Rainbow Bean Dip

Yesterday I made this lovely rainbow bean dip for an evening of appetizers and some friends from high school. It was delightful, the colorful salad and the company.
Into the salad went:

• 1/2 cup dry black beans, properly soaked and cooked
• 1/2 cup dry garbanzo beans, properly soaked and cooked
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large avocado, sliced into chunks
• 1/4 cup dried tomatoes, I rehydrated them in the following vinegar for about an hour before adding
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped roasted chili peppers, these I had in the freezer
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• juice of one lime
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

I was following somewhat of recipe that I found in a magazine but then altered it drastically to reflect the ingredients that I had on hand. If I was making this during the summer I would obviously use fresh tomatoes, but in the wintertime I refuse to purchase disgusting hothouse tomatoes from the store so instead I used some dried tomatoes that I dehydrated this summer. They added a nice flavor when they re-hydrated a bit in the vinegar. If you don't have roasted chili peppers, a nice fresh jalepeno would be good as well during the growing season.

Make sure to put this salad or dip to eat with tortilla chips together at least 3 hours before you plan to enjoy it. At it sits the flavors meld and create a very tasty salad or dip. It's even better the next day!

Bean Burger Salad

A very tasty dinner I enjoyed this past week of my homemade black bean burger atop a nice bed of romaine with my very own sprouts and pickled summer squash. Topped with an amazing slice of raw milk pepperjack cheese, this meal was fabulous. I must say that since attempting to eliminate gluten and greatly reduce all grains in my diet I have been enjoying more meat and veggies. This bean burger does have some quinoa and corn meal in it, but overall this is a great way to dine on a burger without the gluten bun!

Good eating!

Supper Club

I hosted my first Supper Club gathering this week. It was a lot of fun and a really great way to join with other lovely single ladies for a delightful dinner. I decided that a supper club would be a great way to cook great food and enjoy it with others so I invited several ladies that I know enjoy great food and would enjoy meeting some new people.

We enjoyed a lovely fall minestrone. Courtesy of Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food.

Sauteed onions, celery, carrots, garlic

Swiss Chard fresh from the garden

Added butternut squash, water and simmered

White Northern beans & pasta

Grand Finale!

Burger Delight

I had a recent success in the creation of my very own veggie burger. It was definitely inspired by the random contents of the fridge and a new blog find.

The contents:

• Mung beans- these are tiny little green beans 
• Quinoa- a fabulous complete protein 
• Carrot
• Green onion
• Oatmeal, I used some prepared and some dry
• Egg
• Curry powder
• Salt & Pepper

I pureed all together in a food processor and then added additional oats until it was the consistency I wanted. Mushy but not too mushy. Then I slapped into the handy non-stick skillet and cooked on each side until crispy. Place between a toasted whole wheat bun, add some pesto, cheese, sprouts and lettuce and you have my fabulous burger delight!

On a most delightful day!