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. 

Rice is nice

If there is anything as satisfying as rice pudding, I haven't met him yet.

There are cool drinks on hot summer days, turkey gravy on mashed potatoes and rice pudding in that order of highly satisfying food to dine on.

I used to belong to a fringe group of people who baked their rice pudding, same basic ingredients but blapped into the oven for hours and hours only to get sweet golden baked rice. In the words of so many stereotypical movie side kicks...

"Oh no you didn't"

So no, I don't,

bake rice pudding anymore - it's nothin’ but stovetop for me.

This is the only recipe I've ever purposely used raisins. 
Little know fact: Raisins remain the most unholy of all the dried shrivel fruits,  Eve didn't offer Adam an apple, she offered him a box of raisins. A millennium of re-editing the bible turned the raisins to an apple, but sure as you are reading this blog, the Devil had a "fun sized" box of Sunmaid raisins ready for unsuspecting souls. Why do you think adults hand them to children at Halloween?? They're the food of the devil; adults just follow the tradition of trying to corrupt the innocent through the power of the wrinkly grape.   All true.

"Hey Adam, you wanna box of raisins?"

In this recipe you'll learn the awesome power of rice to counteract the evil lurking in the raisin, just don't deviate...unless you feel lucky punk, well, do ya?

Ingredients:

• 1 c. short grain white rice
• 1/4 c. sugar or sweet stuff of your choice
• 2 c. water
• 2 c. milk or milk substitute
• 1/2 c. raisins
• Vanilla, extract (ghetto) or 1 scraped bean pod (gourmet) it's up to you
• 1/4 c. coconut water, milk or cream

Place the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan EXCEPT the vanilla extract and coconut

Say some prayers to the gods of good will asking they protect you from the evils evoked when you pulled out the raisins.

Turn that pan right up and get a boil started - stir often and do not scold the milk...seriously it's sensitive. 

Turn the heat to a low temp and feel free to stir the pudding frequently, remember we're making a pudding so whip those starches up.

When you think it's about done, that's when you introduce the vanilla and coconut. Coconut? But why? It's in ambrosia, ambrosia is the foods of the gods, ergo, and it’ll counter balance the evil raisins.

Remember to hold off to allow this puddin’ to cool before performing a triple twisting double pike in, a direct hit of rice puddin’ immediately after cooking with burn you taste buds off. Take a break; relax and the world will be your pudding.

Eat, in good taste.

It's not easy being green

Too many heads of iceberg lettuce out there blanding the whole world up with their tastelessness. If your in the grocer and your buying iceberg, please for the love of sweet bearded baby Jesus remember this ...

                    you CAN buy good taste.

There is no reason for this leafy treason, it's time to be introduced to the new green in town. Time to give up on the regular leafy ho hum, and approach the greens as an experiment in developing new flavors and combinations. Salads, cole slaws and fresh veggies platter can all be better when your try something new.

 

Here's a simple chart to help you start your picking, of greens…I don’t even what to think about what else your picking sitting in front of your computer, alone, without anyone watching …ewwwwww.  

Type	taste	Colour
Black Kale	Brassica-spinach x brocolli	Dark purple to blue often dusty looking
Red Cabbage	X-crunchy slightly sweet, brassica finish	Dark purple, sometimes shiny and sometimes dusty
Ridicioo	Bitter & Herby	Dark purple and white, shiny
Beet Greens	mild beet root flavor with boost of grassy	Shiny green and deep purple, stems are deep ruby red leading to red veining.
Green Kale	Like seaweed without that ocean flavor	deep green/blue, should be even in tone. May even look dusty
Spinach	fresh green grass – cud	shiny vibrant green
Arugula or Rocket	Green + pepper or horse radish	shiny vibrant green
Swiss Chard	green and earthy – same taste regardless of stem colour	leaf is shiny green, stems range in colour form white, yellow orange and red
Dandilion	green and bitter	vibrant green, pale green and white stems
Mustard	Horseradish and greens	less vibrant green than above, but still grass green
Romaine	Greens and celery – crispy	Shiny vibrant green and white stems, paler as the leaves go into the centre
Butter Lettuce	tender fresh green, mild	Shiny vibrant pale green
Green Cabbage so many varities!	mild broccoli lots of crunch	Variable from emerald to pale green to white
Frisse	mildly bitter	variable dependent of light source white to pale yellow and tinted green
Sprouted Seeds	mild and crunchy	variable dependent of light source white to pale yellow and tinted green
Endive	mildly bitter	White to pale green

_{Time to go out and turn over a new leaf.}

Cabbage Slaw - Tart and Tangy

Cabbage Slaw -

I love eating outdoors and if I was spending my time outdoors enjoying the pre autumn sun, I’d be elbow deep in my favorite Cabbage Slaw. This raw cabbage dish has the benefit of a pre-made fresh meal, and is light and tangy, a leap forward from the old cup of creamy limp stuff that came with the fried chicken. 

 BEST PART: These veggies can be cut up for a couple of days and will wait eagerly in the fridge for their final curtain call. If slaw is not ringing your bell, consider something else – use the veggies for stir fry, soup, or added to an omlette, all in tip top shape and ready to rock. 

Cabbage Slaw - outdoors, as it should be 7-2011 

Cabbage Slaw -

Veggies	Now cut it up
1 half head red cabbage	Thin sliced and bite sized Now’s the time to pull out the Mandoline, easy on the fingers.
1 half head green cabbage
3 – 4 carrots
3 – 4 celery sticks
Peppers – red, yellow & orange
Green onions	Thin cut – try diagonal
Dressing
Apple cider vinegar	1 part
Olive oil	2 parts
Grated Ginger	Thumbs size – but I like a lot of ginger
Orange marmalade or honey	1 – 2 tsp
This Slaw goes to 11
Toasted almonds	Toasting the seeds is pretty much necessity to improve the flavor.
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Toasted Cashews
Chillies Apples or pears - crunchy	Sliced & diced very small cut up bit sized

Cut these all up and place in large containers – use what you like for dinner and set the rest up for chilling til you need them again.

Mix the dressing in no particular order, in the bottom of a large wide bowl.

Add in the veggies and mix 

Then pile on top everything that brings this slaw to 11.

PS add apples or crispy pears for sweetness instead of honey to the dressing.

Crunch away in good health

Broccoli Bloody Hell

Like ever person walking the earth I have a love hate relationship with broccoli, I love to hate it. But that’s hardly good for any person to hate an excellent dark green veggie. 

According to “Incredible Edibles” (Okamoto – 1994) Broccoli is chalked full of Vit A & C, and calcium. It lowers risk of cancer at both ends of the intestinal track, but note, ensure your broccoli entrance point is still top side… 

and can help prevent cancers in the respiratory track too. Miracle food! This is a must share.

Mom and dad give the thumbs up while on Skype. 7/2011

1 Head of Broccoli cut bite sized

1 Red Pepper – cut in tiny cute squares

2 TBSP pickled red onions (I haven't discussed my new fav fridge pickle yet - next post :)

2 TBSP pickled onion juice

1 lemon zest

1 TBSP of Mayo or Greek Yogurt

crack of pepper

Prepare the dressing in a lovely salad bowl, Mayo/yogurt, lemon zest, pickled onion juice, stir to combine.

Add the broccoli, peppers, & pickled onions, stir to combine and finish with cracked pepper.

Enjoy and feel smug about eating your raw brassica. And go skype with your parents while making it – your mom will be so proud.

St. Cherry of Golden Saffron Cake

Cherry & Rose Water & Saffron Cake
I recently had the chance to be touched by the new holy trinity and felt it needed to be piously honored,
I get it, your mind is spinning & a whirl wind of thoughts are trying to mend together scent and taste. But be still your cranium jello dusty devil. Just make the cake and trust in what the Persains have been right about all along.  


The Rightious Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter,softened
2/3 cup non-fat milk
1 tsp saffron threads
1-1/3 cups cake flour
1-cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg or 1/4 cup thawed frozen non-fat egg substitute
2 Tbsp rose water 1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of fresh pitted cherries

Rose/Holy Water Syrup:

3/4 cup sugar 

3/4 cup water 3 tsp rose water - or to taste. 

The Ritual: Prepare a 9-inch cake pan with butter. 

Combine 2 tablespoons non-fat milk and saffron threads in small saucepan. Heat and stir just to simmering. Remove from heat.

Add the dry ingredients together, flour,  1 cup sugar, baking powder and baking soda. 

In a seperate bowl mix your wet ingredients and mix well. saffron/milk, remaining milk, egg, rose water and vanilla. 

At this point I like to asking St. Honorious, patron of bakers to watch over the oven, protect me burns and help divert those pesky pet hairs from finding their way into my batter.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. easy on the mixing, spare the rod, save the cake. 
Put your batter in the pan & drop the cherries on top 

Bake at 375 degrees F. until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean.


While the cake cooks add 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in a pan, heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add the Rosewater and allow it to cool. 


Spoon the rose water syrup over the cake. Cut in pretty diamond shapes and go ahead and eat this cake on the good china. 


Welcome, you are now converted, baptized in the warmth of a hot oven. 
Now, go convert the masses. 

Salad? Yes a post about Salad

While writing a post about salad seems like possible as boring as drying paint, WAIT...this will get interesting. Here's why, salad is a terrible overlooked accompanying dish to many lovely entrees that boost about being big and juicy or rich and earthy. Salad appears at the dinner table like your wimpy nerd cousin. Limp, lacking in substance, nothing much to add to the conversation and way to greasy to be allowed at any respectable table.

Rethinking salad as a combo of colorful conversations between polar opposites can create a "rainbow of diversity" that can be the truckasaurus at the dinning monster truck show. 

Now the interesting part - I've devised a mathematical formula for an ass kicking salad.

        {(4xG)+(4xVoC)} + (.5O +. 5Vin+.2H+.2G+.3M)

                  Number of plates     

G=Greens                         VoC+Veggies of multiple Color   
O=Oil            Vin=Vinegar    
H=Herbs       G=Garlic 
M=Mustard

This can be too much free will for some. Unlike a regular recipe there is no standard ingredient list, while for others this will elevate the pressure to make a perfect salad. 

With an addition of grains, or pasta, hearty toast, nuts and cheese you'll find your salad isn’t just a side dish - but a show stopping conga line of high kicks to the iceberg shivering in the crisper drawer. 

Now get out there and give it your all. 

Eat in good company