Category Archives: Recipes from my Kitchen

Spicy Black Bean Tacos & Meatout

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In celebration of Meatout today, which is the world’s largest annual grassroots diet education campaign, this series of posts is aimed at people who are ready to explore a wholesome and nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains.  According to the people at FARM, the purpose of this yearly event is to “expose the public to the joys and benefits of a plant-based diet…”  (To read more about Meatout, visit their website!)

When it comes to first forays into meatless meals, I suggest starting with something familiar, easy, and that can easily translate into leftovers.  That means less planning and preparing down the road since the bulk of the work is done.   It’s all well and good to decide to make a positive change, but it’s certainly easier when hunger hits to be able to grab a few essentials and make something that feels like your normal, everyday meal, just without the animal products.  No one wants to be left staring into the refrigerator with a stomach that is screaming “Feed me!” and wondering, “Now what do I do?”

For this series, I’ve given my recipe for Spicy Black Beans.  Over the next few posts, I’ll show you how those same black beans can play a leading part in several different and tasty meals.  In a way it’s like leftovers, but it doesn’t feel tired because it brings new flavors and textures with it in the form of different entrees.  (If you want to make all four recipes, you’ll likely need to double the batch.)

To start, these Spicy Black Beans can slip effortlessly into warmed whole wheat tortillas or corn shells.  Add all of the usual suspects – chopped romaine or kale, tomatoes, salsa, red onions, and avocado.

Spicy Black Beans

Serves 2-4

  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup red onion, chopped small
  • 1 ½ cups black beans (1 15 oz can), drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice
  • ¼ cup water
  • Salt, to taste

Heat skillet to a medium heat and add extra virgin olive oil to the heated pan.  Rotate pan to spread the oil and add minced garlic.  Set aside 2 Tbsp of the raw red onions to use as a topping.  Sauté remaining onions with garlic in pan until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add black beans, cumin, chili powder, oregano, coriander, paprika, lime juice, and water to the pan.  Use a spatula to fully combine the beans and spices.  Once it has warmed and any excess liquid has cooked off, add salt to taste and serve.

Banana & Chocolate Soft Serve

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People, I know they’re calling this “the winter that wasn’t.”  However, that doesn’t make me feel any less thankful that the sun has turned up its dial, the daffodils are popping up, and I am back on the bike path churning my pedals and donning a tank top.  The birds are chirping excitedly, and my pale skin is drinking up every last drop of the sun’s rays.  The cats are basking in the light, enjoying the three-season porch, and looking like furry ballerinas as they stretch and preen while they clean themselves in the warmth.  If there’s one blessing to cold days and few hours of sunlight, it’s that magical time when the world takes the proverbial shades off of the windows and it’s light until 6, then 7, then 8, then 9…

The time is now to take the cover off of the grill, say goodbye to soups and stews and hello to asparagus, artichokes and ice cream.  But not all at the same time.  Why don’t we start with ice cream?

Frozen bananas are the David Copperfield of the produce world.  They are master illusionists.  Just don’t ask them to make the Statue of Liberty disappear.   (How do you make the Statue of Liberty disappear?  With a tall ladder and a boatload of Lyme-a-way.)  Of course, bananas are no strangers to cold desserts.  They play the leading role in a banana split, but why stop there?  Peeled and frozen in chunks until they’re hard, with a turn in the blender or food processor bananas become creamy ice cream in their own right.  I remember commercials in the eighties that involved kids reading confusing chemical-laden ingredient lists from conventional ice creams.  They boasted that their signature ice cream only involved a handful of ingredients, but how about three?  (If you want to go a step further, some people make banana ice cream in a food processor with frozen bananas and nothing else.)  I used my newest favorite homemade milk, cashew milk, to take this dish to melty perfection, but vanilla soy milk is also a tasty choice.

After the freezing is done, this quick dessert comes together in less than a minute.  The only addition this cool and creamy ice cream needs is perhaps a melted drizzle of semi-sweet chocolate chips or a Maraschino cherry or two.  (Most maraschino cherries are made with high fructose corn syrup and red dyes, and so I opt for the cherries from Tillen Farms.)

Banana & Chocolate Soft Serve

Serves 2 very generously

  • ½ cup + 2 Tbsp non-dairy milk
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 3 bananas, peeled and frozen in chunks

Blend non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, and bananas in a blender until smooth but still thick.

Crispy Cabbage

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When it comes to the two options in take it or leave it, where cabbage is concerned, my husband would be in the “leave it” camp.  It’s not that he doesn’t like cabbage, per say.  It’s more that he’s indifferent to it.  It doesn’t have the boldest of flavors.  It’s a background vegetable.  However, I grew up in a family where cabbage was in the regular rotation.  It was often boiled and topped with salt and pepper, but it could also be seen in stir-fries or in the form of sauerkraut.  So as an adult, generally when I bring cabbage into our house, it gets a lukewarm response.

“What are we having for dinner?  Oh, cabbage.”  (Cue crickets.)

We’ll put it on tacos, throw a handful into a Thai noodle stir-fry, or steam it as a side.  Then I’m left to my own devices trying to figure out how to finish off a head of cabbage by myself.  It becomes the cabbage burden.

That is to say, it used to be the cabbage burden.  Ladies and gentlemen, a cabbage lover has been created.  In fact, just this afternoon over lunch my husband went back for seconds and took the final scoop of cabbage.  (Luckily, he saw my forlorn face and gave me the last bite.)  What brought about this change?  Roasting.

Yes, I know, roasting is not news.  Everyone knows about roasting.  Like its warm weather cousin, grilling, roasting has the ability to bring the sweetness of a vegetable to life while also deepening its flavors.  The caramelized and slightly burnt qualities give it an extra crispness and a fuller taste.  Many vegetables are improved when roasted – Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, Delicata squash…  Yet, somehow I’d never thought to try our cruciferous colleague, cabbage.

Crispy cabbage isn’t completely dissimilar to the web darling, crispy kale, but it’s more of a side dish than a potato chip replacement.  When you remove the core and cut it into small pieces, there’s a greater crispy, nearly burnt portion to green ratio.  With each satisfying bite, you get some crunchy parts, some buttery soft, and a little hit of salt.

Be warned, these bites of cabbage shrink by a good margin.  If you’re serving two, make a double batch.  Put the second batch on its own baking sheet, so that it has plenty of room to spread out.  If it’s piled together or there’s too much on a sheet, it means that it will steam instead of roast.  Roasting time can vary depending on your oven and how close the baking sheet is to the heat source.

Crispy Cabbage

Serves 1

  • 2 heaping cups raw cabbage, chopped small
  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss cabbage with extra virgin olive oil and spread evenly on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.  Roast for 20 minutes, stopping once to toss.  Top cabbage with a sprinkling of salt and serve.

In other news, I’ve been taking a pottery class for the past couple of months, and this week I did a guest post over at Earthfood Experiment on the topic of art and transformation.  Check it out!

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