Southern Comfort

Food that is....sorry if you thought this was going to be a post about that spicy, fruity whiskey drink. Nope, this is a post about beans, greens, and cornbread. It doesn't get any better than that, now does it. Ok, so I guess it depends on who you are asking.....my husband and kids would probably disagree, but hey, they don't do the cooking do they? Seriously, I could eat beans and greens until I was sick, I love them that much.

When we were up a Huber's a few weeks ago I picked up a jar of their Chow-Chow. I've been meaning to make my own, but I'm just too damn lazy these days, and when I saw it on the shelves I had to buy it. I mean, locally grown, locally produced, and locally canned, it doesn't get any closer to homemade.

In the south chow chow is typically served over pinto beans, but I didn't have any of those, so I cooked up a big batch of black eyed peas and served the chow chow over that. Rob is usually not a fan of beans as a main dish, but he indeed liked them when served with a big spoonful of chow chow on top. Mairin claimed to not like them, and Stella preferred hers without chow chow....oh well, that leaves more for me I guess.

To go along with the beans I cooked up some greens, loosely based on Chessa's ravings about these smoky greens. Now I say loosely, because I was actually missing most of the ingredients and I didn't have collards. So, my concoction was a combo of mustard greens and kale from the CSA, I didn't have mushrooms, and I didn't have chipotle in adobo (but I did have bottle of Frontera chipotle sauce which is basically ground up chipotle in adobo, so I used that), and finally I didn't follow any of the measurements in the recipe because I didn't have 5 lbs of greens, so I just threw things in here and there. I have to say, the results were damn good. These were by far the best greens EVER!! I can't wait to follow the recipe and find out what the actual results are.

And, what's a southern Beans and Greens dinner without cornbread? Well, it's not complete, that's what I say, so of course, there was a big pan of cornbread to accompany the meal. Oh, and some southern fried potatoes and onions from the CSA as well.

Just look at that feast, it really doesn't get any better!!

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit.........

I made 2 bean dishes this week. Typically we have more bean dishes than that, but 2 was all for this week. Stella practically lives on beans, so I always have a bunch cooked and frozen. I thaw them out and heat them up for her lunch. She likes them plain (especially black and cannellini beans), so they are a really simple lunch.

This week for lunch I spiced them up a little. I made a variation of a Red Beans and Rice dish from Vegan Planet. Robin's version is Caribbean Rice with Red Beans.......I spiced the beans instead of the rice, so my version is Caribbean Beans with Rice (clever name isn't it??!!)

Caribbean Beans with Rice

2 cups cooked red kidney beans

EVOO for sauteing onion

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

In a sauce pot heat olive oil and saute onion until softened. Add beans, and seasonings to heat through. Serve over steamed basmati rice.

Quick and simple lunch. The kids loved it, it had just the perfect amount of sweetness to heighten their interest, and the allspice and nutmeg lent a very nice flavor.

I also made some baked beans for a family function. These were probably the best baked beans I've ever had. Canned baked beans are full of stuff we probably shouldn't be eating, and also usually a little too sweet for my liking. These were sweet, but not too sweet (I could still taste the beans, which I like). Not to mention, I know exactly what went into them!!

Vegan Baked Beans

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked red kidney beans

2 cups cooked black beans

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Blackstrap Molasses

Preheat oven to 350. In a large oven proof pan heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat and saute onion and celery until softened. Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add beans, sugar, syrup, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, and molasses. Heat through, then transfer to oven for about 45 minutes, until liquid is bubbly. Serve hot.

Sauteed Polenta with Beans and Greens

Last night was a little creation of my own, "Sauteed polenta with beans and greens". I don't use polenta often, and haven't found too many recipes that really catch my eye, so I thought I'd just come up with something of my own. It turned out really good. What I liked about it was that it was really simple, and that the flavor of each ingredient was recognizable. I like when you can really taste what's in a dish.......especially when it's beans and greens, two of my favorite!! Along with the polenta dish we had some simple garlic bread with roma tomatoes. Every time I make this garlic bread it's a big hit. It really is so much better than pre-made, frozen, garlic breads.

Sauteed Polenta with Beans and Greens

2 - 3 Tbs olive oil

1 tube of refrigerated, prepared polenta, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups cooked white beans

3/4 cup vegetable stock

1 bag pre-washed baby spinach

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta and saute until beginning to brown. Season with salt and pepper and remove from skillet and set aside. Add additional oil to skillet if necessary, then add onion, pepper and garlic. Saute until vegetables are beginning to soften. Then, add beans and saute for a few more minutes. Add vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add spinach. Once spinach has started wilt add polenta back to skillet, stir gently to combine, and finish wilting spinach. Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve

Beans and Rice

Last night we had Spanish Beans and Rice. A recipe adapted from Fresh from The Vegetarian Slow cooker, and cooked on the stove top. I just cooked 1 1/2 cups of brown basmati rice in 3 cups of water with 1 vegetable bouillon cube. When the rice is finished, set it aside. For the beans, saute one large diced onion, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, and one large diced red bell pepper until beginning to soften. To the vegetable saute add 1 can of diced tomatoes with their juice, 3 cups of cooked pinto beans, and 1/4 cup tomato paste. Stir to combine, then season with chili powder and cumin until desired taste. Simmer for a few minutes to combine flavors. Add in 3 cups of cooked rice and heat through.

I served the beans and rice with some sauteed baby spinach and vegan cornbread.

I will probably be mostly absent from the blog this week. As much as I love finding new and exciting things to prepare, my family isn't always so keen on it. They've been asking for some old favorites, noodle soup and Thai curry, as well as some new favorites like Snobby Joes and Grain and Veggie burgers. So, our week is filled with a lot of repeats for the family. I'll post a few pics at the end of our repeat-a-thon, but I'll probably have little to say.

Polenta Casserole

Last night I revisited Eat, Drink & Be Vegan for polenta casserole. Wow, what a simple dinner, and full of ingredients that I almost always have available. This casserole is a combination of beans (I used a combo of cannellini beans and black beans that I had previously frozen), frozen corn, onion, tomato sauce and some spices (thyme, oregano, dried mustard, salt and pepper), all topped off with shredded polenta and mozzarella cheese. The recipe of course calls for vegan cheese, but I loathe vegan cheese.....I'm pretty ok with foregoing the dairy, except when it comes to cheese, nothing compares to the real cheese. Now, I do buy rennet free cheese whenever possible, but soy cheese and rice cheese will never be served in my house. Anyway, I digress, back to the casserole. It's good, it's really, really good. Not my favorite, but good, and it will definitely become part of my rotation. Rob, who is generally not a fan of beans (which is unfortunate for him since I cook with them more often than not) even went back for seconds on this dish, and he took left-overs to work today. Stella gobbled her up, and our hungry, adventurous Mairin has left us. She took one bite, decided she didn't like it and and asked for a granola bar and a bowl of Oatios (oh well, can't win 'em all, and I guess there are worse things she could have chosen to eat) .

We've also been lovin' the vegan muffins here, and I had to whip up another batch last night. They are definitely becoming a breakfast staple for us. This time I made them a bit healthier using white whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. I also filled the muffin tins only half full, so we have normal, manageable sized muffins this time! I think I may try to sub out some of the sugar for agave next time around and see how that goes.