Black Bean Chili with Polenta

Here is the a picture of the recipe featured in the cooking video. Here is the recipe:


Black Bean Chili

4 TBSP olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1 16oz. package frozen bell pepper mix
2 tsp cumin
2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp Chipolte chili pepper
2 TBSP garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Polenta

3 TBSP olive oil
2 cups of polenta (yellow corn grits)
2 cups of milk
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese (you can use parmesean or cheddar instead)

For directions, please see the video.

Resurrection Sunday Dinner

I don't post many meat recipes because I am really trying to encourage people to eat more vegetables, fruit and fish.  We generally don't need a lot of encouragement to eat meat. While I am not a vegetarian, I only eat red meat maybe once per month.

Well this past Sunday we had a real treat for dinner, lamb.

It was surprisingly easy to cook so I thought that would share the recipe.

1 Easy cut loin of lamb (this was great, because it is pre-cut, it made serving it after cooking a breeze.
1 lemon cut in half
several sprigs of fresh rosemary
several cloves of fresh garlic
salt
pepper.

You cook the lamb in a shallow roasting pan on a rack fat side up. But before cooking, flip the loin over and into each cut push a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of the lemon all over the meat on this side, then sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn the lamb over and and squeeze the other 1/2 of lemon all over the meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place meat in oven and turn it to 325 degrees (don't pre-heat the oven first). Cook for 30 minutes per pound of meat for medium rare. Once cooked let the meat sit (rest) for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

I served this with green beans with potatoes, rice and lamb gravy. And for dessert we had
Whole Wheat Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with fresh whipped cream.

Here is the recipe for the cake:

2 TBSP Butter
2 tsp nutmeg
Fresh pineapple slices
1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup brown rice syrup or 1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of whole wheat flour

In a frying pan melt 2 TBSP of butter once melted place fresh pineapple slices on top of the butter and sprinkle with nutmeg, let this simmer. While the pineapple is simmering, place 1/2 cup of honey and 1/2 cup of brown rice syrup into a mixing bowl (I don't use sugar but you can use 1 cup of sugar if you do) add 2 eggs and beat together. Add 1/3 cup of virgin coconut oil and continue mixing as you add the milk. Mix the baking powder, salt and whole wheat flour together and add quickly to the liquid. As soon as the flour is mixed with the liquid turn off the mixer, do not beat! Mix it 1 more time by hand to make sure that there are no lumps, you want to mix the flour as little as possible. Too much mixing and the cake will be too tough to eat. Pour the batter on top of the pineapples and place into a 350 degree pre-heated oven. Bake until done, about 35 minutes. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Note: This is not a very sweet cake, if you make it with the sugar instead of the honey and brown rice syrup it will be a little sweeter but not very. You can add sweetener to the cream when you make the whipped cream but I do not. By not making it very sweet everyone is satisfied with a piece and they do not feel compelled to keep eating it, sugar usually has the effect of making you eat too much dessert.

Eating Well When the Power is Out

You have probably heard that NC was hit with some pretty devastating storms. Our home was mildly damaged (we have to have the roof replaced) and we were without power for 4 days. Our home is totally electric so that means no water as well. This made life a little interesting but we are avid campers and had supplies to keep us going. We also have great friends who brought over a generator when they found out that we were without power after a day and a half, this kept us from losing everything in the fridge and freezer and it also allowed us to get our water running. We could not run the stove off of the generator so we used the grill and the camp stove. Here is a fish recipe that turned out great on the grill:

White Ruffy with Peppers

1 White Ruffy fillet (this would probably work with any white fish, white ruffy is what we had on hand).
1/2 cup Yellow, Red and Green Bell Peppers cut into strips (we used frozen, but fresh would work as well).
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 tsp. sea salt
dash of red pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly milled black pepper
cooking spray

Start grill, when it is ready spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray.  Place the White Ruffy fillet on the aluminum foil and drizzle the fish with the olive oil. Next sprinkle on the dill, salt and both peppers then top with the bell pepper slices. Fold the aluminum foil together on the top of the fish and then fold the sides. Grill for 10-15 minutes, do not overcook the fish!

We served this with some leftover whole wheat penne pasta: we melted 2 TBS of butter in a sauce pan, tossed in the leftover pasta and grated Parmesean cheese on top.

Black Bean Burgers

My son made these for dinner, oh my goodness they were wonderful. I told him next time he is not allowed to make them again unless he doubles the recipe. Check them out, you will love it.

More With Pasta! - Quick Pasta Parmesean

Pasta is so popular because not only is it delicious and comforting, it is quick and easy as well.
Here is a  recipe to try when you are super hungry and super short on time.

Quick Pasta Parmesean 

1 8oz.  package whole wheat spaghetti or use 1/2 of the 16 oz package.
1 16oz. package frozen green pepper/onion mix
1 12 oz. small container fresh mushrooms, sliced (I like Portabellas)
3 cloves of garlic diced or put through a garlic press
4 Tbs. Olive Oil
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesean cheese
leftover chicken or other meat cut into strips and reheated (if desired)

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Saute green pepper/onion mix in olive oil until most of the water has evaporated and the liquid in the pan has become thick (don't let it dry out). Add the mushrooms and continue to cook adding a little water if it becomes too dry. When mushrooms are soft and no longer look raw add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the pepper/onion/mushroom/garlic mixture onto the pasta and toss (add meat if you are using it and season with salt and pepper). Place on a platter or into a bowl and grate the Parmesean cheese on top. You can find small wedges of Parmesean cheese in the deli (more expensive) or the dairy (more reasonable) section of the supermarket, it tastes much better than the powdered stuff you find in the grocery aisle and it looks a whole lot nicer as well.

This recipe serves three, at my house three of us sit down to eat and there is none left (that is why I cook 8ozs of pasta not 16). I also serve it with tossed salad and some fruit.

Soak Your Oatmeal? Rotten Bananas?

I've become very enamored with oatmeal as of late. It's hot, which I enjoy first thing in the morning. It is filling, so I don't get hungry again until lunch, which is 11:30 for me because I usually eat breakfast at 7:00 - 7:15. I am learning during my oatmeal research that it is better for you nutritionally if you soak it for 24 hours before cooking and eating, you can do this with steel cut or rolled oats. You are probably wondering why? Here is a quote from the Kitchen Stewardship website explaining:

"Why Does Soaking Make Grains Healthier?

Soaking the grains begins germination, rendering the enzyme inhibitors unnecessary, since they exist to protect the seed and prevent early sprouting. They are neutralized so that the seed can sprout, making everything more accessible to our bodies. Levels of phytates are also reduced in soaking because the acidic liquid helps to break the bonds they form with minerals".

It is a pretty simple process and the easiest way to do it is to put your oatmeal into a bowl (if you are going to eat at work put it in a carry along container) while you are cleaning up from the current days breakfast so it will be ready to cook the next day. To the bowl add warm (not hot!) water; 110 degrees, same temp used when making bread. In addition, you will add 1 TBS of lemon juice OR whey (pour it off your yogurt if you have any in the fridge). It is also suggested that you add 1-2 TBS of whole wheat flour because oatmeal is low in the enzyme phytase which is needed to neutralize the phylates in the oatmeal. After 24 hours you are ready to cook.

I am not trying to add any more complications to your morning, but if you are planning on eating oatmeal as a regular breakfast food like I am, I think this is probably a good idea, you want to get as much nutrition from your foods as you can and not cause yourself any digestive problems.

Ok, now what about the rotten bananas? As a result of this last Daniel Fast I have decided that I cannot go back to eating sugar. It is not my friend and it is simply not worth eating anymore. But have you ever eaten oatmeal without any sweetener? Yikes!

Banana works as an excellent sweetener for oatmeal but they have to be really, really ripe. What do you do with bananas that are really, really ripe and you are not ready to use? Freeze them. Drop them into ziplock bags and pop them into the freezer until you need them, they will look horrible, especially if you leave the skins on but they are wonderful to use especially in your oatmeal. They are also great for smoothies & banana bread. Don't throw those rotten bananas away!