Beans, beans the magical fruit......

Magic indeed.  and they really are good for your heart!

Great Northern Beans with Sausage and Kale

You may be reluctant to eat beans because of their propensity to cause well ...flatulence. It seems that beans contain a sugar called oligosaccharide that we as humans cannot digest. Because it isn't broken down during digestion and is passed through the body, it causes gastric discomfort before it is expelled. We can reduce effect this by rinsing and changing the water that the beans are soaked in several times before cooking or by using rinsed (to reduce salt) canned beans. Now that you know how to reduce the gas that beans may produce, there is no excuse not to try them.
After talking with John, one of my now vegan friends, I decided to give beans a try. I added a little meat this time, because we like to eat it. Feel free to leave it out if you don't.

What you will need:

1 pound great northern beans

6 cups of water

2-3 sausages raw or precooked; you can substitute bacon, ham or smoked meats  

fresh kale (I used a big bunch from the farmers' market)

2 large onions chopped

chopped mushrooms (I used shiitaki)

a few cloves of garlic  minced  or garlic powder

olive oil

Beans
Prepare beans by soaking them for at least 8 hours, changing  the water several times while soaking, rinse well before cooking. Add the rinsed and drained beans, 6 cups of water  along with 1 of the chopped onions, one or 2 of the mushrooms and a little garlic in a dutch oven or soup pot. If you are using sausage or other meats, add them now. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 2-3 hours or until beans have reached the desired tenderness.


Kale
Wash kale and trim ends,  chop. You may find it easier to stack the leaves and roll  them up to chop them. I usually cook the stems too, but you can remove them and save them to use in your soup stocks.


Heat oil in pan and add onions, mushrooms and garlic, cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add washed kale and toss together, cover and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes  or until the kale is tender. You might add a little water to help them steam.


Serving
In a serving dish, layer bean and kale mixtures in layers or just mix together like I did. That is the way the Beeblettes like it. Serve with a garden salad. 

YUMMY!

Cheesy Potato bake

Fall foods are great because you can warm up the house by using the oven to bake yummy meals. I tend not use the oven in warmer months because let's face it it is too darn hot. Since we have had some cooler days of late, I have been baking more and trying out different ideas on my very receptive family. This cheesy potato dish contains two of my favorite ingredients, slow roasted Roma tomatoes and Shiitaki mushrooms (although any mushroom will do). I've been trying to create new food combinations because I was getting into a food rut, preparing the same foods in the same way. Yawn... This dish was served with grilled  hot Italian sausages and a salad. It was well received. 

What you will need:

POTATOES sliced ,partially boiled and drained (or microwaved)

LEEKS chopped rinsed (thoroughly to remove the sand) and drained

SHIITAKI MUSHROOMS chopped

chopped OVEN ROASTED TOMATOES

minced GARLIC/ garlic  powder

oil

Grated PARMESAN and MOZZARELLA CHEESE or your favorite cheeses

Note: I did not use exact measurements because I believe that you should use whatever you have on hand and in the amounts that you like. Love leeks, add more! Hate mushrooms, leave them out! You get my drift. 

I used a 1 qt container of red potatoes,  3-4 leeks, a handful of mushrooms, about 5 tomato halves and 3 cloves of garlic. I  ended up using about 4 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and about 1/2 cup of Mozzarella. 

How to:

Preheat oven to 350° 

Saute leeks, mushrooms, oven roasted tomatoes and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until cooked. 

Arrange some potatoes in a shallow baking dish, covering the bottom completely. Spread a layer of your cooked vegetable mixture over the potatoes and add some of the cheese. Cover with another layer of potatoes and repeat the layers until the dish is filled. Top with cheese and bake in the oven at 350° for 40 minutes or so until potatoes are done.

YUM!

Brussels Sprouts and the Beeblette

My littlest Beeblette  is a food snob.  Even though she is just a 'tween she  knows and loves her food. This is the child who never ate baby food from a jar and can count the times she has eaten store bought white bread. This is the child who when asked if she wants cheese on her sandwich, she asks which kind. This is also the child who begged for cucumbers, red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts  to be served at her 6th birthday party. Last week she turned 10 and  we had of course Brussels sprouts... prepared  just the way she likes them.

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions

 Bebe-style

 You will need :

one quart Brussels sprouts,washed, ends cut and quartered

one medium onion, peeled and sliced thin

olive oil, 

nutmeg (whole or ground)

salt and pepper to taste

•  Heat oil (about 1 tablespoon) in non-stick pan and add sliced ONIONS, stirring occasionally,  cook until translucent. Add washed and quartered BRUSSELS SPROUTS to pan, mix well to coat sprouts with oil   

• Cook for  a few minutes using medium heat stirring often to prevent burning. As it cooks, the onions will caramelize. 

Steaming sprouts

• You may need to add a 1/4 cup or so  of water to the pan to help the Brussels sprouts achieve the desired amount of softness.They steam a little when a bit of water is added. I do not cover them because I  think that they become bitter tasting if they are cooked while covered. It is also important not to overcook them as they will be bitter and mushy and turn an unappetizing brown color. We like them still a little crunchy and still green.

nutmeg

• Lastly , sprinkle on a little nutmeg or grate fresh nutmeg into the pan. The nutmeg adds a fabulous flavor to savory veggies like cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions

We never seem to have leftovers when we make these as both Beeblettes always seem to want seconds.

What can I say?

YUM!

FOOD DAY 2011 Keeping it Real

Have you heard about Food Day 2011?  No? I just found out about it too. This year, and in subsequent years, this worthy event will be held on  October 24 th.

According to the Food Day 2011 website:   Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. We will work with people around the country to create thousands of events in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, and state capitals.

 6 FOOD DAY PRINCIPLES

• 1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
• 2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness
• 3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
• 4.Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
• 5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
• 6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

Have you written yet? Have you asked your members of Congress to support the Eat Real agenda on behalf of all Americans.  I have. And let me tell you why. 
Food is something so essential that  we cannot live without it. Access to safe, healthy and affordable foods should be a right of all people. Right now all across the globe, people are afraid to mention the " f " word.... famine.But... hunger doesn't just happen in other places.It happens right where you are too. Right here... in the US of A,  there are working folks who this winter will have to choose between heating and eating.


There are some urban areas near me that do not have easy access to supermarkets or grocery stores. It shouldn't be easier to find a fast food restaurant than a market with fresh produce and meat.... and if you do find one, your meal should not be more expensive than a McWendyking meal.  Imagine what kind of meals children in these areas eat? My sister teaches 3 grade children ,many of whom only get regular meals at school through subsidized programs (and don't get me started in the quality of that food). Jamie Oliver where are you?


Family farm lands are being sold to make way for a steady steam of developments mainly because small farmers can't afford to farm anymore. This means your food has to come from farther away. I  for one don't want to eat food that has been nuked  with pesticides and picked  way before its ripe so that it can be  trucked across the country or from 1/2 way around the globe by some huge agribusiness.We should keep our local green spaces open by supporting our regional  farm businesses.


I had a wake up call after realizing that 1/2 of my cousins are no longer alive or have had heart attacks /strokes due to  poor eating habits. I think it is time for me and perhaps you to start talking about our relationship to food. Our lives depend on it.

To find out what  is planned for Food Day 2011 your area, check out the website to find an event.

Cute Pig Cupcake

Cupcake Pig

Just found out that October 18 th is National Cupcake Day. I made these last night with  my daughter. We had a blast and we think that  they turned out super cute. YUM

• Cupcake-devil's food batter 
• Frosting- strawberry cream cheese 
• Ears- strawberry wafer cookies 
• Snout, marshmallow dotted with chocolate
• Eyes-chocolate chips

Slow Roasted Tomatoes (little bites of heaven)

Remember the other day  when I told you about my mommy moment and buying too many tomatoes?

This is the second idea in the overabundance of tomato saga. These tomatoes are so indescribably delicious! So much so, that you will have difficulty keeping them uneaten until using them in your favorite tomato recipe.

 The slow roasted tomato recipe is  very simple. 

Wash and slice Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise and arrange on a baking sheet. I don't bother to remove the stems or the seeds, but you may of course do that.

Brush generously with olive oil ( you can flavor the oil with garlic and herbs if you choose)

Bake in a preheated oven at 200° F/ 93° C  for 3-4 hours. I like to use a lower temperature for a longer period of time instead of a higher temperature for a shorter time. I think the tomato flavor intensifies better when slow roasted. This is what oven roasted tomatoes look like after an hour.

After roasting they will be considerably smaller yet still juicy and very flavorful. resist the urge to eat them all . Let cool and use in your favorite recipe. The olive oil can be used too. Use it  to make tonight's  salad dressing

YUMMY

Quick Tomato Salsa and other tomato ideas

Quick Tomato Salsa Photo ©Bebe Naidoo 2011

I had a " mommy moment" last Wednesday. I stopped into my local Mexican produce store to buy whole wheat burrito wrappers and thought to myself that I should also buy tomatoes too. They had a big bag of them at a great price so I snapped them up without thinking. When I got home and looked in the refrigerator, I found the vegetable bin filled with roma tomatoes  from last Saturday's  farmers market trip.

That do you do when faced with too many tomatoes?

• Roast  halved tomatoes drizzled with olive oil in a low temp oven overnight.
• Dry them in a dehydrator
• Can them. Use your favorite recipe, mine comes from the Ball Blue book
• Sauce them. Chop them and cook them down with onions and garlic and Italian herbs 
• Salad them. Slice or dice  with cucumber and onions
• Salsa them! Like I did...  

Rough chop tomatoes (seeds, skin and all) along with onions and garlic and cook  in a little olive oil in a  non stick frying pan over medium heat  until everything has cooked down into a bit of a mush. Add a splash of vinegar and some chopped cilantro. Want it hot? add some chopped chili peppers or a squirt or two of Sriracha sauce or  your favorite hot sauce. There really are no measurements just cook it down and taste it, add the things that you like until it tastes good to you . YUM

Spinach and Shitake Mushrooms

While running in to the grocery store to pick up some peanut butter, I spied a fabulous bargain while heading to the cash register yesterday.  Big bags of flat leaf spinach  for 25 cents a bag! Needless to say, I bought four of them and we ate two of them with dinner. The children love spinach in their salads and in their wrap sandwiches (with chopped turkey and ranch dressing), but they also love it cooked. I always have some kind of mushrooms on hand (as you will discover) so this was a quick and tasty addition to our meal.

Bebe's easy Spinach and Shitake Mushroom Recipe

 (More like a technique)

1.Wash spinach and dry using a salad spinner
 (Or do as my friend Michael used to do, Pop it into a  cloth kitchen towel, take it outside and whip it around in the air until the water is gone)
2. Simply saute slices onions and mushrooms in olive oil in  a large skillet or wok  until cooked
3. Add spinach and toss until leaves are wilted season with salt and pepper. It will just take a min so don't over cook it,  Enjoy!
YUM

The Mighty Maitake Mushroom

Living in an urban area I consider myself extremely lucky to still have the benefit of shopping for locally grown produce. In the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the number of local farmers markets in the surrounding area. I 'm able to pop into a small market on any given weekday and on Saturday I have my choice of 2 very large farmers markets. Now is the time to stock up and can, dry or freeze the summer bounty. It was at one of these Saturday markets that I found my food of the week. I am drying some for winter in the dehydrator now.

The Mighty Maitake Mushroom.

photo © Bebe Naidoo (all rights reserved)

Grifola frondosa 

  Maitake, Hen of the Woods

This amazing mushroom grows in the northeast region of the US and in Japan. It is  said to have medicinal as well as culinary uses. These fungi which grow at the bases of dead or dying oak or maple trees can grow to gigantic sizes (over 50 pounds) earning them the name "the king of mushrooms". If you are adventurous and know what you are doing, you can forage for these around your local wooded area. I am not that adventurous and prefer to safely purchase them from my local Kennett Square mushroom growers. 

Maitake mushrooms can be used to enhance any dish calling for mushrooms. They add an intensely lovely and rich meaty mushroom flavor. They contain anti-oxidants and vitamin B1, B2  and are a significant source of vitamin D.What a super food. They taste great and they are so good for you! Once you try them, you will know exactly what I mean. Here is an easy recipe idea.

DISCLAIMER: I don't often measure using traditional measurements, I use my eyes and I taste as I go if possible. I have been making gravy this way since I was about  10 and it has always worked. Just use the things that you like. 

What you will need (more or less)

Mushroom Gravy

Olive oil, 

finely chopped scallions, shallots, or onions or not if you don't have them or like them

Handful of  Maitake or other mushrooms chopped coarsely chopped,

about 1 heaping tablespoon of flour, (I  actually just use a heaping forkful)

a coffee mug 1/2  filled with water,

water  or white wine,

butter (optional)

herbs (optional) rosemary works well

salt and pepper

Consider tossing some finely  chopped shallots, or scallions  into the pan after removing your cooked meat . The meat needs a few minutes to rest anyway....Add a little olive oil if needed. Cook until tender, about 2 minutes. 

Add the coarsely chopped mushrooms to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes , or until done. 

Add the flour to the water in the mug and stir vigorously with a fork  squishing out any lumps until smooth. Add this paste mixture to the pan  a little at a time.....stirring with a wooden spoon the  to cook the flour a bit and get all of that yummy goodness from the bottom. Add more water or wine  to get it to the consistency that you like. (if it gets too thick for you, or if too thin, cook longer)

Just play with it and taste it. You will know if it is good or not, add salt and pepper to taste. If you think you screwed it up and it doesn't taste right, just add a tablespoon of butter.  Butter makes everything better! YUMMY

Old fashioned goodness

The beeblettes  (my children) have been spoiled. I confess, I made them that way. They have been turned into tween and barely teen foodies. They love food. For example, This morning  it was a bit nippy and the youngest beeblette requested hot oatmeal with some of the applesauce that we made last night. She said she had been dreaming about it. Not wanting to disappoint her, I dutifully made her a hearty start to her day.  As winter approaches, it is  time to start thinking of warm and filling breakfast foods. Nothing says comfort  like a bowl of creamy oatmeal.
We just put old fashioned oats, fruit (usually mashed bananas, chopped apples or  raisins) and cinnamon in a bowl, cover with water and pop it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Be careful, you may want to stir it  after a minute or so to avoid the molten lava effect.  Today's offering was served  with milk and sprinkled with a tiny bit of granola ( we were all out of raisins). Yum!

Welcome to my kitchen!

Hi, my name is Bebe and I like food. I take that back. I love food... good food...fresh food. I read about it, talk about it and I even watch it on television from time to time. I love to cook I enjoy cooking for my family and introducing them to new and different food concepts. Not fancy froufrou things, just food that looks good , tastes good and isn't too unhealthy for us. Making good  food in my opinion isn't difficult, it just takes a bit of planning. I try to shop locally and  prepare what is in season.  In this blog, I hope to share my passion for food and maybe a recipe or two.This is was today's lunch. I made a simple sandwich with freshly made  hummus, and left over tabouleh, slices of Kirby cucumber rolled in a sun-dried tomato flour tortilla.Yummy!