Spanish Rice

Yesterday on the Food Network, Giada Delaurentiis cooked up the most half-butt version of Spanish rice. It made me pretty mad. From what I can remember she just cooked up white rice in stock and added pancetta. There might have been an onion involved and I think she added a pinch of saffron for colour. Lame.

I quickly made something undeniably more delicious. It's this:

1. Soak 1/2 cup of any dry bean blend overnight. Discard water, rinse, and cook in boiling water until done (40 minutes). Luckily, I was already doing this because of meatless Monday.
2. Cook 3/4 cup dry brown rice in 1 1/2 cups water.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, cook 6 button mushrooms, sliced in a bit of oil. Add 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped. Add the cooked rice and beans.
4. Once everything has browned up a little, turn off the heat. Add 1/2 cup medium salsa.

If you're vegan you can stop there, but I had a little "hot wing sauce" made up as an experiment and pouring it over the rice mixture was pretty heavenly. Try making some, and if you have enough, use it on some homemade wings. It's just equal parts melted butter and Frank's red hot sauce, with a small squirt of ketchup. Excellent.

Angela's Even-Carnivores-Like-It Carrot Lentil Lasagna

This is a meatless and gluten-free wonder that no one can resist. I've been speed texting my sister to give me the recipe since I first heard of its praises and she finally ran me through it this afternoon. If I can understand how to pull it off via Blackberry messaging during her health sci lecture, then certainly you can follow along using this step-by-step picture guide.






First, preheat oven to 350F. Chop and saute a cornucopia of vegetables.

This must include garlic, carrot and tomatoes but could also feature - as ours did - zucchini, onion and yellow pepper.















Best to add the tomatoes last and turn the heat down to simmer. If you don't want to peel and quarter 15 roma tomatoes (ugh, but it's so fun!) then use canned, but buy Ontario Natural Food Coop brand because they don't BPA line their metal tins.

Put on a pot of tea.

At this point add 1 can or 2 cups of cooked lentils. We also added white kidney beans but for simplicity kept the recipe name the same, because who wants to say "I just had the best carrot lentil kidney bean zucchini spinach lasagna!"? Not I.

At the same time (exactly the same time and nothing less... kidding) mix a 250ml tub of ricotta with 1 egg, salt, pepper, and a few handfuls of spinach, chopped. Thin it down with some milk if you may.

Add half a carton of carrot soup to the carrot lentil mixture and take off the heat. Or if you're religiously unprocessed, just blend up some of what you've got for texture purposes. You can salt 'n pepper at this point too.

Purchase a box of oven-ready brown rice lasagna noodles. We use Rixopia but I believe Tinkyada makes them too.

In a 9x13" dish, layer: carrot-lentil mix, noodles, ricotta mix, three times, then add a final layer of carrot-lentil. Top with shredded Parmesan or whatever cheese you have handy. We had a ton extra so we fashioned a mini pan of this treat for me to take to work (go Mom!)

 
Bake covered for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for 15 more.

Thanks Angela!

"Anytime!"

Black Bean Brownies

Step one: locate a group of six hungry boys who do not appreciate healthy food. 


Step two: 
Preheat oven to 350, then...


Drain a can of black beans and give them a good rinse. Put the beans back in the can and fill it, to the brim, with water. Blend the beans and water, plus 1 extra cup of water and 1 tsp vanilla, until pureed. Set aside.

Step three: Mix together, the following
1 1/2 cups flour (GF All Purpose Flour will work!)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup raw sugar
2 cups cocoa
4 tsp instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans 


We also added 1/2 cup chocolate chips which had survived the wrath of Chris Medland's hunger.

Step four:
Stir the concoctions from step 2 and 3 together until well mixed. Pour batter in a greased 9 x 13" pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares.


Chris says: "These make a great breakfast, fresh out of the fridge. I love dessert for breakfast."
That says it all.


Three things to note: 
These are not overly sweet. They are chewy and fudgy and way too delicious, but if you're looking for something knock-your-socks-off sweet then double the sugar and cut the cocoa. 
Four tsp of instant coffee is a lot. If you like coffee, thank me later. If you don't, cut it or ditch it.
Lastly, if you omit the chocolate chips or use a dairy-free version, this recipe is vegan.

Bean Dip

Beans are a nutrient powerhouse. In fact, if I could choose one food to eat for every meal, and quinoa wasn't allowed, I would choose beans. They are a good source of soluble fiber - the kind that grabs bad stuff from your body and makes it leave - as well as water-soluble vitamins, protein and important minerals. I am not as concerned as most about this, but, they are very low in fat. Beyond nutrition, they are delicious, easy to prepare and very versatile. Eat with nuts or cereals for a complete protein.

In classic fashion, I've laid out this recipe in skeleton form so that you can do with it what you wish.

Blend together:

• 1 cup cooked beans, or approximately half a can
• 1 - 3 T oil 
• 1 - 3 T acid
• 1/3 c nut or seed butter
• Flavors

I used red kidney beans with canola oil, lemon juice, tahini and garlic to make a mock hummus - but how about trying adzuki beans with sesame oil, rice vinegar, peanut butter and miso? Or Black beans with avocado oil, lime juice, cashew butter and chili flakes? Lima beans with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, walnut butter and basil?
If the dip is too runny, add more beans. If it's too thick, add water or another liquid. You can serve the dip with crackers, cut up veggies or pita.

If any one requests it I can post my skeleton pesto recipe. Now I'll enjoy a red onion and bean burger made with the leftover beans!