Black Beans and Rice…Fancy Style!

Happy 2012!

Everybody make some stellar resolutions for the new year? I did! …I resolve to see Paris in the spring (or summer)! …That’s a resolution, right? I haven’t thought all that much about it yet, but I’m going to figure out how to make it happen!

My holiday weekend was spent working the early shift, which to be honest, does not agree with me! I’m a complete night owl! When I wake up at 4am (give or take a couple hours…), I’m worthless by the time I get home from work. I don’t want to clean. I don’t want to exercise. I don’t want to cook. All I want to do is sit on the couch and watch Lifetime movies. Lame (and incredibly embarassing!), but true. Sometimes I force myself to get things done, but I’ve got to say…it ain’t easy!

After work yesterday I had good intentions. I stopped at the grocery store, Bon Appetit in hand, and filled my cart with veggies, organic chicken breasts, and beans. I even bought a bottle of sparkling pink grape juice (Piyush doesn’t drink…and I had to be up early for work). I planned on making an easy…but awesome New Years Eve dinner since neither Piyush nor I wanted to go out. Well, that didn’t happen! Sometimes good intentions aren’t enough. I needed motivation, but must have hit my yearly limit…because I found none! …We ordered sushi instead, and I promised myself I’d definitely cook the next day. Piyush and I enjoyed our sushi dinner (kind of. It wasn’t the best…) and then I went to bed at 8:30pm! That never happens! He woke me up at midnight to give me my New Years kiss, then he went back downstairs to watch golf, or something. I had a full 8 hours of sleep, and it was wonderful!

Once work was over, I came home and started preparing for dinner. This way I couldn’t decide to be lazy. I poached the chicken breasts and made the apple salsa. I was trying a new recipe I saw in January’s issue of Bon Appetit: Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa.

As I was paging through the magazine, the recipe jumped out at me…and I knew I wanted to make it. Well, I mostly wanted to eat it…but it had to be made to be eaten. This recipe was super easy and really flavorful! Like, really flavorful! I think the apple salsa was my favorite part!

I made a few changes to the recipe, but they were pretty minor. First, I don’t like rotisserie chicken. Sure, it’s incredibly easy…and cheaper than organic chicken breasts, but there’s something about the flavor that doesn’t sit right with me. I think they’re too salty. Instead, I poached two chicken breasts in a pan with enough water to cover them. I threw in a bay leaf and a few spices…and wham! In addition to my super tender chicken, I also had homemade broth. It didn’t have as much flavor as stock that simmers all day long with bones and herbs, but I’ll tell you one thing. It was way better than canned or boxed broth that has ingredients listed that I don’t even know if they’re safe to consume. Bought chicken broth usually has that “off” flavor, anyway…and if you get the organic unsalted stuff, it’s expensive!

A quick note on the organic thing, we don’t buy everything organic. We’d be broke if we did. Meat is one item I really try hard to purchase as either organic or straight from the farmer who raised it, though. It doesn’t always happen, but I get sorta creeped out by a lot of the things I’ve read about hormones and slaughterhouses…and to be honest, I want to eat the meat for what it is…not for what chemicals it was injected with.

Back to the recipe, I also cooked the rice (white rice, because it’s what we had on hand) in our rice cooker in some of that homemade chicken broth. The recipe didn’t specify to rinse the beans, but I definitely did. That bean goo creeps me out…and they’re doused in so much unnecessary sodium. A quick rinse cured both those problems.

I’m so glad we have a lot of left overs and I can’t wait to gobble up that apple salsa again tomorrow! Wooo! Wooo!

The Recipe:

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa

Adapted from Bon Appetit (link to recipe here)

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
1 teaspoon (or more) fresh lime juice
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 2–3-pound rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded
4–6 lime wedges

Directions:

Combine apple, 1/4 cup cilantro, 2 tablespoons onion, and 1 teaspoon lime juice in a small bowl; toss to coat. Set apple salsa aside.

Combine remaining onion, bell pepper, and oil in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until completely softened, 6–7 minutes. Add garlic and next 3 ingredients; stir constantly for 2 minutes. Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer briskly, mashing some of the beans with the back of a spoon and stirring often, until sauce is thickened, 8–10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and more lime juice, if desired.

Divide rice and beans among plates. Top with some chicken and apple salsa. Garnish with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro and lime wedges.

“Dorthy’s Cookies”… a.k.a Chocolate Crinkles

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Although winter in Minnesota is usually quite harsh—piles of snow deeper than I am tall, and temperatures that would make even an Eskimo cringe— this particular winter has been anything but normal. Its the end of December and it is nearly 40 degrees outside…at 10 pm! I’m not complaining…no sir-ree…in fact, I wish every winter was as mild!
Not everyone agrees with me, though. Most people that live in Minnesota look forward to the snow and the cold, and all the “joys” that winter brings. Snowmobiles, snowshoes, skis and snowboards… all useless. But, with the absence of snow, it seems there is also an absence of Christmas Spirit.

Christmas is only a few days past, and already businesses have taken down their lights, trees are no longer shining, and parents are wishing the holidays would fly by so they could send their kids back to school.
I suppose I also associate snow with Christmas. A part of me wished for a white Christmas (although, a very small part). And that same part of me was (maybe) disappointed when it didn’t turn out that way. Christmas just isn’t Christmas unless it’s white outside. It’s also not Christmas without Dorthy’s Cookies.

Dorthy's Cookies

You see, Dorthy was a little, old lady—one of my grandma’s friends. She had one of the kindest hearts, an amazing love for her family, and an incredible talent for baking. Dorthy was always baking something for someone, and she was famous for her chocolate cookies. My mom told me she called them macaroons (which they weren’t), but I don’t remember that. For as long as I can remember, my family always just called them “Dorthy’s cookies”, and they were a hot commodity. She would pass them around at church and often give pails of them out as gifts. I remember one of the last times I saw Dorthy, she was attending my cousin’s wedding. She wasn’t in good health but she had a smile on her face and lots to say (Dorthy also had the gift of gab). Earlier in the morning the little kids at church had celebrated their First Communion and she told me she had baked 12 pails of cookies so each kid could have one. That’s just how Dorthy was. She loved everyone and showed that love with cookies—fudgy, chocolate cookies, rolled in powdered sugar…to be specific!

Every year, Dorthy’s cookies made an appearance on my family’s cookie tray. And every year, they were scarfed down as soon as they were set out. That is, until Dorthy passed away. Once she was gone, so were the cookies. My family had the recipe, and apparently my aunts tried to make them…but they never turned out the same. Then, one year I asked mom for the recipe. It was scribbled down on a dirty little note card. The directions were very vague and the ingredients were smudged. No wonder they never turned out! I tried finding them online, but had no luck. Then, one day, around Christmastime 2009, I was using “stumbleupon”…and as I clicked the button, Dorthy must have been smiling down on me. There were her cookies! They were called Chocolate Crinkle cookies and apparently were actually Betty’s cookies (Betty Crocker).

I was so excited. I called mom and told her I’d be making Dorthy’s cookies for Christmas. That night I mixed the batter together and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next day I baked them…and they were perfect! Christmas was complete!

It’s funny how a cookie can mean so much to a family, but it’s true. They really do. And this year was no different. In fact, a couple weeks ago, as I was mixing up the dough (a double batch) my sister stopped over. When she saw the dough being mixed, her eyes got huge! She begged me to bake a pan early, so she could have a couple. One pan turned to two pans, and then my brother stopped over…and they were gone as soon as I took them out of the oven.

These cookies are definitely something special…

Aside from putting the cookies on the cookie plate this year, I also included a package of them in the gift baskets I made for my family. I even got my niece involved, and she helped roll them in the sugar.

We celebrate together on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas day I recieved a text message from my brother that said: “I ate all of the cookies you made by myself. Please make me more.” …and that makes me smile. I’m sure Dorthy would be happy too!

Find Dorthy’s recipe HERE.

Fleur De Sel Soft Caramels

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I wanted to give Piyush something special for Christmas this year. We decided not to exchange gifts because we had just returned from India—where we bought so many incredible things! We also splurged on a pool table for our family room earlier in the month, so there really wasn’t anything either one of us needed, or wanted.

Piyush does so much for me though, so I decided to surprise him with something I know he loves…homemade soft caramels! We sometimes buy them from Knudsen’s Caramels in Redwing, MN…but seriously?! $12 a pound is a lot of money to spend on caramels. They’re delicious and definitely worth it, but it’s a splurge.

I’ve never made caramels before but I figured it couldn’t be that hard, and it’d definitely be a lot more cost effective. I did a little research online and found a recipe I thought would work. Long story short, I overcooked them (I blame my candy thermometer!) and they turned out to be hard candies instead. Failure!

Luckily, my sister stopped by with my niece and her sister-in-law, Rachel. My sister told me that Rachel makes the best caramels…and graciously she offered to teach me to make them too! I made a few changes to her original recipe…less sugar, less corn syrup and the addition of salt. I think the salt adds another dimension to the caramel and really takes it up a notch! And…they tasted a LOT like Knudsen’s caramels! Mine were a little lighter in color, but I’m pretty sure that could be fixed easily. I used white sugar. Their ingredients list includes brown sugar. Next time I’ll have to make the swap and see what happens.

Fleur de sel caramels

I think any recipe would work to make caramels, the real secret is the timing. Knowing when to take them off the stove is important and if your candy thermometer is off—you’ll end up with caramels that are either too soft or too hard. What I found worked the best was throwing a bit of the boiling caramel in a cup of cold water. I could then reach in and grab the piece without burning myself, and see if I could roll it into a ball. If you test it this way, I guarantee you’ll have no problems and you’ll be eating delicious caramels in no time!

These caramels were a definite success! Piyush loved them so much, he convinced me to make an additional batch for our family to enjoy on Christmas Eve. They only take around an hour to come together…but they take another hour or so to wrap them all!

all wrapped up and ready to be enjoyed!

It was worth it. I wrapped up a few half pound packages to throw into the gift baskets I made my family and still had tons left! I’d guess one batch makes about 6 lbs (I didn’t actually measure this time). I put the leftover caramels into a pretty bowl and set them out with all the other goodies I made.

some of our Christmas Eve goodies

The caramels were definitely the biggest hit—well, maybe tied with the “Dorthy Cookies”—but that’s another post.

I was excited that my family loved them so much. My cousins and grandpa even went home with handfuls stuffed in their pockets! By the time everyone had cleared out there were only 4 caramels left in the bowl!

I have a feeling these will be requested at every family function!

I really enjoyed this Christmas. I didn’t take many photos, but we had an amazing dinner, lots of good conversation, pool tournaments, and even a little Christmas caroling—courtesy of my sister. I’m really tempted to put the video of her jamming out on Piyush’s guitar here on my blog, but instead I’ll leave you with a few photos instead.

Grandpa yo-yoing ...the younger kids didn't even know what a yo yo was!!!

Penny made a bed out of the tablecloths once all the tables were packed away

Winter Jammin’… Strawberry Lavander Jam

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Making jam and jellies is something I really enjoy. I’m not really sure why, but when I’m making jam or jellies I feel so relaxed and all the sudden I have all the patience in the world (which says a lot, usually I have the patience of a 3 year old). I do most of my canning and preserving in the late spring through early fall, probably similar to most people. But the other day I was thinking…why not winter? Sure, I guess the logical and most obvious answer would be: no fresh produce, but that wasn’t a good enough reason for me. I mean, I froze tons of berries at their peak of freshness and if they’re good enough for smoothies and pies why wouldn’t they be good enough for jam?

Oh, let me tell you…they were!

Christmas is coming up and I thought a variety of homemade jams, jellies and preserves would make awesome gifts. Give my family the gift of summer…in the middle of the winter, you know? That beats unwrapping an Ipad anyday!!!

I took approximately 4lbs of strawberries out of the freezer (this will yield around 5 cups of fruit/juice when thawed). Then I got this brilliant idea…what if I added lavender to the jam? I’m always looking for an opportunity to add lavender to everything and anything I possibly can. Some would say I’m obsessive (I’m lookin’ at you, husband!).

Love--- in a jar

I googled a few recipes and found that I’m apparently not the only one who decided strawberries and lavender would make a perfect pair, as it’s been done many, many times. Some of the recipes were more confusing—or time consuming— than I wanted, so I simply ground up 2 tablespoons of lavender buds (you can find these at co-ops and most specialty grocery stores. I also grow my own.) and rubbed it into the sugar—making lavender sugar! Then I followed the directions on the box of pectin I bought. So easy! I don’t always use pectin when I make homemade jams, but this time I wanted to be certain it’d set up well in time for Christmas.

Soon enough, I had 12 beautiful jars of homemade jam! The lavender flavor was a little overwhelming, so next time (and there will be a next time!) I think I’ll probably cut back the amount of buds to about 1 tbsp. The aroma of the jam is incredible! Strawberries and lavender were meant for one another!

And just in case you were wondering, no one would ever be able to tell I used frozen berries. It definitely tastes like summer in a jar!

I can’t wait to tackle some of those frozen blueberries next…

Indian Dinner in an Hour!

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Today I woke up craving Indian food. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a really amazing, homemade Indian dinner. Too long, actually. As good as the Indian restaurant can be, it never really hits the spot entirely. Last time we were there, all I wanted was lamb curry; and that’s what we ordered. But what we got was overcooked lamb in a so-so gravy. Not at all amazing. Piyush and I left with full tummies but we were both a ~~little~~ lot disappointed. Sometimes I just don’t want to cook though…and most of the time I regret it. Continue reading →

Random Photos

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I haven’t posted in awhile (obviously!), I’ve been lazy. I was going to write that I’ve been busy, but then I thought, “Who am I kidding?!” I haven’t posted because I’ve decided to watch too much television and bake too many cookies. Sure, I’ve done a few substantial things…I’ve taken both cats to the vet, got eyelash extensions (sadly, the girl that did them this time didn’t use enough glue…and now they look funky), and I’ve hosted an “Ugly Sweater Party”. But, aside from those things, I haven’t really done much…and it feels so good!

I wish I would have taken more photos, but unfortunately my camera was in the cabinet and…well…out of sight, out of mind. So I’ve decided to create a post full of randomness!

The wedding cake I made for Brooke ---how it looked when it was completely finished.

You can read all about the cake HERE.

Okay, I had to show you one more...

Minty World Peace Cookies. They would rock your world!

Who doesn't love Lavender Macarons?!

Pumpkin Trifle for Thanksgiving. Notice the mutilated gingerbread men on the top? They were delicious!

Merry Christmas!

My rosebush is confused! It's the end of December, not the middle of April! Weird!

Bobbing for apples in Summer's sink. I still have to blog about our crazy applefest!

Early October in my garden

Meet Harry!

Until next time…

Great Day to Pick Some Grapes!

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The weather here in Minnesota has been really nice the past few days. It’s been in the 80’s, and feels much more like summer than fall! I have so much yard work to get finished before we leave for India and this weather has been perfect for it, but I haven’t done any! Nope. I haven’t picked up a rake or touched my shears. I haven’t pulled out the tomato plants from the garden nor have I mulched anything. Instead, I decided I wanted to buy some grapes and make jelly. I never actually got around to making the jelly yet (are you surprised?!), but I did make nearly 30 cups of concord grape juice!

After searching online for concord grapes, I was surprised that I could find them right here in Rochester! I ran a few errands and then plugged the address into my phone. It was a little outside of town, but very easy to find. The farm is called Firefly Berries (you can check out there website HERE). I’ve never picked grapes before and didn’t have any idea what to do, how to tell if they were ripe, or how many I would need to make some jelly and juice. The lady that helped me was very nice and answered all my questions. Picking the grapes was kind of fun and it went really quickly. I picked 17lbs of grapes, and at $1.00/lb, I thought it was a good deal!

I also bought a container of the juice they make there. I thought Piyush would really like it. I wasn’t sure exactly how much juice I would get from the grapes I had bought and wanted to make sure we could enjoy some fresh concord grape juice when I was done making the jelly. I’m not a juice drinker really (probably why that juice diet never really stuck all that well), but concord grape juice is probably the only one I crave once in awhile. I usually just want a taste. Man! The juice they made was awesome! I can’t wait until next year when I have some time to put up a bunch of grape juice myself.

Once I got the grapes home I became a little terrified of all the bugs hanging out in that box with them. I didn’t want any bugs or spiders (eeeekkk!) coming inside my house so I got a few bowls and set everything up on the trunk of the car. I started pulling the grapes off and sorting through them. This is when I started wishing Piyush was home because I desperately needed someone to take care of all those bugs! There were a lot more than I had expected, but I realize that I intruded on their habitat and they weren’t there just to annoy me, so I probably shouldn’t complain too much. I don’t like to kill them and I don’t like to touch them, so I’m sure my neighbors were laughing at me dancing around in the garage with a stick in my hand trying to coax them away.

They were everywhere!

I survived, thankfully, and then left my bowls of beautiful grapes in the garage while I filled the sink up with water.

I figured that soaking them this way would clean them real good and also allow for any stems (and bugs!!!) to float to the top, where I could skim them off. It worked well.

I tried using my juicer, but realized it would take forever. Seeds kept shooting back out of the top at me whenever I took the plunger out to put more grapes in. It just wasn’t going to work. So I pulled a big pan out of the cupboard and filled it with about 3lbs of grapes and 1 1/2 cups of water. I smashed the grapes and cooked everything until it boiled. Once it boiled, I reduced the heat and cooked it for roughly 10 more minutes. I then dumped everything into a sieve to separate out the juice from the skin, pulp and seeds. Once the juice was separated I poured it into large jars that went into the fridge. Making juice this way also took quite awhile, but I enjoyed it. We ended up with approximately 30 cups of juice! That’s enough to make about 48 cups of jelly!!! I don’t think we need that much. I put some in a pitcher to drink (strained it through a cheesecloth and added some water until I was satisfied with the taste).

I also made a grape cake this morning when I got home from the gym (it’s cooling now, so hopefully I’ll have a post up about it soon!) For the rest of the juice, I’m going to give some to a couple friends and then freeze the rest for when the “jelly makin’ bug” bites me in the middle of winter…and I know it will!

Oh! One other thing I learned today about concord grape juice: Do not give it to a 1 1/2 year old—no matter how much you dilute it (and I diluted it a LOT!)—when you are babysitting. They will get a major sugar high and act like a crazy animal! And definitely do not give it to them in a sippy cup, even if the sippy cup says “leak proof”. It will most definitely leak, and grape juice is really hard to clean up (especially on white cupboards!!!)!

Piyush and I were watching my niece, Madelyn, while my sister and brother in law went out for dinner and to a movie. She’s so cute and I love spending the day with her, but Piyush was definitely not ready to keep up with all her energy.

Madelyn loves picking cherry tomatoes off my decrepit plants. She picked a bowl full last week too.

It was hard to get a photo when they were both looking at me...this is the best I could do.

By the time my sister and Brian got back from their movie (at around 10pm), Madelyn was still going strong…and Piyush was ready to pass out! It was kind of funny. But lesson learned. No more grape juice for Madelyn!