black bean soup.

i love black beans. this is not a secret. i love soup. also, not a secret. here's my black bean soup recipe.

ingredients:

1 bag goya dried black beans, pre-soaked, picked through, and rinsed

fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (i used about 1/3 cup)

3 leaves fresh culantro, chopped

2 white onions, diced

6 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

black pepper, to taste

sea or kosher salt, to taste

water (about 3 cups)

white vinegar (1 capful)

hot sauce, to taste (optional)

crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

olive oil

PRE-SOAKING THE BEANS

put the beans in a plastic container. add about 1/2 cup of vinegar. fill the container w/ cold water. your beans will need to soak about 24 hours in your fridge (or, if your kitchen is FREEZING the way mine is, they can stay out). how will you know they're soft enough? the dark purple liquid that will run off of them when you rinse. also, the beans will be soft enough to squeeze ever so slightly.

instructions:

in your stock pot, add all spices (except vinegar and hot sauce), olive oil, garlic, and onions. heat on medium-high heat until onions are translucent.

add rinsed beans to pot.

add water, vinegar, and hot sauce.

bring soup to a full boil, stirring occasionally (to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot).

reduce heat.

simmer for approximately 3 hours or until the beans reach your desired tenderness.

you may also add to this soup: chicken broth, veggie stock, or beef broth instead of water. you may also include bacon. because bacon is fucking delicious.

thanksgiving is damn near tomorrow.

& here i go w/ the late macaroni and cheese post.

for the dairy eaters, for the wheat eaters, there's plenty. there are a million and one recipes. even some with, like, hot dogs in them.

but, the soy, dairy, and/ or gluten-free livers don't get a whole lot. of course, there's store bought mixes and frozen entrees. but what about thanksgiving and other major meals? what about the first major snow of the year, when you go buy all manner of crap so you can stay in and eat? that's what i'm getting into right now. a recipe, for those who are in deep need of mac & cheese that won't make them feel like the oddball out. or like they're destined to have tummy problems and/ or hives for indulging themselves.

karina of gluten-free goddess has a recipe for what she simply calls the best vegan mac & cheese. it looks amazing. i haven't tried it yet. cuz i'm lazy and would rather deal w/ the sinus headache of rice pasta drowned in regular ass cheese sauce.

also, heidi swanson has this spelt macaroni w/ cashew cheese that i've made before. with the right substitutions, this can be fully allergen free. the flavor is amazing.

happy cooking!

chick peas!

because i have this bad habit of tweeting about what i eat & not posting it here, i've been chastised by some folk who simply wanna know how i do what i do in the kitchen. so, here it goes:

ingredients:
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 medium heirloom tomato, large dice (any tomato will do, this is just what i had on hand)
1 small white onion, large dice
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a small saucepan)

instructions:
coat a small saucepan with olive oil. add salt, pepper, onion, garlic, curry powder, & tomato.
when the onions begin to turn translucent, add the chick peas & water or broth. bring to a full boil for about 5 minutes.
lower the heat, cover the pot & cook for about 10 minutes or until the chick peas are the texture you like.
remove from heat -- serve over rice.

turkey sage sausage.

see, the thing about me & my food allergies is that the allergies never leave me. i may have fewer symptoms, but i'm never scot-free. so that means that most pre-packaged sausages are not for me. they usually contain soy -- which is my greatest problem when it comes to eating foods prepared by hands that are not my own. so, i talked to my mom -- who is the guru of food allergy stuff now, since she has celiac disease and a mounting list of foods that bother her -- and was able to figure out my own recipe for turkey sage sausage. ready? let's do it!

ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (can be white meat or dark, i prefer stoneybrook farms' 85/15, as it is dark meat and has lots of good flavor)
about 7 leaves of sage, chopped finely or torn into little pieces
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
about 1 tbsp of onion powder (i had no onions, but strongly recommend trying this w/ a finely diced vidalia)
crushed red pepper, to taste
olive oil

instructions:

mix all ingredients in a glass bowl (in my opinion, raw meat should not touch plastics, if possible -- plastic is too porous and i personally don't like the idea of meat remnants being all in my tupperware)
make small meatballs -- about 1.5 inches in diameter and flatten them to the palms of your hands (to keep them from sticking to your fingers, it may be necessary to cover your hands in olive oil beforehand) into patties.
coat a skillet (y'all know i use cast iron) with olive oil; heat the skillet over medium-high heat.
**to tell if the oil is hot enough, drip a wee bit of water into the skillet. if the water dances, it's ready.
fit as many patties as you can into the skillet. brown them fully on each side. make sure the juices run clear from the sausage patties, else you've got some raw meat on your hands. that's not what we're going for here, not at all.
remove each patty from the skillet individually -- be old school like me, and place them on paper towels to catch the oil. lol.

serve w/ biscuits, waffles, grits, oatmeal, or whatever you like. enjoy!

white bean turkey chili

quick, easy chili that can be veganized and goes really well with kale or collards. enjoy!

3 cans cannelini beans, rinsed (i use trader joe's)
1 can tomato paste (trader joe's organic)
1 lb ground turkey (shadybrook farms)
olive oil
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
cumin, to taste
1 tbsp chili powder
1 crushed red pepper, to taste
juice of 1/2 lime
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can diced tomatoes

1) brown turkey in a skillet w/ olive oil, two cloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
2) add diced bell pepper and onion; add cumin and lime juice.
3) transfer contents of skillet to stock pot; add lime juice.
4) add tomato paste, chili powder, crushed red pepper, diced tomatoes and beans.
5) fill tomato paste can w/ water; add to pot.
6) bring mixture to a boil; reduce to a simmer.
7) simmer for about 45 minute , stirring often to help prevent sticking. serve with rice.

and, of course, it tastes even better on the 2nd day!

mashed potatoes.

(what? in august? YES.)

i saw this recipe from heidi "i am secretly the devil because i want you to cook and eat all the time" swanson and had to try it for myself.

holy crap. it's delicious. my variations:

no scallions, just fried shallots
veggie broth instead of milk
garlic powder in addition to fresh garlic
a sprinkle of cayenne
smart balance instead of butter (it was all i had available)
no parmesan

it's awesome. i wanna add some more potatoes to it. such goodness.

getting ready for fall . . .

fire roasted salsa.

tomato. shallot. green pepper. lime juice. salt. pepper. garlic.

4 roma tomatoes, rinsed
1 large green pepper, seeded and halved
1/2 shallot, diced
lime juice, to taste
salt, pepper, garlic (crushed or powder) to taste

roast the tomatoes, one at a time, on your stovetop. when the skin is blackened and almost peeling, remove. dice the tomatoes and set them aside in a bowl w/ salt, pepper, garlic and lime juice.
roast the green pepper and dice it.
add the shallot and pepper to tomatoes.

serve room temperature or chilled. enjoy with eggs, toast, as a side to some home fries, with a tofu scramble for breakfast. yesterday it served as a topping for a vegetable tamale, and WOW was it delicious. :D

chick pea & chard soup

with garlic and couscous.

this recipe was made up on the spot, inspired by the chick pea hot pot recipe at 101 cookbooks. i'm feeling a bit under the weather so i decided i needed some sort of soup; this is really the product of my need for comfort & a desire to use a bunch of random stuff from my cabinets.

here goes:

1 bunch swiss or rainbow chard, stems chopped off, cut to your desired width
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 medium red onion, diced
16 oz vegetable broth (i used trader joe's, of course)
1/2 cup whole wheat couscous
1 can chick peas, undrained (trader joe's again)
a splash of olive oil
3 tbsps lemon juice
3 tbsps orange juice
cayenne pepper
sea salt
cracked black pepper
adobo
thyme
parsley
oregano
bay leaf

saute spices, onion & garlic in olive oil until the onions turn translucent.
add vegetable broth, orange juice & lemon juice; bring to a boil.
add chick peas and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. simmer for about 15 minutes. add chard and couscous. remove from heat. allow the soup to sit for 5 minutes.

enjoy!

black eyed peas with brown jasmine rice

(i meant to make this post days ago, but i've had a series of internet issues that have resulted in my becoming comcast's bitch as opposed to verizon's or earthlink's again)

if you're a person from the african diaspora or live in the southern united states, you probably know about the new year's day tradition of eating black eyed peas & collards to bring in a new year of wealth & prosperity.

so, here's my recipe. late as hell (i forgot to publish it after adding photos) . . .

ingredients:

one 1-lb bag of goya frijoles caritas (it says in english somewhere on the bag, black eyed peas), soaked & rinsed
one carton of trader joe's vegetable broth
diced bell peppers (assorted colors)
olive oil
1 small red onion
sofrito
garlic, crushed (to taste)
salt, pepper, adobo & whatever spices you like (to taste)
bragg's liquid aminos (for the smoky taste)

instructions:

1) saute veggies & sofrito in olive oil, in the same stock pot you're going to cook the peas in.
2) once the onions are translucent, add veggie stock, braggs & spices.
3) add peas. bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
4) cook the peas to your desired consistency.
5) serve with the rice of your choice. enjoy!

note: i cooked my brown jasmine rice with bay leaf. YUM.

the best veggie sandwich ever:

avocado, sliced thin
plum tomato
red onion
alfalfa sprouts
cucumber
trader joe's goddess dressing or other condiment
toasted whole wheat, rye, or other bread

arrange the sandwich according to your vegetable hierarchy. make sure both bread slices are adequately slathered in the condiment of your choice.
slice the sandwich in half, and serve with pickle, chips, soup, salad, popcorn, or other delicious item.

chicken croquettes.

these little meaty creations are typically something you find in the frozen food aisle in the market, or in some diner. & they usually look or taste really freaking weird. but, since my mom once taught me how to make salmon croquettes i decided to try my hand at the chicken jumpoffs (thanks, fish allergy!). i made this up as i went along, so the measurements are all kinds of odd. there's essentially no precision involved whatsoever. i think they turned out pretty okay. . .

1 can trader joe's white meat chicken in water (broth is okay, but i find it to be kinda salty)
whole wheat flour, enough to bind the chicken mixture
nasoya nayonaise (regular), enough to maintain the moisture of the chicken mixture
random seasonings, including old bay (for the fishy flavor), diced bell peppers (very little, maybe 2 tbsps), oregano, garlic (fresh, chopped, crushed, or powder), ground blk pepper, cayenne, onion powder, & turmeric
grapeseed, olive or canola oil -- enough to brown croquettes, depending on the size of the skillet being used

drain and rinse the chicken. mix it in a bowl with all seasonings, flour, & nayonaise.

heat the oil in the skillet to the proper temperature for frying (see the fish recipe for ideas if you aren't sure, & do the drop of flour test before adding anything substantial to the oil. turn it DOWN if you've had it turned up to high to heat it rapidly)

as the oil heats, fashion the chicken mixture into small balls, about 1/3 the size of your palm. flatten the balls a little, making them no thicker than 3/4 inches at their thickest point. place as many croquettes as will fit in your frying pan.

brown the croquettes on one side, and turn over for browning on the other side. ideally, the croquettes will cook up to a warm brown color & also be very firm when pressed upon with a fork or other utensil. when they are cooked to your desired brownness, remove the croquettes to a plate topped w/ layered paper towels. (don't act like you don't know how to drain a fried food, dammit)

you may have to change the oil, for stray bits of food that didn't hold together. that's fine. just make sure you turn the burner off & be extra certain to heat the oil slowly -- the skillet will likely still be hot.

serve with sauteed spinach, collard greens, string beans or other sexy vegetables & a nice starch like mac & cheese or some fancy schmancy rice pilaf thing.

this recipe would probably kick ass w/ some sort of meat substitute. i won't try it any time soon since i hate cooking lately, but i encourage you veggie/ vegan readers to try. xoxo