Caribbean Coconut Black Beans and Vegetables Over Rice

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things."

-John Burroughs

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This post is first in a series, Healthy Vegetarian Mains.

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Here we are, January 4th. Holidays over. Resolutions started. I don't know about you, but I can't help but want to eat healthy this time of year. I think it's natural for us to want to cut back after the heavy eating most of us do over the holidays.

I'm not going to call it a resolution, but I am focusing on eating well and eating healthy. Eating what my body is truly craving, that's what I'm working on. Right now I've been craving vegetables, so I've made this delicious concoction of beans, veggies and brown rice to start things off right.

sauteing the veggies

Eating healthy means different things to different people. For me it means lots of vegetables, legumes, healthy grains and proteins and less starch. Basically I'd like to make every bite count, to get the most nutrition out of everything that goes in my mouth.

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This is why this post is the beginning of a new series I'm calling, "Vegetarian Mains". Once a week or so, (sometimes more perhaps) I'm going to post a healthy vegetarian main dish. I am not a vegetarian by any means, (although I have been one in the past) it's just that since I don't eat meat every day anyway, I want to jazz things up for the days I don't. If I cook something I want to eat for dinner, (like this dish for example) I won't eat stuff I don't want to really eat but sounds yummy sort of (like a bag of chocolate chips for example.) I will still post meat based dishes, and I will still post baked goods since I often bake for others.

after adding the coconut milk

This dish is really up my alley. Flavorful, a little sweet, and as spicy as you want it to be. For me, that's not so much, but I like it to have a little kick. I used a half of a pumpkin in this for the winter squash, because I still have a few left from my garden, but you can use butternut squash, or any winter variety, or instead of squash, use yams, sweet potatoes, or even white potatoes.

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And it all comes together in about 30 minutes. Isn't that awesome?

I served this over brown rice, but you can use any rice. Or none at all. It's perfect to serve with rice because it has enough liquid to flavor the rice from the coconut milk, so just know that if you don't serve it with rice it will be quite saucy.

Caribbean Coconut Black Beans and Vegetables Over Rice

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Ingredients

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2, 14 oz cans black beans drained and rinsed

1, 14 or 15 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1, 14 oz can coconut milk, I used regular, you can use light if you prefer

2 tablespoons olive oil (or another neutral oil of your choice)

one large onion cut in medium chunks

4 garlic cloves, minced

one large red bell pepper cut in medium chunks

2 cups peeled and diced winter squash such as, pumpkin, butternut squash, etc. Or you can substitute diced yams, sweet potatoes or yellow potatoes

2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tsp-2 tsp.(depending on how spicy you like it) cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp to 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) for heat if you like it spicy (I don't add these at all)

salt to taste

rice

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Directions

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Cook some rice on the stove, as it's simmering on the stove, start the rest, when the rice is done set aside.

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In a large skillet on medium high heat, add the oil and saute the onion and bell pepper and until they soften a bit, 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, the spices, the brown sugar and the squash or potatoes, and add some salt. Turn the heat down to medium, cover and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the squash or potatoes are almost done, (tender, but still have a bite to them). When doing this, the pumpkin I was using let out some moisture, so the moisture from the tomatoes and the pumpkin, was enough moisture in the pan for them to cook sufficiently. If you are using potatoes, you may need to add a small amount of water, 1/2 cup ish.

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Uncover and add the beans and the coconut milk. Turn up the heat to medium high, warm the whole thing up, taste for seasonings, add more cayenne or red pepper flakes if you want it spicier, and add salt if you need to, make sure the vegetables are cooked enough for your liking and serve over rice.

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chocolate and orange layered cake

our Christmas cake.....it tastes like an orange stick....
You've now had four days of depriving yourself because of the resolutions you made for the new year....right? You're craving chocolate like crazy. right? Digging through the cupboards contemplating eating expired chocolate sprinkles?

I've said it before, and I'll say it a million times more.....everything in moderation.

note: haha! don't

where'd she go?

we are 12.


I'm either the world's worst blogger, or the worlds best "taking advantage of vacation-er".....
Either way, I'm back, with a hard slap in the face from reality, and we should be up and running again soon. 
Happy 2011!

Cheesemaking

Marinated Greek Feta Cheese

Last October I attended a two day cheese-making workshop. I remember battling an awful cold at the time. It didn't help that our teacher Graham, was a passionate, enthusiastic, slave driver who worked us solidly. I'm glad he did though.  Looking back, we achieved so much in those two days. I went from using fresh cheese immediately to enjoying cheese ripened just in time for Christmas Day.  The satisfaction in unwrapping my very own handmade cheese was more rewarding than I can say.  What a talking point.



Graham pressing the cheddars

  If you live in Queensland I can't recommend this course enough. Check out Graham's website http://www.cheesemaking.com.au/.  Better still, GO!  You won't regret it.  Thanks Graham for an exhausting, thoroughly comprehensive and totally rewarding time.

I had a blast and these were the cheeses we made; Chabichou, Quark, Greek Feta, Cheddar, Camembert and Brie, Whole Milk and Whey Ricotta and Fresh Mozzarella. 


 I used the fresh quark to bake a cheesecake. I topped it with my strawberry and mulberry homemade sauce. It was refreshingly tangy.  The taste of the cheese really came through. Amazing.



Fresh Chabichou Round





The Chabichou was simply delightful with savoury or plain crackers. A neutral, slightly tangy taste. Everyone loved it.  We savoured every mouthful.

The Geek feta round after 36 hours of open air draining.  It really was beginning to "get up the nose" by this time.  Despite this, it looked absolutely perfect.

A view of the Greek feta halved. Yippee. Perfect.

Packing the cut up feta to be marinated. I added whole fresh garlic, sprigs of lemon oregano and whole black peppercorns.

I used a combination of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil with which to marinate the feta. I should mention I did the exact same thing with a round of Chabichou.  They held their shapes beautifully. The feta was sharp and quite pungent. The kids were not a fan. I sense that I had created a true Greek feta. It brought back memories of the cheese my aunt used to buy to make her cheesy pita with feta. This smelt and tasted exactly the same.  The marinated Chabichou was a real hit.  It seemed to take the flavours on better. Although soft and crumbly as I packed them into the jar, the cubes held their shape and tasted delicious. Hooray again!

The camembert was a real surprise. It deserves a post all on its own.  The cheesemaking course was rather pricey, but truly worth it.  I am still reaping the benefits. And the recipes are there if I were so inclined to begin a cheese factory.  Another dream, another day.

She asked me, "Is that *really* a cake?"

I smiled and replied, "Yes."

The rest of the night everytime she looked at her cake, she hugged me. It was her way of showing gratitude! What an amazing little lady.

Love to my little fiery redhead niece, Gaia on her 4th birthday. ♥

Black Eyed Pea Stew

" We will open the book. It's pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and it's first chapter is New Year's Day."

-Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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Happy New Year everyone! Like most of you know, eating black eyed peas on New Year's day is supposed to bring good luck. We had some ham and the bone left from Christmas, so I put it to use in this easy, and flexible stew. If you don't have black eyed peas, no big deal, use another bean, like navy, or even kidney beans. I used a bag of dried beans but you could use a few cans of beans instead.

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This recipe makes quite a bit, but it freezes nicely.


Black Eyed Pea Stew

Ingredients

one bag (16 oz.) dried black eyed peas, or 3 cans
one ham bone with 3 cups diced ham
3 carrots chopped into bite sized pieces
3 ribs of celery chopped into bite sized pieces
1 onion chopped
2, 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, or 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

if you like some heat, you can add some dried chipotle pepper, or even a tablespoon or so from a small can of chopped chipotle peppers, (the smokiness works well with the smokiness of the ham) if you are using the canned peppers, and aren't familiar with using them, start with a small amount first, (they can get spicy), and adjust to your taste.

Directions

Cook the black eyed peas if using dried. I used a crockpot. (I think this is the best way to cook them, because all of the ham flavor gets infused into the black eyed peas.) Add the peas, a tsp of salt, the bay leaves, the ham, the bone and the chopped onion to the crockpot and fill the crockpot almost to the top with water. (I used a 4 quart crockpot.) If using a larger crockpot, I'd start with 8 cups water, add more later if needed.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the peas are soft. If you are using a larger crockpot and have the time, you can add everything else and cook until the carrots and celery are soft. (an additional 3 hours or so.)

I poured it all into an 8 quart pot on the stove and added everything else and cooked for 20 minutes or so, until the vegetables were tender.

If you are using canned black eyed peas, drain the peas and rinse, throw it all in a large pot on the stove, add 4-6 cups water or broth, cook on medium heat for an hour or so, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended. If needed, add water or broth to get the consistency you like.