Potato, Green Bean & Anchovy Salad

I don't know what it is about those tiny little salty fishes - but anchovies are so packed full of salty fishy goodness it practically oozes out. Once I became a convert to anchovies, I can't figure how I made anything tasty before. Mixed with a pile of new potatoes and fresh beans from a friend's garden (thanks nitaj), spiked with herbs, garlic & made delicious with anchovies, you'll become a convert too.

Go get yourself:

Potatoes, beans & anchovy salad, it's what's for dinner.  

1.5 lbs of new potatoes - steamed or boiled

.5 lb of string beans
3 cloves of garlic - chopped

2 green onions- chopped

3 TBSP of Olive Oil *

1-2 TBSP dill vinegar

handful of cilantro - chopped

smallish handfull of chopped dill

5-6 anchovy fillets chopped 

* for creamy version cool the 'taters & beans and make a mix of mayo (2 TBSP) & grainy mustard (1 tsp), anchovies lemon juice and lemon rind and herbs and dress the potatoes cold.

The how to:

Cook your potatoes to a soft tender stage, add the beans to the boiling water for a coupe of minutes until tender. 

Drain all the water off and set the beans and taters aside. Add the cool oil to a cold pan along with the garlic & anchovies. Set to medium low and slowly warm the mix to release the flavours. *Do not brown.*

Toss the potatoes back into the pot and smash a couple of potatoes to gather all the lose oil. Tumble the potatoes into a bowl and stir in the herbs, vinegar and cracked pepper.

Taste and salt only if necessary. 

Beer pairing: This salad is hearty and would pair excellently with a saison like Logsdon Oaked Bretta, or Weizen Bam Bière.

Brains with nachos - 7 layer brains dip

Is there nothing as fun as playing with your food?
Admit it.
You make mash potato mountains with gravy lava,
put little blueberry happy faces in your pancakes
and jam a quarter section of an orange in your gob and make groaning sounds cause it's plain good fun. No context, pretext, or subtext necessary - just imagination land for kids and adults.

Here's my kick at the fun zone

7 layer brain dip

Here's what you'll need:
1 halloween brain jello mould
Spray oil
radish eyeballs
7 layer dip in this order
      1. mashed black bean layer - spiced appropriately
      2. shredded cheese           3. warmed cream cheese  
      4. avocado slices                           5. salsa
      6. chopped tomatoes                     7. black olives
      8. cap off with another layer of mashed black beans
Eyeballs - wash the radish, ensure to leave the radish root on, it looks like an optic nerve. Use a paring knife to remove some of but not all of red skin.  Carve out a hollow and slip in a pitted black olive.  Cut a thin slice of red or green olive and slip it in the hollow of the black olive, these were so creepy not a single colleague of mine wanted to eat them!

How to build a brain:
1. Generously spray the mould with oil
2. Carefully smash the mashed black beans into your greased mould
3. begin layering the remaining ingredients - use just enough to create a stable layer.
4. Leave dip moulded to set overnight in the fridge
5. place a serving plate on top of the mould and quickly flip
6. you may need to tease the brains away from the mould
7. cram the eyeballs in the frontal cortex for optimal braininess

When I plopped this on the table for my colleagues, a heard a chirp from the back, "What goes on in your brain?". Wonder no longer, hairless cats in top hats and monocles singing Gilbert and Sullivan show tunes while slapping each other with trouts.  Nah, just enough imagination to enjoy playing with my food - just like you.

Cocoa and the Black Bean, black bean brownie delight.

This is my first pseudo guest post - a recipe my mom promises produces a rich decedent brownie visa vie the humble black bean. I'm a skeptic - but there is some wisdom in the concept that the humble black bean can piggyback in moisture in a recipe highly dependent on eggs and butter. I'm willing to take a leap of faith, after all it's just a brownie. Be sure to check the icing too - this is a verified recipe that I know for a fact is top notch, tried and true.

Mom's black bean brownie's

Vegan Black bean Brownies

9x13 pan or two cake pans.           

350 F oven for 25-30 mins


1 1/2 c ww or unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking powder (necessary) and salt (opt.)
2 1/4 c. raw or brown sugar
1 1/4 c. cocoa
4 tsp. coffee powder
1 1/2 c. hazelnuts, chopped or into grinder/blender
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed well and back into can, top with fresh water
1 tsp. vanilla (add chocolate extract for coco kick)
1 c. water

Method: mix dries well. Drain beans and rinse thoroughly. Add beans back to the can and top with fresh water. Puree the beans and water really well. Add vanilla and the extra cup of water. Stir well, dump dries and nuts in and stir again. Pour into the pan or pans (greased or lined in parchment), bake half way and rotate the pan and continue until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and ice with this frosting:

4 tbsp. cocoa
1/4 c. butter (or canola margerine)
1 c. icing sugar
2-3 tbsp milk or orange juice or water (orange water?)
1/2 to 1 tsp. vanilla

Method: combine cocoa with the butter and heat stirring well, in a saucepan until mixture boils. Stir until smooth and glossy.

Cool completely and pour into mixing bowl. Add icing sugar alternately with the liquid, beating to spreadable consistency. Blend in the vanilla. Spread thickly over top only. (as opposed to the bottom?) Chill brownies in the fridge to set the frosting.

Mom says "Shockingly delicious!!!

Points to mom for over using the exclamation point

my Beans - 2011

A load of crock-ery

I've recently been enjoying mexican food and have been eating beans  and rice en masse. With a high demand of beans in our household we needed to find an economical way to bake enough beans to feed a (small gasy) mexican army. Solution. On a whim I bought a late 70's electric crock pot from the local second hand store, the kind decorated with 70's brown specs and uses more energy than my current fridge, stove, MacBook, all the lights and street lights on my block combined. Despite it's faults I'm in love with this tough old work horse. Ready set 70's!


1 lbs beans, white navy beans, black beans or even mixed beans.
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 can of tomato paste
4 - 6 cups water - use your judgement
can of tomatoes  or a couple of frozen tomatoes, when you can;t use them immediately, the tomatoes go for a freezer nap.  


flavor flaaaav
1 TBSP mustard
1 TBSP molasses
splash of apple cider vinegar 
corinader, cumin, dried chili and any other spices you so desire.
bacon or liquid smoke would be a reasonable choice as well - but I've managed by without no problem.

Method:
Soak the beans in the crock pot in a generous amount of water overnight
in the early am (9-ish) ditch the soaking water and add in all the ingredients to the crock pot
Meanwhile boil up some water in your kettle
add in the boiled water to the crock pot and place those beans on high if your pot has that option
now watch for boiling over...but leave those beans to get good and hot
once the mix has reach a boil - turn down to medium heat and allow to simmer away deliciously
stir the whole mix well every so often to avoid burning on the bottom and adjust the heat to ensure it can be lefted to cook unattended. Add more hot water if necessary to ensure the beans have plenty of liquid to rehydrate with.
at the end of your cook period check the sauce, if it's too liquid, remove the lid and blast up the heat to reduce.

Eat with rice and lots and lots of beer and celebrate that your indulging in some vegetarian fare.