Bean Soup

I'll preface this post by telling you honestly that I'm not one of those cooks who gets something going early in the morning and labors over it all day. However, Doug and I were fascinated by a bulk bin of dried beans at the market last week, so we decided to get a few pounds and make bean soup. How gorgeous are all those colors?!

The first thing you need to know about bean soup is that if you're using fresh beans, you do not need to do any presoaking, tearing your hair out the night before, letting things sit in water, etc. If this urban soaking myth was true, rest assured that beans wouldn't be in my pantry. Rather, making bean soup is prettay, prettay simple.

And let's face it: At a cost of around $4 for a big soup kettle full of hearty soup, this is a protein-rich, soul-warming dinner.

2 1/2 lbs. dried beans (we used a mix of beans, but you could use just one if you prefer)
1 whole onion, diced
4 carrots, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
4 bay leaves
3 large chicken bouillon squares (those ones that are flat and large, not the perfect square small ones)
Water, salt, and pepper to taste

Rinse and drain the beans, picking through them to look for anything that shouldn't be there. (Not like an elephant is going to hop in your colander, but you know what I mean.) Place beans, vegetables, and bay leaves in a large stockpot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and then turn down to med-low heat.

Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours on the stove, checking every half hour or so to make sure you don't need more water. When the beans are tender, add bouillon, salt, and pepper to taste. It's important not to add this early on, as the salt in these spices could keep your beans from softening.

When we were satisfied with the taste, we boiled a small kettle of rice so we could put a scoop on top to complete our bean protein. Then we removed the bay leaves and served the soup.  I added a little ketchup to my bowl--family tradition. Doug thought that was ridiculous.

But I'll tell you what--this soup is delicious and filling. I couldn't even finish my bowl. Bean soup is something we don't make nearly enough, but it's such a nice addition to our monthly dinner repertoire. The next day, you can heat leftovers up and add a little chicken stock to thin the soup out (if you want).

I think this soup, after thickening overnight, would be a delicious burrito filling with some additional spices added....or great mashed up as refried beans. These are just thoughts. Lots of possibilities!

Boysenberry Ice Cream

My parents have always had boysenberry bushes. What a treat it is to enjoy those fresh berries right off the vine, still warm from the sun. My mom, never one to let a good crop go to waste, has taken to freezing sheet pans of these berries for future pies, ice creams, and smoothies. I'm not sure that anything excites my dad quite as much as a boysenberry treat my mom's made.

A few nights ago, we made a delicious homemade ice cream with some of these frozen berries. The story goes that my mom took this ice cream to a potluck years and years ago and that it inspired one of the guests to go home and plant boysenberry bushes so he could make his own. I can see this happening.

Here's our boysenberry ice cream. We have this theory that if we eat homemade ice cream, no chemicals, no preservatives, that it's "good for us." After all, it's natural, right? Cream, sugar, milk, berries...health food!

1 1/2 c. frozen boysenberries
2 c. whole or 2% milk
1 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 carton Yoplait Boysenberry yogurt (red label)

Put half the berries in the microwave to defrost. Mash these up and cool them by adding the rest of the frozen berries (still whole) to this mixture. In a glass bowl, mix milk, cream, sugar, and yogurt. Pour into ice cream freezer. Start freezing according to manufacturer's direction. (We use one of those ice cream makers where you freeze the bowl and then bring it out for the 20-30 mins you need to make ice cream. Then you wash and refreeze--simple and easy!) No rock salt here.

As the ice cream is approaching finished consistency, add the berries to it and mix them all in. (Make sure they are entirely cool when you do this--they should be.) Then enjoy.

Picture this on homemade boysenberry pie. Oh boy. I suppose we could get our own ice cream maker and make these tasty concoctions at home, but the best part of it is gathering around with my parents to enjoy a family treat starring family grown fruit. Such a big believer in making the most of moments like these!

Homemade Butter

When I was a kid, I remember one particular time that a group of us shook whipping cream in a jar to make butter. Then we put it on crackers to enjoy it. Something about this is still so memorable for me. Of course, Doug has been incredulous about this memory and the idea of homemade butter.

So the other night, my mom gave him a jar and some whipping cream and salt to try it for himself. Five minutes of hard shaking later, he had a big pat of butter. We drained off the whey (I guess thriftier people do something with this too), and enjoyed it on LM banana bread. What a treat! Tastes just as good as German butter in the middle of Berlin!!

Doug is now going to make all our butter from scratch. We may even rig him up to a bicycle and do some home churning on a large scale. Just kidding. My dad was thinking of taking this idea to his mentoring group, giving the kids a chance to make butter to put on some bread or tortillas.

Nice to rediscover some of life's simplest pleasures, isn't it?

Burgers and Fries

I suppose this looks kind of tan and brown in the pic, but we're fascinated by our crinkle cutter. So there you have it. Doug made us turkey burgers and fries tonight for dinner. Boy, were they delicious. My only contribution to the meal was mixing ketchup with jalapeno ranch dressing as a dip for the fries. That was even better--

The excitement never ends over here. :)

Curry Broccoli Chicken

Every family has "that" casserole that may not sound so great but is absolutely genius when you taste it. In my family, it's our curried broccoli chicken. Few things make me so happy after a long day, and while this is a family staple that's been passed from cook to cook, the basic recipe is always comfortingly familiar.

We all have a few variations on this theme, but here goes it:

14 boneless, skinless chicken tenders, cooked
2 crowns broccoli, chopped into florets and steamed
2 cans cream of chicken soup, condensed
Juice of 1 large lemon (to taste)
1 c. mayo
1 c. sour cream
1 c. parmesan cheese
Curry powder to taste
Big crock of steamed rice (10-15 cups, depending on how much your crowd likes rice.)

Mix soup, lemon juice, mayo, sour cream, cheese, and curry powder to form a sauce. Arrange broccoli and chicken in greased 13 x 9 pan, and pour sauce over top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly. Warning: This is going to be cheesy and creamy.

Serve chicken mixture over rice, perhaps with a lovely green salad. Yum!! Sometimes, I vary this recipe a bit and add in other mixed veggies (carrots, peppers, and spinach, for example). Other times, I use lower fat mayo and sour cream and soup mix. Sometimes, we eat it with brown rice or over noodles. You get the idea--curry, lemony delight....can't go wrong.

My recommendation: Enjoy this dish and its many variations, and get some fresh curry powder! This will be one of those family favorites you won't be able to stop eating. Enjoy.

Dulce De Licious Ice Cream

A week or so ago, we had pizza and frozen yogurt. Doug inspired me with his dulce de leche froyo (I hate that term) topped with slivered almonds. However, it gave me the idea that we too could make this rich, creamy caramel concoction at home and have our own dulce deliciousness.

Now, I didn't know what dulce de leche was before about a week ago, but apparently, it's really sweet syrup boiled down from milk. We found Goya brand dulce de leche in the market, and it's a thick caramel syrup that looks like a sugar coma waiting to happen. It's delicious. Really my kind of stuff, as it turns out. And I'm not generally a fan of anything caramel.

So we made some ice cream in my mom's ice cream machine this weekend. Boy, it was tasty.

2 c. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. dulce de leche (make sure it's thick and legit, not sauce or thin syrup)
1/8 t. real vanilla extract
Sprinkle salt
2 1/2 c. toasted, salted slivered almonds

Combine first five ingredients in a sauce pan and heat on medium just until dulce de leche melts. Stir with a whisk. Cool mixture in fridge until it's cold. (This is important--you don't want to work with this hot in your ice cream freezer--it won't freeze.) That was the voice of experience speaking.

Pour chilled mixture into ice cream canister and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. When ice cream is about the consistency you're looking for, add 1/2 the almonds and mix in well. Serve with garnish of more slivered almonds on top. Go heavy on the almonds--texture is half of this experience.

We love that this ice cream isn't too sweet--other recipes out there will have you using a whole jar of dulce de leche, and I experimented with much less so as not to make it too sweet. As I often say, have fun with it. Once you get the container of mlik, quart of cream, and jar of dulce de leche home, you can make this recipe twice, and believe me: You'll want to.

Here's to starting off spring with ice cream!!

Homemade Granola

One of our close friends is celebrating a birthday today. He appreciates homemade just as much as we do, so we decided to make him a breakfast in bed gift basket. "Spring forward" mornings are some of the best days to lounge in bed reading (or blogging).

With that in mind, we packed a sturdy basket with two magazines, a bottle of sparkling mineral water, assorted fresh fruit, a quart of fresh-squeezed tangerine juice, a quart of homemade granola, a half pint of fresh pineapple jam, one loaf of sourdough bread, and a bag of Starbuck's coffee. I found myself wanting a breakfast in bed basket by the time we were through. Just add some milk and a few pats of butter, and you don't have to go too far for an instant vacation.

While we always love fresh tangerine juice (makes you forget your love affair with orange juice!), the real star of this basket has to be the granola. Ina Garten was my inspiration on this one, but we tweaked the Barefoot Contessa's idea quite a bit to make our own granola that will now be a household staple. Doug couldn't stop eating it off the tray yesterday!

Homemade Granola

2 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 c. chopped almonds
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1 c. sweetened, shredded coconut
6 T. canola oil
2 T. agave nectar

This is so simple: Mix it all together in a big glass bowl and then spread onto greased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, mixing with a spatula every five. This made about a quart and a half of granola all said and done. (I'm guessing here--we packed a quart jar for the basket and Doug ate a few generous handfuls.)

This came out wonderfully. Toasty, slightly sweet, and very comforting. When I've seen Ina make granolas on her show, I've always thought it looked too fussy when you could go buy a package of Quaker at the store. But I couldn't believe how easy this was to make and how astoundingly good it tasted--so much better than chemical cereal from the market. Even better, we eliminated Ina's sweetener (honey) and added our own (agave, and much less of it!).

Now we're eager to try all sorts of fruit/nut combinations with our base recipe: dried mango and chopped macadamias; dried apricots, almonds, and cashews; dried cherries and almonds; raisins, almonds, and pecans. I'll also probably experiment with unsweetened shredded coconut in the near future, as I have about three cups of it in the pantry. You get the idea.

Here's to milestone birthdays and to springing forward with wonderful new traditions!