22.09.13 | GIGANTE BEAN SALAD WITH PRAWNS

Let me share this really lovely salad we had a lot over the summer. It's simple, fresh and flavoursome and perfect for a weekend lunch. You could switch the leaves up if you're not too keen on the peppery watercress, i think baby leaf spinach would work well. The key to this is the marinating time, so make sure you let it sit for at least an hour.

23.03.13 | BAKED BUTTER BEANS W/ PARSLEY & DILL

Do you remember that advert for horlicks or lemsip or something like that? You know the one right,  with the massive armchair that gives you a hug as you drink the horlicks/lempsip/gin?
Yes? No? Don't care?!
Well anyway, this is what this dish makes you feel like - like it's giving you a big fat hug which lets face it, with the weather still awful it's just what you need, a big old baked beany hug. Yep.

You can serve this two ways, either similar to this or by serving alongside some grilled chicken as a side dish. I did it the first way and served it with a hefty baguette & some feta.

Simple. Innit.

Go on - hug it out!

FOOD: BLACK BEAN TOSTADAS W/ PINK PICKLED ONIONS

When I was deep in thought about whether to jump into Veganism or not, one of the questions that kept cropping up was "but what about Mexican food, will there be enough choice for a vegan?" As you know, I'm a Mexican food nut and I am a total chilli addict, so the thought of Taco night being no more (or being replaced with some squash & rice combination) really made me think twice. I needed to find a good veggie / vegan recipe that I could turn to in those moments when my taste buds are literally crawling out of my mouth and buying a one way ticket to Cozumel.

So, i searched. And i searched & came up with very little that took my interest. Then on the hop, i randomly picked up a copy of BBC Vegetarian magazine (never bought before) & well, to say I got LUCKY when I found the recipe i'm about to share with you is an huge understatement! Once I'd tweaked it a little and added some of these pink pickled onions, it was like i'd never even had any Mexican food before. Well, nothing that tasted like this anyway. The flavours were out of this world, and the texture of the tosadadas - a dream! It was my actually first time making tostadas too and buy their own admission these are whoppers in size, but once i got used to the breaking up & scooping & scoffing, i was in food heaven. Again. And I feel blessed that this is still happening, as I was a little scared it wouldn't be if i'm honest. If you wanted to make this less faffy, then you could opt out of the pickled onion stage, but if you have time i'd really recommend you didn't as it's a huge part of the flavour experience here...

So, go on! Schedule this meal to happen this week because it's about to blow your mind!

FOOD: BLACK BEAN AND MANGO QUINOA

Sometimes in life you need to just get over stuff.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you gain 4lbs over the summer.

Sometimes, you need to accept that your worn out uggs are not doing their job as footwear anymore.
You especially need to realise this if you slip over and fall smack bang on your ass THREE times in one morning (it's ok, nobody saw you, but seriously, three times?!)

Other times in life you need to embrace stuff.

Stuff like cookie butter. NO! FOOL! Actually not like cookie butter - i gained 4 pounds sneaking spoonfuls of this stuff. I'm warning you, if you ever get the chance, do not embrace cookie butter. 

No, you need to embrace stuff like the leaves that are turning yellow & falling from the trees or the fact that the nights are drawing in & you can call up your chimney sweep to get ready for that first fire of the season. You need to embrace the fun planning of Halloween and then bonfire night and then Christmas! Sorry, way too early to mention that word i know...

Then there are times in life when you just need to man up & both get over it and embrace it. Just like I just did with some corn.
Yes, I am rambling on like a crazy person about corn.
You see I have a funny thing about corn being used in salsas or salads. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. It's just one of those things & i to be honest I hadn't felt like it's something i ever needed to address because it's just corn, right? Er -Wrong! As a Mexican food addict  i totally needed to get over it & embrace that funny little yellow bit of oddness.

So I got brave.

And after i congratulated myself for buying a fresh cob of corn, I made this recipe which blew my socks off! I had it today for lunch in a tortilla with lashings of hot sauce & then tonight, i had it again after the mister told me he was going out for steak (!) but i served it with some grilled chicken. It's a flavour bomb waiting to go off & you need to try it.
Especially if you have a weird unjustified aversion to corn.

Go Make!

BLACK BEAN SALSA

The other night I was trying to find a new way to satisfy my never ending desire for Mexican food. And, well, this happened. 

It's a gorgeously spicy fresh salsa with the added omph of black beans. 

Fingers crossed that this salsa will be the stepping stone I need to get me to try a corn salsa one day soon as i have a weird aversion to this Mexican classic.... I have no idea why either.

This salsa may also be the way to get Dexter to eat a bean. Ok, Ok, so it's unlikely that will happen but if it does, then this salsa has magical properties. I'd totally go as far as to say that, as it's sooooo good. 

Errr, what are you waiting for? Go MAKE!

SPICY BEAN BURGERS

Do you remember not so long ago, when I blogged about this black bean salad? 

Remember how much i said i hated, hated, HATED red kidney beans? 

Well, that's changed.

You see, I seem to have completley changed my mind about this weird little funny shaped, funny coloured bean.

I can't apologise for that though because I'm human, we do that A LOT & it's totally acceptable, especially when it comes to food. In fact, when it comes to food it's a very important thing!

So, yes, I can now be heard singing from my little pink kitchen about how I love love LOVE red kidney beans. Well, i do when they're mixed up in this burger anyway, and I still reserve the right to hate them again at any given time...

This wind of change started when I recently went out for lunch at The Swan in Swineford & ordered pretty much the only thing i could eat off the menu (gallstones...yawn). What came out was the most delicious veggie burger i've ever had & it was topped with a homemade chutney your grandmother would be proud of!

Then a couple of days passed & whilst I pottered about doing 4 billion laundry loads, school runs, 4 squbillion nappy changes etc etc, i could not get that damn burger out of my mind. So, I gave in & decided to make my own - y'know just to share the love with the folks around me (nothing at all to do with being food obsessed....)

I found this recipe & although the flavours were good, it just didn't hit the right notes for me. The burgers didn't really hold their own & weren't 'substantial enough', which really means 'i have the appetite of a bloke & need more umph'.

So, I tweaked it and for some bizarre reason, i added my worst bean ever. I don't know why? It's totally possible i forgot I hated them, but who cares, right? This burger is amazeballs. 

I just said Amazeballs? 

Geeeeeez..... 

Anyway, it is...

We served ours with some sweet potato chips, but a good salad would be enough as these burgers fill you right up. Result!

Go fourth my friends & make!

BLACK BEAN SALAD W/ PRAWNS AND PINK PICKLED ONIONS

Hmmm. 

Beans. 

A tricky subject in this house. 

Do I like them? Yes! No! Maybe. I love butter beans, black beans, canellini beans but i hate, hate, HATE kidney beans. I hate black eyed beans too & I'm also a bit weird about baked beans. 

But, the mister loves them all, and Flo too will literally exhale any type of beany dish in a matter of minutes. Dex on the other hand wouldn't even entertain the idea of being in the same room as a bean, whereas India's current opinion on any food is 'can i throw it across the room? Yes? Winner!' 

So, because we are a bunch of fusspots, choosing a bean dish as a meal in this house, is kind of like a leap of faith. But, sometimes you have to take one of those - it's important - and this particular leap was one that I'm bloody glad i did. It's sweet! It's zingy! It's flippin' amazing...

WHAT WE ARE EATING: Greek (ish) butter beans with feta

We are not a vegetarian household (my husband would eat me within weeks if I imposed that!) but we do only eat meat a couple of times a week. On top of this, I personally do try to steer clear of red meat all together, so it's important to me to have an arsenal of flavoursome veggie suppers to keep things interesting around here!
I found this particular recipe in the Leon Book 2 which was recommended to me by a friend & I've since adapated it over time, tweaking to how it works best for us...
Leon Book 2 is such a goooood recipe book to own & if you don't already have it & your meal planner/rotation is currently boring the crap out of you, then go get this NOW because you need it in your kitchen! The recipes are pretty much all gorgeous and i use it a lot. It's not just great for new recipes, but also for ideas & inspiration - it's the gift that keeps on giving! Luck!
The best recipe for me though is 'Mima's Greek-ish Butter Beans'. Flavour wise - it punches you in the mouth! Is that OK? Well it is if it's done in a good 'foodie type way' i'll have you know - (you need to think Gordon Ramsey doing his annoying hand slapping thing whilst he's bouncing around not looking at the camera. Think of every annoying hand-slap as a flavour & you're THERE!).
Also, it's v. healthy, v. filling & v. comforting, and who say's no to that combi? I normally serve this with a crusty baguette (do I say that about every meal? Ha! Probably!) or even a crisp green salad on the side, but in all honesty, you don't really need anything else with this dish, as it totally holds it's own! Hurrah x

So here's what you'll need for 2 grown ups (we sometimes have leftovers):

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion - finely chopped
4 cloves garlic - finely chopped
2 level teaspoons of fennel seeds
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
2 - 3 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
2 x 400g of butter beans* - drained & rinsed
100g of feta cheese
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

and, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Heat your oil in a large deep pan. When hot, add your red onion & fry gently for a couple of minutes.
2. Add your garlic, fennel seeds & dried oregano. Cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture is really soft.

3. Add your tomato puree & tinned tomatoes. Combine well & leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

4. Add your butter beans, season & continue to simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Crumble 1/4 of your feta (25g) very finely into the stew. Mix well & then continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

6. YOU'RE ALMOST DONE!
7. Serve your lovely stew into your bowls, and crumble the remaining feta over the dishes. Serve with whatever takes your fancy bread wise (baguette anyone?) - and ENJOY!

8. Mmm, that tastes good, right?