White Beans and Bacon with Crispy Sage

I'm not a meal planner so when it comes time to make a dinner I usually just look to see what I have and if I don't know what to make I turn to Google.  Last week I googled "white beans and bacon."  A few recipes came up but the one that caught my eye was a medieval recipe with a modern counterpart.  I was on my iPhone so I couldn't see the whole website but later realized it's a blog of recipes based on Game of Thrones books. 

How cool is that?

 

I didn't have all the ingredients handy so I checked my veggie garden

and here is my recipe based on the original. 

(see below for link to the original recipe and the cool blog called In At The Crossroads)

 

 4 cups cooked white beans* 

1 package nitrate free bacon, cut into small pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 large kale leaves, tough stems removed and chopped

handful of sage leaves

Cooking oil

 

Cook bacon until crispy, set aside and drain most of bacon fat from pan. 

Reserve remaining bacon fat.

 

Add a tablespoon of oil, I use grapeseed for high heat cooking like this.

Heat oil then carefully add the sage leaves.  Do not leave the pan, once the sage leaves start to turn darker they need to be taken out of the oil, they can burn very quickly.  Set crispy sage on papertowel and lightly salt.  Set aside.

 

Add a bit more oil if needed, then saute onions and kale until soft.  Add garlic and saute for one minute more.  Add beans and bacon and a few tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat (optional, but it adds tons of flavor.)  Mix all in pan just until everything is heated back up.  Add pepper to taste, you shouldn't need any salt, the bacon should add more than enough.

 

Spoon onto plates then top with crispy sage.

 

I served mine with gluten free rolls.

 

Everyone in my family loved this, the kids went back for seconds and no leftovers!

 

 

 

*I always cook my own beans. Besides being much cheaper than canned, I am saving all the sodium and BPA's you get from canned beans.

 

 

 

Original recipe here

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...and summer is starting!

First of all, my Hungarian fold art A is finally done and framed.  I love they way is looks. 

I'm hoping I can start on B soon.  See my process here 

My garden is growing so well!  I am harvesting zucchini, pattypan squash, kale, Hungarian wax peppers, green beans and herbs.  Soon I should have tons of tomatoes, radish and carrots to add to the list.  I've also found a volunteer vine of some sort, I think it's a melon...we will see.

Pattypan

Zucchini

Hungarian Wax Pepper and you can also see the big vine next to it which I think will be some kind of melon...or pumpkin?

I also planted a new rose bed.  This is a neglected area that gets strong afternoon sun, not a lot of water and has poor soil.  Unfortunately it's become our cats toilet more than anything else!  In an attempt to reclaim the area I though thorny rose bushes would do the trick.

  I have mostly hybrid tea roses in my garden so I was excited to plant 3 David Austin roses. They are so much nicer than that stinky patch of dirt.  I amended well with compost and so far the roses (and I) are pretty happy.  The cat is sort of bewildered...

As summer approaches I am gearing up my healthy eating and exercising.  One of my favorite new smoothies is based on a recipe from Harley Pasternak.

1/2 apple, cored

1/2 banana

5 almonds or cashews

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup greek yogurt

Enough milk to fill my blender cup - about 1/2 cup.  Can be any milk or milk substitute.

Blend and enjoy.  It tastes just like apple pie to me. 

Sometimes I also add a handful of spinach.  Just enough to add some greens but not enough to change the flavor.  Usually I can't even taste the spinach.

I've been really into mason jars.  Overnight oatmeal in a mason jar has become my staple breakfast, I don't have a picture but here is my go to recipe:

1/3 cup oats (not quick oats)

1 T chia seeds

1 T maple syrup

1/3 cup greek yogurt

1/2 cup milk

Mix well and seal in a mason jar overnight.  In the morning I add some or all:

1/2 sliced banana

1 teaspoon raw cacao nibs

1 teaspoon chopped pecans

This is just my recipe but you can have fun creating your own.  There are hundreds of variations at your finger tips via Google.

I also chop salads up into large mason jars up to three days ahead and refrigerate.  I add protein like deli ham, hard boiled egg and the dressing when I am ready to eat.  I find it easier to make healthy choices for lunch when these are in the fridge ready to go.

 And last but not least, after months of neglecting my art, it's time to get the creative juices flowing because ICAD's and Summer of Color are starting! 

I loved the ICAD challenge last year.  See the roundup of what I did here.

And this year I am determined to keep up with Summer of Color, too.

Join me! 

Click below for more information:

Apple Cranberry Thanksgiving Salad

The first time I spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws I was served this salad and have been hooked ever since.  Every Fall when I see fresh cranberries at the store I immediately start craving this salad.  It's the thing everyone asks me to bring to holiday meals.  It's sweet & tangy and a light & healthy balance to the heavier holiday favorites on your plate.

 

Apple Cranberry Thanksgiving Salad

 

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

3 T sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 T cider vinegar

2 t Dijon style mustard

3 tart apples such as Granny Smith or Fuji

1 cup sliced celery

1 cup toasted almonds

Romaine lettuce leaves

Chopped fresh parsley

salt & pepper to taste

Cut cranberries in half.  Toss with sugar and refrigerate covered, overnight (or at least several hours)

 Whisk together oils, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.

Core apples and cut into bite sized pieces, leaving skin on.  Slice celery.  Toast almonds in shallow baking pan and allow to cool (or buy pre-toasted).  Add apples, celery and almonds to dressing mixture and refrigerate covered, 1 hour.

Line a bowl or serving dish with romaine leaves. 

 

 Add cranberries to apple mixture.



Mound salad over romaine lettuce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.  At a big holiday meal, people will just spoon out the salad, leaving the romaine leaves as decoration but today I served myself on a single plate and the romaine will be part of my salad.  You can also chop the romaine and toss the whole thing.  I've also made this with dried cranberries when fresh are not available. 

 

 

Illustration Friday - Silent

"Silent Knight" or "The 'K' in Knight is Silent"

This was a tough one...I mentally went through the obvious choices and even drew a baby sleeping in the woods but in the end, I'm pleased with my play on words and drawing this cute little guy took me out of my comfort zone.  That's what IF is all about for me...forcing me to be creative and productive.

 

I was a busy bee today...I made the BEST beans ever and two loaves of bread for dinner.

The BEST beans ever (Beans in broth)

Chop 1/2 cup yellow or white onions and cook in a 1 tablespoon each of olive and vegetable oil until the onions are black.  Not just browned but burned black.  You might want to open doors and turn on your fan.  In the meantime, rinse 1 cup of dry pinto beans.  Do not soak.  When onions are black add the beans and 4 or 5 cups of boiling water.  Be very careful adding water to hot oil!  Water should cover the beans.  Add one bay leaf.  Simmer partially covered for about an hour.  Keep your eye on the beans, if too much water evaporates add one cup of water at a time (water should be hot before adding.)  After about an hour when beans have softened add 1 teaspoon of salt.  Make sure you do not add salt before beans have softened.  Continue to simmer, adding hot water when needed for another hour or two until beans are cooked.  There should be some "broth."  If too much water has evaporated, add more to make some broth.  Discard the bay leaf.  Discard the black onions if you like (I never do.)  These beans freeze very well.  Use this recipe to make refried beans by smashing beans and reheating in a bit of oil.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, work in progress and a moment of Self Realization

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

 

Every year I roast pumpkin seeds to share with friends and although I always go back to a few core ingredients I have never made them the same way twice.  This year I hit the pumpkin seed jackpot...3 gallon bags of seeds brought home from a pumpkin carving party.  Because of the large amount of seeds I had, my recipe changed once again and I think these are the best ever.  There are no measurements here...you'll need to follow your instincts and dip your finger in to test the flavor before you roast.  I have tried to list ingredients in order of volume (in other words much more Worcestershire sauce than cayenne pepper.)

Ingredients

low sodium Worcestershire sauce

kosher salt

ground cumin

brown sugar

cinnamon

cayenne pepper

Remove pumpkin seeds from pumpkin, straining them out by hard is easiest to separate them from the pumpkin "guts."  Remove as much of the guts as you can, but don;t worry if .  DO NOT RINSE THE SEEDS.  This will add a lot of flavor.  Add all the ingredients above to the pumpkin seeds to taste.  Depending on the amount of seeds you might be using tablespoon-fulls of the first 4 ingredients, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a few dashes of cayenne.  

Layer thinly on a cookie sheet.  Bake in preheated oven at 300.  If you have a convection oven, use the convection setting.  Stir every 10 minutes or so to keep the seeds from sticking to each other and to roast them evenly.  I like my seeds a bit crunchy but not overly roasted.  Keep checking and stirring until the are roasted to your liking.

A work in progress

A moment of self realization

 
Today I was in my Bikram Yoga class and the instructor said something that really resonated with me.  She was telling us that instead of thinking about all the things about ourselves we see as negatives; I'm too fat, I'm too skinny, I'm too old, I don't earn enough, drive the right car, etc, we need to realize who we are.  We are not defined by these things that can consume so much of our thoughts and energy.  What matters is how we feel about ourselves.  Our real selves, not our shape or bank accounts.

It made me think about this blog and my art and all of creative endeavors.  Instead of worrying about being untrained or not as talented as someone else, instead of worrying if what I have to say is relevant or wondering why in the world anyone would even care, instead of being embarrassed or self conscious about what I see as my shortcomings, I am going to be daring and and creative and ARTISTIC.  I'm going to embrace this blog and share what makes me happy and I'm not going to worry about how it is perceived or received.  And I might even dare tell people I have a blog!

 

French Pot Roast

Yesterday started with a short rain and cooler temperatures.  The fall weather was perfect for trying a new recipe in my beloved slow cooker.  This beef stew was the perfect meal for date night snuggled on the sofa watching a movie.

Here is my recipe, adapted from something I found on the internet.

Ingredients

3 strips bacon cut into strips
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 lb roast, excess fat removed, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 bottle dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 package frozen pearl onions
4 small yukon gold potatoes, quartered (skin on)
1 cup carrots, peeled, cut into 1" pieces
1 cup frozen peas

Preheat a large skittet or non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat.  Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp.  Remove bacon and set aside leaving fat in pan on the heat.

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a sealable plastic bag.  Working in batches, add the beef and coat well with flour mixture; remove from bag and shake off excess flour.  Add the pieces to the hot pan and cook until all sides are golden brown.

Remove the beef and add to slow cooker.  When all the beef has been browned, add 1 cup wine to the hot pan and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Pour over beef, along with rest of the wine, the beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, bacon pieces, carrots and potatoes.

Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours until the beef is very tender.  In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the pearl onions.  A few minutes before serving add the peas and simmer for a few minutes to cook through.  Discard the bay leaves.

Serve the stew by itself or over egg noodles with a good ladle of broth.  Don't forget a piece of good french bread to mop up the broth. This recipe tastes even better the next day.  My kids loved it for lunch today!