. Alice’s chowder, which is based on a Weight Watchers recipe, is loaded with chicken, cannellini beans, potatoes, carrots, celery, green onions, tomatoes and chiles, and won’t leave you feeling the least bit deprived!

Carolyn at 18C Cuisine has brought us another taste of living history with her recipe for Cassoulet – French Baked Beans. Under the fragile crust formed by a long slow cook in an earthen pot you’ll find the tasty beans together with confit, lamb, sausage, carrots, and onions. Mmmm….

Winnie, one of the bloggers at Hodge Podge Kitchen, decided to give some new ingredients a try for this IMBB. She recreated a favorite dessert from Hong Kong called “Red-White” which is a mixture of sweet red bean soup and sweet tofu. Winnie managed to find all the necessary ingredients at a nearby Asian grocery, and includes a helpful photo of them in her post. Her soup is composed of adzuki beans, fresh lotus seeds, fresh lily bulbs, dried tangerine peel and rock sugar and is served overtop the sweet tofu. It is a warm and comforting sweet to end the day with!

Meriko, one of the bloggers at gastronome, has prepared a Nacho Soup that sounds amazing! It is a black bean soup with shredded chicken topped with a shallot relish, but that description only begins to tell the story… The soup has caramelized onions and Grand Marnier and is seasoned with coriander, cumin and chipotle. The relish is a mixture of shallots, ginger, lime, and cilantro. Served with tortilla chips (which Meriko has also provided instructions for), how could this soup not bring utter happiness to anyone lucky enough to partake of it?

From far away in the UK, Jeanne, of Cook Sister!, shares with us some fond memories of home (South Africa) and her family. One dish that she turns to for comfort when feeling especially homesick is Boereboontjies, a savory mix of green beans, potatoes and onions that her brother years ago dubbed “hot coleslaw”. For this IMBB Jeanne has paired her old friend with a new one – Sausage and Bean Casserole with Herb Dumplings, or as Jeanne refers to it, pauper’s cassoulet. The casserole, with its “goopy” sauce and buttery dumplings, sounds delicious…but first I think I’d like some hot coleslaw!

llizard of blog from OUR kitchen had a little trouble getting his/her dinner plans coordinated with IMBB but did offer two recipes for bean dishes that they might have had with dinner. The first is a refried bean casserole that apparently can double as an appetizer if served with chips. The second is a simple and elegant preparation of white beans. Both sound delicious!

Audrey at Stirring the Pot prepared a lovely pinto bean dip with sun dried tomatoes and served it on polenta squares. It sounds really yummy and her plans for the leftovers – bean dip on toasted polenta – sound equally tantalizing!

Celia of English Patis prepared Ginataang Totong, or Glutinous Rice Coconut Soup with Toasted Mung Beans from her native Phillipines. This is what Celia calls a “between meal meal”! It looks to be a deliciously sweet treat with a tempting mix of textures – crunchy toasted mung beans, soft rice, and creamy coconut milk. Yum!

I think it’s time to call it a night. I’m so sorry for dragging this out… I’ve sent an email to everyone that I haven’t yet included in the round-up (I think). If you don’t see your entry here and haven’t heard from me, send me another note – I don’t want to leave anyone out! I think there are a total of 72 entries – can you believe it? There are so many IMBB first-timers too – it’s really wonderful. Stay tuned for part III!


Part III

All the links to twelve more delicious IMBB 11 entries are here!


Part IV

Links to all the rest are here!

IMBB 11 - Beans and Greens Soup Revisited

Back in June, shortly after I started this blog, I made a soup from leftover beans that I really enjoyed. However, because of the time involved in making the beans, I had not gotten around to making the soup again. For IMBB 11, I decided that I would recreate this soup using canned beans so I could have it whenever the urge strikes!

When I originally came up with the bean recipe, I had in mind the traditional Tuscan dish in which white beans are cooked in a flask with olive oil and sage and also Boston baked beans (more familiar to me) in which white beans are baked with salt pork, molasses and spices in a bean pot. I wound up with a mixture of cannellini beans, olive oil, pancetta, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and sage baked in a bean pot. The beans filled the house with a heavenly aroma, tasted great, but for some reason were very mushy. It turned out, though, that they were easily transformed into a fantastic soup with the simple additions of chicken stock and greens.



My choice of greens for the soup also reflected the Tuscan slant I had chosen. Dinosaur kale is either the same as or similar to Tuscan kale or cavolo nero. (I’m a little confused on this point, as I’ve seen it characterized both ways.) It seems to be available just about year-round at my local Whole Foods.

To make the soup using canned beans, I sautéed the onions, garlic, pancetta and tomatoes in a generous amount of olive oil, then added the beans, chicken stock and sage and simmered it all for about half an hour. At that point I removed some of the beans and pureed the rest using an immersion blender. Finally, I returned the reserved beans to the pot along with the kale and simmered it for a few more minutes. I was thrilled with the result – it was delicious and took less than an hour! The soup as I made it was quite brothy but with body. You could easily make a thicker soup by pureeing more of the beans. The kale was still a little al dente (can you say that about kale?) and I loved it that way. When I tasted the soup before adding the kale, I was afraid I had over-salted it, however I found the kale balanced it out somehow. Tasting the finished soup, I thought it was perfectly seasoned. The leftover soup kept well and was easily reheated in the microwave.

I don’t have very many original recipes under my belt and fewer still that I would make over and over again, but this is definitely one that fits the latter category. I must say I’m mighty pleased with it!!

Beans and Greens Soup 2

about 6 servings

1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ounces pancetta, diced (you could substitute regular bacon)
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice (I used the type with no added salt)
4 ½ cups cooked cannellini beans (3 15 ½ oz cans rinsed and drained)
5 large sage leaves, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (I used Whole Foods 365 Brand in the box)
½ teaspoon salt (adjust as necessary depending on the saltiness of your tomatoes and stock)
1 bunch dinosaur kale - trim out heavy stems and slice crosswise into ¼-inch slices
black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes (don’t brown it). Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent – another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes with the juice and cook for a few more minutes. Add the beans, stock, sage, and salt. Simmer about half an hour. Using a strainer or holey spoon, remove about 1 ½ cups of beans. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, then return the reserved beans to the pot and add the kale. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

IMBB 11 - Bob's Boston Baked Beans

The following is my brother Bob's contribution to IMBB 11 ...

This recipe is the one my mother used almost every Saturday while we were growing up in the sixties and seventies. Typically accompanied by hot dogs (or, on special occasions, baked ham) and a carrot and pineapple lemon jello salad (!), baked beans were an integral part of my childhood food experience. They cooked all day long after my mother put them into the oven around eight or nine in the morning. By late morning and for the remainder of the afternoon until dinner the downstairs of the house smelled of their rich aroma. We ate them with some ketchup on top. The salt pork was set on the table in a small dish with a butter knife and a few slices of white bread for spreading (amazingly delicious and, I am sure, tremendously cardiotoxic.).




In recent years I have rediscovered this recipe and make it in my beautiful bean pot I found in a Maine antique store. It’s a wonderful thing to make when you know you are going to be at home for the day or only out for short jaunts. I have stuck to 250 degrees as the baking temperature and find they generally don’t need any added water until after about four hours. I generally haven’t bothered to take off the lid at the end either (you don’t eat the pork rind anyway, or I don’t at least). The water certainly needn’t be all evaporated either. The rich brown sauce the beans swim in is delicious. They keep for at least a couple weeks as leftovers, but you may need to add water. It makes for a salty meal and you wake up parched, but it’s worth it!

I recently asked her which relative this recipe came from and to my surprise she told me she got it from the package of beans! Subsequently, I discovered I had in my possession the actual cut out from the box. But, unfortunately, there are no identifying marks on the small square of cardboard to assign credit.

With respect to the ingredients, considering the age of the recipe and sticking with my mother’s routine, I use regular granular salt (who knew about Kosher salt back then?) and even use the powdery ground pepper you get in a small rectangular can and cannot notice a problem not having used “fresh ground.”

There are numerous such baked bean recipes with some variations, some requiring only four hours at about 350 degrees, but the day long process and their aroma filling the house are as important to me as the final product.

In the end the more you eat, the better you’ll feel. So eat beans for every meal! Especially on Saturday.


Boston (aka New England) Baked Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound dried small white beans
½# fat salt pork
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Hot water (approx 2 cups)

Inspect the beans, wash, cover with cold water and soak overnight. In the morning drain, cover with fresh water and parboil 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place beans in a New England style bean pot (or covered casserole, 2 ½ to 3 qts) and pour mixture of the above ingredients (except pork) over them. Place pork into bean pot so that only rind is exposed. Pour additional water if necessary over beans to cover. Put on lid and place in slow oven 250-300 F. Bake about 8 hours. Once every 2 hrs add water if necessary to just cover. Towards the last of the cooking the water should be well absorbed. For the last ½ hour remove the lid that the rind may become brown and crisp. Serves 8.

IMBB 11 - Gail's Hummus

The following is my Aunt Gail's contribution to IMBB 11 ...

Hi Cathy---just a quick note to send you my "bean" recipe. This was taught to me by my friend Lorraine whose parents were Lebanese and was my first introduction to Middle Eastern cuisine, which I've come to really enjoy.


Hummus

One can chick peas, drained, save liquid
3 (or more) cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed butter)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
About 2 Tbsp liquid from peas

Put peas, garlic, salt and liquid from peas in food processor. Process till smooth, adding more liquid to achieve the consistency desired. Add tahini and lemon juice and process until smooth.
I like this used as a dip for baby carrots and celery, or as a spread on pita bread. It's so much better than purchased hummus!

IMBB 11 - Nupur's Pan-fried Sprouted Lentils

The following IMBB 11 entry was emailed to me by Nupur ...

Hi, Being a veggie, I LOVE beans of all types! For this IMBB I made"Pan-fried Sprouted Lentils". It's a tasty and easy recipe, takes about 10-15 minutes to put together. I started by sauteeing onions, ginger and garlic in some oil in a pan. To this I added turmeric, chili powder, cumin and coriander powder and seasoned it with salt. After frying the spices for a minute, I added sprouted lentils (see note), sauteed the lentils in the spices for 2 minutes, then added 1/4 cup of water and covered the pan for 7-8 minutes till the lentils were steamed and tender. Finally I tossed in some lemon juice and minced cilantro. This tastes great with some tomato, cucumber and whipped yogurt as a salad; or wrapped into a pita; though traditionally in India it is eaten with rice and "dal".

A note on sprouting lentils: I am baffled by all the fancy contraptions sold to sprout beans. I make sprouted week every week using two very hi-tech tools: a colander and a clean cotton cloth! I start by soaking a cup of beans or lentils (any kind that is sold whole will do) overnight. Then drain out the water and rinse the soaked beans several times. I place the cloth into the colander and then the beans on the cloth, and fold the edges of the cloth over the beans. I keep the beans moist by running water over the colander twice a day. In 2-3 days, you have sprouted beans! A cup of dry beans makes about 3 cups of sprouted beans.

Don't Forget!

IMBB 11 is tomorrow! So if you haven't already started on your beany masterpiece, hop to it! Once you've posted, send me an email with a link. Check back here on Monday for the round-up.

Dining with the Bloggers - January 19th

Too Many Chefs used to run a weekly feature called Posts of the Week which I really looked forward to. Of course part of the enjoyment was checking to see if my favorites were among their choices (or maybe, just perhaps, one of my own...), but the best part was being introduced to blogs I knew little if anything about. In this ever expanding world of food blogs, you need all the help you can get keeping up!

I thought I’d try my hand at a weekly feature that will highlight recipes that I’ve tried and liked from other blogs. These will not necessarily be posts from the current week – not only because I like to explore the archives of blogs that are new to me, but because I’m often a little pokey in getting around to preparing the recipes I print out. So, without further ado, the first edition of Dining with the Bloggers…

First up is a wonderful Carrot Habanero Soup that Alice of My Adventures in the Breadbox found in the current issue of Cooking Light. I can always count on Alice for great bean recipes, but here’s one with no beans. I’ve been a little timid about cooking with habanero peppers because of their reputation for being so hot. This soup uses a single habanero pepper which is pierced and thrown in whole. It is then removed before serving, giving the soup the perfect amount of heat. It’s also loaded with all sorts of vegetables – carrots, sweet potatoes, leeks, and onions – so you can’t help but feel virtuous when you eat it! Best of all, it really is a great-tasting soup.

People often comment on incidents of synchronicity among food bloggers, where two or more bloggers turn there attention to the same topic at nearly the same time. It happened again when both Linda of At Our Table and Debbie of Words to Eat By posted about a delicious and healthy snack – roasted chickpeas. I happened on Linda’s post first, which included a recipe for Baked Chickpeas with Herbs. I was curious but had some doubts when I first saw the recipe. After I tried them, though, I was hooked. They are nicely crunchy, but you won't break a tooth on them. The seasoning in Linda's recipe is really wonderful - garlic powder, cayenne, oregano and salt. I kept telling a coworker about them and promised repeatedly to bring some in for her to try. I um, never did bring her any… Maybe when I get around to trying Debbie’s recipe for Curry Roasted Chickpeas I’ll bring her some. Maybe.