Lunch for Cooper – Black Bean Salad

This recipe is very loose and changes with what I have on hand and what is in season or is cheap.

• 2 cups dried black beans (or two 15 oz cans)
• 1/4-1/2 red onion, diced (depending on how much you like raw onion)
• 2-4 ears of corn, raw or roasted on the BBQ (or small bag of frozen corn)
• 1-2 bell peppers (orange and red for color)
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 of a jicama, diced (or any other crunchy vegetable that you enjoy)
• cherry tomatoes, cut in half (optional)
• basil or cilantro (depending on where you want to go with the dressing)
• juice of 2-3 limes/lemons
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• smoked paprika or some other interesting spice
• sherry or apple cider vinegar

Soak the black beans in water over night, changing water 2-3 times.  If you don’t have over night, use hot tap water to speed up the process.  Rinse beans, cover in water and bring to a boil.  Lower temperature to simmer, cover and check at 30 minutes.  You want the beans to be tender but holding together.  Depending on how long you soaked them and other factors (your stove, your beans, the position of the moon) they will take 35-45 minutes to cook.

While the beans are cooking, cut up all your veg and put in a bowl.  I am not a huge fan of raw onion, so I soak my diced onion in water for a bit before straining and adding to veggies.

Juice your lemons and add to small jar, add olive oil until you have the standard vinaigrette ratio (two parts acid to 1 part fat, right?).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Make sure this is ready when the beans are done cooking.

When beans are done cooking, pour them into a strainer.  Then pour beans over veggies in large bowl.  Pour vinaigrette over beans – by doing this when they are hot they soak up lots of the flavor.  You will notice that even though you poured almost a cup of liquid over that there is nothing in the bottom of the bowl.  Add whatever herbs/spices you want, some splashes of vinegar and more salt and pepper to taste (but don’t get to anal at this point).  Cover the bowl and let it sit for an hour or more.  The beans continue to soak up the flavor and you’ll find that what was salted and dressed perfectly has changed within an hour.  This salad keeps for a week in the fridge – we eat a bit everyday and each day it is different.  By the end of the week we are eating it with hot sauce by the chipful.  It is good alongside other stuff, eaten cold or at room temperature.

Have fun & enjoy.

Mushrooms Magnifique

Another recipe from Marcia Edgar’s recipe box.  I am including this one because it paints a picture…imagine my mother: a teenager, a mom, a young wife.  She’s having her high school friends over for dinner at her new house.  Maybe for the first time.  She studied French in high school but she’s probably too busy now.  She’s thinking of a menu that oozes sophistication.  The table she served that dinner on in 1966 or so is a big oval one that still sits in her daughter Kristi’s house.

12 large mushrooms
2 Tbsps soft butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 Tbsps chopped parsley
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Clean mushrooms, chop stems, salt caps.

2. Add stems to butter, pecans and next 4 ingredients and mix until blended.

3. Heap into mushroom caps and place in shallow pan.

4. Pour cream over.

5. Oven heated to 350F until brown or tender.

6. Baste once or twice with cream.

e voila!

Crowther Sisters’ Granola

marcia edgar’s handwriting circa 1972

While visiting my mom Marcia this holiday season I found the recipe box.  It’s one that she’s had since she was a girl herself and is a strong memory in my mom’s kitchen.  This is the first in a series of some of the recipes and stories I found there about her food, our family and friend’s favorites and even my own highschool recipes.

This one is the granola recipe that Marcia and her sister Kathy made and cooked together since they were hippie girls on the ranch.  Made especially sweet because I had just seen Kathy and have a bag of this very granola in my cupboard here in Hong Kong.

Mix together:
7 cups oats
1 cup wheatgerm
1 cup wholewheat flour
2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 T salt
1 t lemon rind
(nuts such as almonds optional)

Finally mix well in:
1 cup honey
1 cup water
1 t vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil

Spread onto shallow baking sheets at and bake at 200F (95C) for 2 hours.