Thank God for Rick Bayless and Bob Ross

Beans. They are amongst my most favorite things to eat. Green beans, soybeans, lentils, kidney, pinto, black and adzuki are a few of my favorites. They're just so versatile. And dammit if Rick Bayless himself didn't just make my beans – and Sunday afternoon prep work for thes work-week much easier.

The concept is flawless. The gentle and long cooking perspective helps the beans to keep their juices with them the entire time, as opposed to a soak or quick-cook method. It also allows them to keep relatively intact. The slow-cook advantage is the ability to infuse the flavors you want into the beans while cooking, therefore giving masterful depth with little effort.

Chipotle Beans
1.5 cups dry black beans
1.5 cups dry pinto beans
1 dried chipotle pepper
1 onion, chopped medium sized
1/2 head of garlic, smashed

Heat water to a boil in an electric kettle (or pot on the stove). You will need to cover your beans by about 4 inches, so keep that in mind. Give your beans a good rinse and add them to your crock-pot. Cover with boiling water. Turn crock-pot on high. Add dried chipotle, onion and garlic. Let cook for 4-6 hours or until beans are soft, but not delicate. You may need to add water as the beans expand and absorb. Beans normally increase to 3 times their size while they cook. 1 cup of dry beans will yield 3 cups cooked.

So what do we do with these beans? Well it varies, but once they are done, they usually go into a variety of recipes. Add jalapeno-tomatoes and a touch of cumin and you've got a great veg-chili. Add chopped tomatoes, green olives and avocado chunks and serve over brown rice for a great complete protein meal. Smash up and whip with cream cheese and bake for a great bean dip for chips. Serve over crushed tortilla chips, greens and sharp cheddar for a quick taco salad. Smash up with potatoes and make my Tomatillo Enchiladas! You can see why we make a pot each week.

Where's Bob Ross fit into all of this? Well, he's the master of the fan brush.

Comfort Food

While most people find themselves eating their way through a pint of Häagen Dazs in tough times, I head to the kitchen to work out my thoughts. It's the method of working the ingredients that eases my mind.

I had been thinking a lot about David Cross and how much I loved him in Just Shoot Me. There is one particular episode that never fails to cheer me up. And here is the excerpt that spawned tonights dinner. I heart David Cross. So I present you with a recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchens Cookbook

Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pie
(let's face it, you know you wanted to hear it again)

Stew
4 chicken breasts
4 cups chicken stock
4 medium potatoes, boiled and chopped into large chunks
2 carrots, sliced
handful of snow peas
4 tablespoons of butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smushed and roughly chopped
couple sprigs of thyme
sprig of rosemary

Biscuit Dough
2 cups of flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold butter, chopped
3/4 cup milk
olive oil for brushing the tops

Stew Filling
Bring a pot of water to boil. Toss in your chopped potatoes and boil until soft, set aside. Drop in the sugar snap peas to blanch - this is mainly to keep the colour of the peas vibrant. Scoop them out after a few minutes and set aside.

Take your chicken breasts and put them into a pan. Cover completely with chicken stock and pop the lid on. Poach for 20 mins. Take off heat, let cool and then shred the chicken roughly with two forks, set aside. Reserve stock.

Melt butter in another pan and add the carrots, onion and garlic. Cook until soft. Make a roux by adding 1/3 cup of flour slowly. Once you've worked that in, whisk in the reserved stock. Once it's pulled together into a bit of a gravy, add the potatoes, sugar snap peas and chicken. Stir gently to combine. Season with herbs, salt and pepper. Pour into a ceramic baking dish.

Biscuit Dough
Whisk flour together with baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Work small amounts of butter into the flour with your fingertips. You should be aiming for pea-sized pieces (this helps with the flakiness factor). Gently stir in the milk until it forms a loose dough. Flour a kneading board and pat the dough into a rough rectangle about 1/2 thick. Fold the dough into thirds. Then pat out into a disc. Place dough on top of stew and cut a few breathing holes. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Cook for about 20 minutes or until the top has become golden brown. Let sit for a good 5 minutes to set.

Think of David Cross while you eat it.

Banana Bread with Walnut Butter

I woke up this morning to a familiar scent from my past. Slighty sweet, a bit spicy. It was just for a second. Memories triggered by smell always seem to linger just enough for you to recognize it and then on second sniff, it's gone. The smell was banana bread, my Grandmother's and I had to try to replicate it.

Grandma Ruth's been gone now for 8 years, and lately she's become more present in my life. For such a long time it was too painful to think about her. Too emotional to sort through her belongings, let alone depart with them. This year has been a year of dealing with the past and preparing for the future, with B. I'm fortunate to have such a loving, understanding and supportive partner to open up old wounds and learn to heal them.

My Nana made the best banana bread and as hard as I've tried - I cannot get mine even close to hers. Her breads were the color of maple syrup, had a sticky top and you could see the banana threads swirl throughout the loaf. It resembled more a cake than a bread and sliced well. Although I'm going to keep at trying to nail down a recipe close to hers - there's a sweet satisfaction in knowing it will never taste as truly good without her having made it.

It's silly, but I need to get this recipe down, I'd like to introduce my own kids to it someday.

Today's recipe is a simple recipe, and one that seemed to fit my Grandma's style. Simple banana bread, no nuts, oats or fuss. Scented with vanilla - it's a moist and wet bread.

Quest for Nana's Nana Bread #1
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1.4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3.4 brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups of ripe, mashed bananas

For the Walnut Butter:
handful of walnuts
couple tablespoons of soft butter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 9x3 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Do not over-stir. Pour batter evenly into greased pans. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Grind walnuts in a mortar & pestel. Mix walnuts into butter.

I like to slice off a piece as I go and lightly butter. It's how my Nana did it.

*I can tell by the un-sticky surface of the bread that this isn't my Grandma's recipe...but damn it's still good. The mission continues...

Wedding Bliss

I know I haven't been around much lately, and that's because something very cool was unfolding in my life. I was devoted to planning a wedding for myself and B. I have to admit we didn't eat well while we were in the last few months of nailing down details! The day after the wedding I cooked all day long. It was a great, guilty pleasure to get back into our kitchen and start being productive again – and what better cause to celebrate than cooking a great big feast for my new husband?

I feel so much lighter in my heart knowing I've been truly chosen. I've always had this craving of belonging to someone in a more serious way. Our commitment was always there, but there is something to be said for standing up and declaring it in front of your family and closest friends that makes it real. I've never felt more balance in a relationship. The love flows both ways and is just as deep from one to the other. I am a lucky woman, he, a lucky man.

What better way to celebrate than with food?

Soon after, we headed down to Playa del Carmen for our honeymoon. Some righteous new friends had mentioned a condo their parents owned about 40 mins from where we had intended to stay. It was beautiful. We quickly decided to not be tourists and just enjoy timeless days together. We took one day trip the entire week. It was through Altournative Tours, which is a really cool company devoted to conservation. You can read about their mission here. We decided to go on the Jungle Crossing Tour into Rancho San Felipe, a small Maya family community where the Nohoch Nah Chich Cenote system is located (one of the longest explored underground river systems in the world). It was here, I tasted what the locals call Jamaica. The tea is made from Hibiscus petals, which are steeped with sugar in water. Omuhgosh. Sweet nectar of the gods. This divine treat is super easy to make and will make your kool-aid cry.

Jamaica

4 cups water
1/2 cup dried jamaica flowers
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups of cold water
lime slices, for garnish and a good squeeze

Serve with sugar to taste

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove the water from heat and add the dried flowers and sugar. Pop a lid over the pot and let steep for at least 10 minutes. About midway through, give a gentle stir to help the sugar dissolve.

Strain the tea into a large pitcher. Remember to take her easy, this stuff stains! You have a concentrated tea, so now you will want to add in another 4 cups. Stir thoroughly. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar based on your tastes. Chill. Pour over ice or drink it straight like a tough-guy. Slurp happily.

Now, do me proud and go get yourself a bag of Hibiscus flowers at your local Mexican Grocer.

Risotto Breakfast Cakes

Oh my. I have the house to myself this weekend and when that happens you bet your ass I'm cooking up a storm! The afternoon rolled-in the gloom yesterday with a dreary long-lasting shower over the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. Hmmm, what to make? I had asparagus and zucchini in the chiller...

I decided on Asparagus & Roasted Tomato Risotto. I just love this. I love it because 1 batch gets us dinner with enough left over to make Riso al Salto (Risotto Breakfast Cakes) for breakfast the next morning - sweet!

Riso al Salto Towers

cooled leftover risotto
eggs (1 per person - for tops)
Parmesan curls
fresh herbes (a nice touch - not to worry if you don't have them, it will be just as delicious - maybe parsley or chives)

1. So you take your chilled risotto and form it into palm size patties. Pour a bit of olive oil in your cast iron and place the patties in. Once they've browned, flip over. Pull them out on a plate when both sides have formed a nice crust.

2. Delicately crack two eggs into a warmed and lightly oiled pan. Fry them to your desired.

3. Place risotto cake on your plate, top with a fried egg and sprinkle with Parmesan curls and fresh herbes of your choice.

A great way to complete two meals with one dish. Rock.

Muy Caliente!

Oh Baby! Huevos Rancheros, you rocked my world this morning with your sweet allure and spicy deliverance! You served me up with a smoky satisfying brunch smack-down of succulence.

I was feeling a little sassy this morning regarding breakfast. This is a great thing, you know. I'm on the upswing once again.

Life has been a series of changes for me lately and I know it's a growth spurt, but damn I have been trying to be everything to everyone and I just need some time to focus on me. Cooking helps center me. Even better is when I get to show my feelings through the food I create.

Huevos Racheros

Chili-spiked beans:
1 15 oz can pinto beans - not drained
1 small red pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. chipotle powder
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
pinch cayenne

Jalapeno Home Slices:
2 russet potatoes, thinly sliced discs
1/2 medium onion, sliced in half moons
1 jalapeno, sliced in discs
sea salt
sploosh of Heart Healthy canola oil

Fluffy Eggs:
2 large organic eggs
splash of milk
sea salt
fresh pepper

Corn tortillas:
fresh corn tortillas
fresh lime
sea salt
sploosh of Heart Healthy canola oil

Polenta:
corn grits
water

Fixin's:
cilantro, chopped
shredded extra sharp cheddar
hot sauce
fagé yogurt or sour cream

Start your Home Slices by heating 2 Tbsp canola oil in a cast-iron pan. Drop in your russet slices (carefully), once browned on one side, flip over and add in onions and jalapenos. Once close to done, push everything to one side of the pan, and add a sploosh of canola oil, drop two corn tortillas in and brown on each side. Pull them out, sprinkle with lime juice and sea salt.

To make the beans
Sauté onions, red pepper & garlic until lightly browned. Add spices and mix. After about 30 seconds, add the beans and simmer on low.

Make polenta according to directions on the package for two servings. Add in 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese and 1 Tbsp chipotle powder, mix well, set aside. (if it thickens up too much, add a tad of water and mix through before serving.)

Fluffy eggs are basically scrambled, cooked on low heat and flipped often throughout the pan. I prefer to cook mine in a saucepan so they don't dry out.

When everything is ready, place one corn tortilla down on your plate, top with a good spoonful of chili beans and a scoop of fluffy eggs. Top with cilantro and shredded cheese. Squeeze some lime on top. Serve with fixin's.

Savor the spice.

I grill when I want!

Rain won't stop me. I'm Minnesotan, for chrissakes.

I was thinking about grilling out all day long. I knew I was going to the store for the b. to pick up some animal, so I picked up a few veggies to roast and the ingredients for a new bean burger recipe I had been wanting to try out.

Our menu tonight was Rib-eye steak, seasoned with Diane's Seasoning (thanks Wright!) Roasted Vegetables, rustic chopped potatoes, zucchini, onions and cauliflower - tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt & pepper and with a little rosemary and thyme tucked in. Pinto Bean Burger, consisting of mushrooms, onions, pinto beans & spices.

It was good.