Have summer herbs? Try this.

Here's an inexpensive but tasty meal you're family should like, I got it from Martha a few years ago from a cute Brazilian lady who worked on her show.

I got a beautiful bunch  of cilantro from my friend's greenhouse yesterday and had to make this today. I was going to use the black beans I'd canned up this winter but much to my chagrin I had only pintos canned. Oh well. Guess what? Pintos are just as good cooked this way. I used 3 quart jars so I didn't have to soak the dry beans. So easy!

I served it over my white rice recipe which the same cute Brazilian lady made on Martha's show that day. I'll post that as well.

Brazilian Black Beans

1 lb dried black beans

4 medium beets, scrubbed (I never add these except for when i have them, I've realized this is probably an economical method for cooking beets since you're already cooking the beans and they had some red color.)

Combine beans and Beets. Add enough water to cover but 1/2 inch, about 8 cups. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until beets are tender, 40-60 min. Remove beets and cook beans 'till tender, 1-2 hrs more. Peel beets when cool and use as desired. (I have a honeyed beets recipe if you want that)

Towards the end of beans cooking:

2 TBS minced garlic

4 1/2 tea. coarse salt...mash these together in a mortar and pestle or something that will work, then fry in med skillet in

2 TBS corn oil, also add

3/4 cup chopped scallions/green onions/chives (maybe one bunch?) and

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (again one bunch)

Cook until scallions are soft 2-4 min, stir mixture into cooked beans and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with white rice and some veggies.

This is a great one to double and freeze into small containers. The boys prefer these made into burritos and I prefer mine with rice in a bowl with jalapenos and sour cream, yum!


Necy's White Rice (Brazilian lady)


.After making this rice the first time I realized there was no better way to make it and I gave away my rice cooker and use this method every time. My kids all love it and want just plain rice...


3 c white rice (can reduce to 2 or 1 cup, then use 2 or 1 teaspoon of salt to match)

1/3 c corn oil (I used coconut today 'cause I didn't have corn, but the flavor of corn is better)

1 TBS coarse salt
Bring a teapot full of water to a boil (~6 3/4 c)
In a fine strainer rinse rice under cold running water for 1 minute, drain well, set aside.

In a stockpot heat oil until very hot but not smoking, add rice, cook stirring until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add salt and stir to combine.

Add enough boiling water to cover (~4 1/2 c). Simmer over med-high heat, partially covered (i don't even cover mine) until water is absorbed about 9 minutes. Add rest of the water and continue cooking over low heat until water is absorbed and rice is cooked, ~15 minutes. I don't follow these precise directions, I eye it, and if it needs more water then I add more and when it gets to the end when you're afraid it'll burn you can turn off heat and put on lid and leave it for 10 minutes and it'll probably be done after that... Enjoy!




pintos used today instead of black...just as good (I think)



Indian Dal

Argh, foiled by dinner again.

I don't know why, but when it hits me that I still have to think of dinner, it's like a brand new revelation EVERY DAY! Crazy...I'm just a bit crazy.

Today's another vegan day and I think I'll make rice and dal (lentils). My kids love the dal and it's pretty easy to make. I NEVER knew lentils could taste this good! I got the recipe from vegweb.com which is a great resource for vegan food recipes.


Indian Dal

I usually double or triple this recipe for our family and to have some leftovers which are good. If we're having company I may make 2 pots, one regular (spicy) and a large pot mild for the kids.

1 medium onion, chopped
1 small hot pepper, minced (I usually don’t unless I make a non-spicy pan for the kids too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I love coconut oil for this)
1 cup small red lentils (I have 25lbs of green and I like them fine)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (not me)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
I also add chopped spinach, beet greens, kale, or grated zucchini ½ way through.

Directions:

1. Place onion, garlic, and hot pepper in a pot, cover with oil (be generous with the oil, they should swim in it). Let all of it simmer, about 5 minutes.

2. Rinse lentils, add to pot, stir, then add spices, stir, add water to cover lentils. Cook at medium to medium high. Leave uncovered, don't walk away for too long.

3. You will have to keep checking because the water cooks down and you will have to add more to make the dal the consistency you like. Stir often because it helps the lentils cook down well.

4. After 30 minutes or so of cooking you can add fresh or frozen greens. This is not a must but it's a great way (for me) to get those frozen greens into our diet. You don't really taste them.

5. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Be aware that you don't want too much cardamom and ginger, they take control of flavors, cumin and coriander are more mild.

Serve with spinach, naan, and rice.

Serves: 3-4 maybe, Preparation time: 1 hour tops

Tips: For our family of 9 I always double this recipe. I also pre-make snack bags full of the spices that I need so I can dump them in and not measure out each time. If I'm making a pot and I'm out of spices, I'll make the dinner and the packets at the same time... This way I know that this frugal recipe is half way made for me and it will be even faster for dinner.

Rice is cooking, I'll post on family's favorite rice another day. Now off to chop onions and make a meal.



dal is not photogenic...it looks like mush but your taste buds will want to marry it

Dun dun dun....dumplings.

Lets just say YUM! and... I'm FULL! Ok, I'll start at the beginning.

Wanton Wrappers:
2 c flour
1/2 tsp mixed into
1 egg
~1/3 c water
Mix (with chopsticks), knead and let sit for 30-60 minutes.

Then roll out thin, cut into circles. Then roll again thinner. Use FLOUR between the circles (unlike me).

Dumpling Filling (what I had in the fridge):
celery (wish I'd had cabbage or Chinese cabbage)
carrots
green onion (the growth from my impressive growing white onion)
diced game bird meat (can use ground pork, beef, shrimp, etc)

Chop ingredients finely (finer than mine)

Seasoning
pour over your veggie and meat mix:
2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 TBS sesame oil



filling, not fine enough but it worked


Then take each circle, put about 1/2-1 TBS of filling into each. Use water to dampen the edge of half of your circle and close to make your dumpling.

You can then pan fry (I used lard) or boil for about 3-5 minutes. My family liked both, I liked the fried best but others liked boiled the best.

Note: if your wrapper is ripped the filling won't escape in the oil like it will in the water.

For our side dish I took all the left over rice from our game bird bake and turned it into fried rice, which is basically where you heat up your rice with any extra veggies you want in there:

rice with veggies heating

Then when warm added 4 eggs in a hole in the rice and fried them, then mixed them in and then added some spinach (or lettuce). I based this off of my mother-in-law's chicken fried rice recipe, we love it.

picture of our dinner, really good

Very enjoyable meal. I can always tell my husband likes it when he has seconds then thirds.

I wish the dumplings aren't so time consuming, but they are fun to make. My 5 and 7 year old ended up making the bulk of them and I decided to give them artistic leeway so they could wrap them the easiest way for them.