Black Bean Brownies (from Veganuary)

This is the kind of recipe that you avoid for many months. You may see it cross your Facebook page, or you may read about it on a strange vegetarian blog (like this one), or you may even see it at your workplace coffee station. But you avoid. You can’t quite seem to bring the dreaded black bean concoction to your lips.

Because I was the brave one in the room and tried these, you may follow my lead and tamp down your fear! What’s it gonna cost you? A can of beans.

Warning: these brownies are not very sweet, which in my opinion is a bonus.

Warning: these brownies are totally and completely chocolatey

Warning: these brownies are moist, chewy, dense, rich, satisfying, ‘healthy’, and cheap to make

Warning: these brownies could become your new favorite thing

Here’s what you need:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

½ avocado

1 C brown sugar

3 T cocoa powder

½ C walnuts – divided

1 t baking soda

1 t vanilla

1 T coconut oil (plus more for greasing the muffin tin)

Large pinch of salt

2/3 C dark chocolate chips (plus more for garnish)

Here’s what you do:

Prepare a muffin tin by greasing it with coconut oil. This will help the brownies come out perfectly.

Place beans, avocado, sugar, cocoa, half the walnuts (1/4 C), baking soda, vanilla, coconut oil, and salt in a food processor and mix very well.

Melt the 2/3 C chocolate chips in a double boiler until soft (don’t scorch them) and add the chocolate to the bean mixture.  Mix well.

Evenly distribute the batter into prepared muffin tins.

Garnish with more chocolate and the remaining ¼ C walnuts.

Bake 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Cool them completely in the fridge before removing. Remove them carefully because they are soft in the middle.

Delicious!

Orange Black Bean Taquitos and Chickpea Avocado Salad (Forks Over Knives)

It’s hard to say when my eating preferences changed. It’s hard to say why they changed. As I have  mentioned before, I do know there were a few events all occurring at once, 4 ½ years ago, that motivated me to try eating a vegan diet. My daughter was living with a vegan at the time, and we were super curious about her food. She shared her recipe for potato tacos with roasted jalapeno crema, and we were in love.

Also, at that same time, some health issues arose in the family- some small, some large – but enough to be a wake-up call regarding our health. Less cholesterol and more green stuff.

Thirdly, my blog was in need of a boost, and participating in Vegan Month of Food (the VeganMoFo….which I loved then and still love to this day) seemed like the right amount of challenge. One month of vegan meals. What could happen?

Well, what happened was that I became vegan.

Along the way, I was inspired by books and podcasts and blogs and cookbooks and one movie in particular. It’s called “Forks Over Knives” and if you have not viewed it, I highly encourage you to check it out. It’s not a scary ‘animal rights’ film or a film that makes you feel guilty for eating cheese. It’s simply an explanation of why eating animal foods is harmful to our health. It changed my life….yes, a movie changed my life.

Here are two recipes from the Forks Over Knives website. I’m positive they won’t mind me sharing them with you.

Orange Black Bean Taquitos (original recipe HERE)

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t cumin seeds, toasted and ground

2 chiptole peppers in adobo sauce, minced

Zest and juice of two oranges

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Salt

Corn tortillas

Toppings (guacamole, salsa, spicy sour cream, etc. )

Sauté the onions in a tiny bit of water for a few minutes until they begin to soften and brown. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time to keep them from sticking. Add the garlic and continue to cook. Add the cumin, peppers, orange zest and juice, and the black beans.

Salt to taste and puree in a food processor. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth.

Soften the tortillas in a dry, hot, non-stick pan and spoon about 2-3 T of the bean mixture in each tortilla. Roll them up and brown them in a hot, non-stick pan until they are toasted.

Chickpea Avocado Salad (original recipe HERE)

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small red onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a press ( I usually omit raw garlic, as I do in this recipe)

Zest of 1 lime and juice of 4 limes

1 jalapeno pepper, seed and veins removed for less heat

½ C chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

1 avocado, coarsely chopped

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Add the avocado carefully just before serving. 

Stuffed Baked Potato with Cashew Queso

Bake a potato. Add some of Isa Chandra’s Cashew Queso. Sprinkle generously with black beans, avocado and cilantro. Serve with pride.

Here’s what you need for Isa’s Cashew Queso:

1 C raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight

2 C vegetable broth

2 T white miso

2 T cornstarch

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic

2 t cumin

1 t ground ancho pepper (I used smoked paprika instead)

2 T nutritional yeast (optional)

½ t salt

1 T lemon juice

Here’s what you do:

Drain the cashews and place the nuts in a high speed blender or food processor. Add the vegetable broth, miso, and cornstarch. Sauté the onion and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes. Add the cooked veg to the blender. Add the seasonings and nutritional yeast to the blender. (save the lemon juice till the very end.) Blend on high until smooth and glossy. Pour into a sauce pan and heat and stir until thickened and bubbly – being careful not to scorch the bottom. At the last minute, stir in the lemon juice.

This was super on the baked potato and also great on sandwiches and burritos all week. Perfect, perfect, perfect for dipping. Think ‘crock- pot- and-Super -Bowl- party- good’. 

Moros y Cristianos

There must be as many recipes for beans and rice on this planet as there are abuelitas. I can picture her now, heading home down a narrow, unpaved road in a small pueblo, a dog running nearby; carrying groceries in a reused plastic bag. Scolding children along her way, perhaps. Greeting neighbors.  

She has just come from church where she has lit candles and prayed. This women is the backbone of her community. She holds her family together – through strength, prayer, presence and yes, through food.

I have met this woman and I love her. She defines ‘salt of the earth’ and epitomizes what it means to serve one another. She is modest; she is frugal; she is wise.  

Beans and rice. The most humble of foods.

Beans and rice. Served at every Cuban table and throughout the Latin world.

Beans and rice.  A dish whose name bears centuries of history and tradition.

Here’s what you need: (This make enough to feed a huge crowd! Cut the recipe in half to fill a huge bowl like the one pictured above.)

1 ½ C dried black beans

¼ C olive oil

2 ½ C chopped green pepper (or red pepper)

2 ½ C chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 t cumin

1 t oregano

2 bay leaves

3 T white vinegar

2 T tomato paste

2 t salt

 1 t black pepper

4 ½ C vegetable or chicken stock (the best quality)

3 C long grain white rice

Here’s what you do:

Cover the dry beans with 4 cups of water in a 2 quart pan. Do not add salt at this point. Bring to a full boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and allow to sit for one hour.

After an hour, drain and rinse the beans. Cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until tender – about 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot or Dutch oven sauté the peppers and onions in the olive oil until tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the spices, tomato paste, vinegar and beans. Stir gently and cook for a few minutes. Do not add salt at this point.

Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Add the rice to the pot. Pour the stock over the beans and rice. Stir, bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for about 20 minutes – or until the rice is fully cooked.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh limes, cilantro, avocado, tortillas and love. 

(printable recipe)

Black Bean, Quinoa and Sweet Potato Croquettes with Pumpkin Seed Chipotle Cream

(from Let Them Eat Vegan by Dreena Burton, pg 146)

Anyone out there interested in participating in the Vegan Month of Food 2013?  (VeganMoFo) The fun starts in September. You can see my VeganMoFo2012 posts by clicking here. 

I keep dreaming of having a vegan dinner party. You may recall that I almost pulled it off for a party on St. Patrick’s Day, but I gave in to fear and served the classic Irish menu: Corned Beef. Don’t get me wrong, it was great and my guests were pleased, but I think I’m ready to ‘go public’ with my new vegan diet and host a vegan dinner party.

I admit, I am not 100%  vegan, but I am doing pretty well, all things considered. I understand a true vegan gives up much more than animal foods. They give up wearing and using leather. They give up cosmetics and other products that are tested on animals. They are probably active in the animal rights movement. They lead a very compassionate life, actually. 

Me, I just wanted to lower my cholesterol and made the decision to try vegan meals for one month last October. I guess it stuck, cuz here I am staring my one year anniversary in the face.

The recipe can be found here. I followed it to the letter. These little croquettes were absolutely fantastic! A tiny bit smoky from the chipotle. A tiny bit sweet from the potato. The hint of lime was perfect. And the pumpkin seed cream was heavenly!

How would you feel if you came to a dinner party and saw this on your plate?  

Enchilada Sauce: VeganMoFo Post #20

I’m a Veganwannabe: Post #20

I am proud to post my 20^th vegan post in a row! “You Go Girl!!”  (Anyone out there in the blogger-sphere saying that to me? Anyone? Anyone at all? )

I end my month of vegan meals with the mainstay of the vegan diet – BEANS. Beans. Beans and more beans. Beans in all their glorious variety. Beans in all their simplicity. Beans with all their indisputable health benefits. Michigan beans.

These are Yellow Indian Woman Beans- heirloom and organic, grown very near my home at Shady Side Farms in Holland, Michigan. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/shadysidefarm for all their contact information if you are interested in this type of bean. They also have great wools and yarn goods.

I mixed my Yellow Indian Woman Beans with some black beans and rice and wrapped it all up in wheat tortillas. I also made some enchilada sauce in my new Vitamix blender (J) and poured it over all. Baked. Served with sour cream (Tofutti). You can see I added some dried cilantro to the sour cream.

Not the prettiest meal, but I’m telling you, it was satisfying. Very basic. Very wholesome. Totally cheap.

Here’s what you need for the enchilada sauce:

4 C vegetable broth

2 T olive oil

2 T red wine vinegar

2 tomatoes

1 clove garlic

1 t oregano

1 t cumin

1/3 C chili powder

1 t salt

½ C flour

Here’s what you do:

Turn your mixer on high and watch what happens. This recipe makes a lot. I actually used half and froze half for another meal. The tortillas really soaked up the sauce, so be liberal when pouring.

On a personal note: I will miss Vegan Month of Food. Posting 20 times in a single month has been crazy, but I did it! I posted my thoughts about my vegan adventures a few days ago: read about them here.  I have met some really great cooks and people who are aware of the role of food in their lives. I have learned about the food industry in our country. I understand on a deeper level the relationship between what I eat and how I feel. Who knows if I will ever do this intense food experiment again? All I can say, I loved it! 

The Dip That Remains Nameless

Sautee onions and garlic to taste.  Drain and rinse 1 can black beans.

Mix in processor: beans, sautéed veggies, 2 chipotle peppers (we like it hot, so I keep the seeds in….. add them slowly, cuz they are pretty spicy), 3 T lime juice, ½ t cumin, 2 T water. Mix till very smooth.

Place beans in cute dish.

Make guacamole: 2 avocados, lots of lime juice, salt (I like sea salt here) and a small bunch of cilantro.

Guacamole goes over beans. Shredded cheddar goes over guacamole.

Make a fresh salsa: dice 1 Roma tomato, ½ fresh jalapeno (seeds removed), some cilantro.  Salsa tops it all. Dig in. 

I like to keep the seeds in the chipotle peppers, but I remove them from the jalapeno. 

Black and White Chicken Chili

World's Easiest Soup 

Supposedly this recipe is a “lost classic.”  I found it in a new cookbook (I just treated myself to four – count ‘em – four!) that I ordered from America’s Test Kitchen. The book is called Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers – Old-Fashioned, Home-Cooked Recipes Too Good to Forget. 

Some of the recipes do seem a bit out dated, like Johnny Marzetti or Salmon Wiggle, but not this one. We loved it! My son ate two huge bowls as an after school snack and my husband and I polished off almost all of it for dinner. The absolute fantastic finishing touch was sour cream, salsa and cilantro. I recommend this one!

Here’s what you need:
1 – 1 ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ t cumin
1 ½ t oregano
4 C low-sodium chicken stock (use good quality, because your finished soup will only be as good as the stock you put into it.)
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans – drained and rinsed
1 15 oz.  can black beans – drained and rinsed
 1 ½ C corn
1 8 oz. can chopped green chilies
Sour cream, salsa and cilantro for garnish (all three really made this soup excellent!)

See how I tried to mimic shredded chicken - it actually kinda worked! Think small pieces. 

Here’s what you do:
Chop the chicken in small bits – I tried to mimic the look of shredded chicken. The original recipe called for chicken with the bones in and skin on, which you first brown, then simmer for an hour or so in the broth, remove, de-bone, shred, clean off the fat…..  which would have been great, but I was in a time crunch – like usual…..

Sautee the onions for a few minutes. Add the chicken, garlic and spices. Cook through. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a while. EASY and surprisingly tasty! The toppings are a must.

Black Bean Burgers : What to do with that lonely red pepper in the veggie drawer

Got one of these peppers in the bottom of your vegetable drawer? Here’s what to do – grind it up with some onions, garlic and black beans, add spices and an egg…. Voila! AWESOME black bean burgers.

This recipe comes from my lovely sister, who made these for us a few weeks ago. She served them with sweet potato fries and broccoli salad. Yum.  I put roasted tomatoes and avocados on mine and served them in a toasted flour tortilla. No time for sides in my house.

I think the best thing about this recipe is that you must freeze the burgers before baking them and you bake them from the frozen state, which makes them perfect for a weeknight meal.

Here’s what you need:

A red or green pepper

½ onion

3 cloves garlic

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 egg (or vegan egg substitute) 

1 T chili powder

½ T cumin

1 t hot sauce

¾ C oatmeal

Here’s what you do:

Process the oatmeal until fine. Set aside. Process the pepper, onion and garlic until very smooth. Strain out the liquid and return the veggie pulp to the processor. Add the beans and process until very smooth.

Remove the mash to a bowl. Add the oatmeal, egg and the spices. Form into 4 patties, wrap, and freeze.

Bake at 375 degrees on an oiled baking sheet for about 20 minutes. Flip them after about 10 minutes. No need to thaw them!

Excellent! My new favorite vegetarian meal! 

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago: Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole - you should have this in your recipe box!
                        Creamy Southwest Chicken Soup - a family favorite
                        Hungarian Mushroom Soup - Moosewood Cookbook 

Bonus: have you toasted flour tortillas like this yet? Very fun! Put them in the oven until crispy. 

texas caviar

Texas Caviar

This recipe has been floating around for a while now in all its variations. I've seen it at every potluck and open house. I must say, though, this particular recipe is an excellent combination of all those familiar flavors - we go through a huge bowl of this very quickly in our house. I got this recipe from my girlfriend's husband.  I recommend Tostitos Brand Scoops for this. Aren't they the best chip out there for dips?

Here's what you need:

1 C celery

1 C green pepper

1/2 C red pepper

1 can black beans -drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans - drained and rinsed ( I think today I used light kidney beans which were fine)

1 can white shoe-peg corn (or regular corn)

1/2 C red onion

If you're going to eat it right away, another addition is avocado and cilantro. Don't add these till the last minute so the avocado stays nice and green and firm and the cilantro stays nice and green and firm......

To make the marinade:

3/4 C cider vinegar

1/3 C sugar

Heat in a small sauce pan until sugar is dissolved

Add:

1/2 C canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and enjoy!

I had to include these photos of some beautiful corn I got last week in Northern Michigan. Fresh corn for my Texas Caviar and a huge bag full in the freezer for later.