For the Love of Food

These are not your traditional refried beans – they’re better! I beleive I would classify them as Colombian refied beans since they have the same ingredients are a bean dish that I have had there a few times, just never refried. It’s a very flexible recipe – so add what you want!

Ingredients:
1 Cup of dried Pinto Beans
Water
1 teaspoon of Salt
2 slices (about 30 grams) of Bacon, chopped
1 Carrot, shredded
1/2 a large yellow Onion, diced
Salt to taste

Directions:
Pour the dry beans into a large pressure cooker and cover with about 2 inches of hot water. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and let sit for 1 hour. Then, drain off water and add more hot water up to the half-way point of your pressure cooker. Add the teaspoon of salt. Close your pressure cooker, and cook on high until you have reached full pressure. Once you have reached full pressure, set a timer for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes have elapsed, remove from heat and let the pressure cooker depresurize on its own. Once that has happened, pour the cooked beans into a wide pan or cast iron casserole dish. Add the bacon, carrots, onion, and salt to taste. Cook on medium-low heat until the liquid has reduced – this may take up to 20 minutes – and mash the beans. Continue to cook until the beans has become a thick paste.

This goes great in many Mexican and TexMex dishes. Or, don’t mash the beans and serve them as a side dish.

Don’t ask me how I thought this would all go well together! The entire time taht I was taking itmes out of the refrigerator to make this meal, I kept thinking to myself “you have really gone crazy – and everyone else will definately agree with you on that one!”.

But, to my own surprise, and to the surprise of my husband, it was EXCELLENT! I will make this recipe over and over again … it’s not my favorit sushi recipe!

Ingredients:
Sushi:
2 small pork Schnitzels (breaded pork cutlet)
Oil for frying
1 Cup of Rice
2 Cups of Water
1 packet of Goya Seasoning Coriander & Anatto
1/4 teaspoon of Salt
1 leaf of Boston Bibb Lettuce (if desired)
1/4 a small Red Onion, sliced
2 Nori Sheets

Dressing:
Salt
Pepper
a dash of Garlic powder
a dash of Onion powder
1 teaspoon of diced fresh Thyme
1 heaping teaspoon of yellow Mustard
1/2 teaspoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon red Grape Juice
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablepsoons of Olive Oil

Directions:
Schnitzel:
Pour enough oil into a pan to cover the bottom. Heat the oil and fry the schnitzel one side at a time until cooked. Set aside on a cutting board, and once cooled, slice into thin strips with a sharp knife.

Rice:
In a medium-sized pot, cook rice with goya seasoning and salt according to these direction.

Dressing:
In a mortar and pestle, crush together salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Next, mix in mustard, grape juice, and balsamic vinegar. Then, whisk in the oil. This dressing goes great on salads too!

Sushi:
Lay 1 nori sheet on a flat surface. Spread out half of the rice out onto the sheet. Pour about 1 tablespoon of dressing over the rice. Place about 6 strips of schnitzel, half of the red onion, and a leaf of lettuce (I found that the lettuce made it difficult to keep the roll together; the one without the lettuce came out better) onto the rice. Pour about another tablespoon of dressing onto the toppings. Roll your sushi, and cut. Repeat with the second nori sheet.

Dip into the dressing if you like.

As mentioned in a previous post, for Mother’s Day my husband and son gave a cast iron casserole dish from Le Creuset. I was/am absolutley thrilled! In the past we had been using Teflon-coated skillets, but the protective coating would always wear out and start to let food stick because I enjoy cooking at high temperature, and those pans just can’t take the heat. After much research as to what would be the best option for us, I came across the world of cast iron. What attracted me to cast iron is that it’s been around for centuries, has health benefits for those with anemia (iron from the skillet leaches into your food), you can cook and scratch with any utensil you wish to use, it’s non-stick, and keeps food warm for a very long period after being removed from heat. Cast iron also has some down sides: it’s heavy … really heavy!, you can’t wash it in the dishwasher or with soap for that matter – rinse it out with hot water and dry it, it can rust (but you can remove the rust easily – it doesn’t damage the pan).

I thought it was worth a try, but who has €150 to put out for a pan??! My husband said that after long consideration (not currently having any sort of non-stick pan at home to make tortillas in helped), he came to the conclusion that it was the same price as buying almost 5 (€30,77) non-stick skillets from Ikea. The last one we bought lasted 2 years. So, over a course of 10 years, we would have spent that much. With a cast iron pan – you buy it for life – and then you pass it on to your children..and they pass it on to their children…etc.

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this casserole dish to anyone who would like some healthy non-stick cookware. The price is worth it, and in may cases, you can find them on sale, or pay less for them on Amazon.com – currently $149.99 (my hushand paid €150, which is currently $202.50 including local sales tax of 19%)

So, which type of pan do you need/want? And, which is the most versitile for your needs? Only you can really know that, but here are some tips/questions:

- The 3 1/2 quart casserole dish comes with a lid and 2 handles and can make meals for up to 8-10 servings

- Do you like to watch your food cook while it’s covered? Get a pan that allows you to cover it with a glass lid

- Do you want to be able to flip it? Do you make a lot of creps and pankcakes? If so, a griddle or crepe pan may be what you need

- Do you like to grill indoors? Get a stove-top grill pan or a griddle with a ribbed side and a flat side for more versatility

- Do you like to bake with your pots and pans? Make sure that you get a cast iron pan that does not have a wooden handle. Baking with a pot is like cooking in a crock pot.

- How much storage space do you have? 1 multi-function pan may be all you have the space to store; if you have more space – more (buying) power to you

- Do you have the possibilty to cook over an open fire? Cast iron is great for this – just make sure that what ever you are using does not have any wooden or plastic parts that could melt or burn.

Oh, some other information that you may be interested in:

Le Creuset give a lifetime warranty for the lifetime of the original owner and is produced in northern France. Check-out their website here.

For my first Mother’s Day my husband and son gave me a wonderful cast iron casserole dish from Le Creuset. This is the first dish I coked in it, and it came out excellent! Unfortunatlly, I just threw some ingredients together, so I will tell you what they are, but I will have to make the dish again to try to come up with any definate values.

Ingredients:
4 Chicken legs
Corn Oil
200 grams of Cream
2 sweet Turkish Red peppers
Salt
Garlic
Paprika
2 slices (about 30 grams) of Bacon, chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in pan. Season the chicken with salt and garlic. Brown chicken in pan. Throw in bacon and peppers. Then pour in the cream. Stir. Sprinkle paprika over the chicken, and cover with the lid. Cook for about 30 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice.

Serves 8.

For Mother’s Day my husband made me a sugar-free chocolate cake. The plain cake was ok – more like chocolate-flavored bread, but once I added some home made sugar-free (yet sweet) toppings – its outlooked brighted. So, here are 4 different ways to eat sugar-free chocolate cake when you desperatly want something sweet!

Chocolate Cake Recipe (based on Vegan Low-Fat Chocolate Applesauce Cake from About.com):
Ingredients:
2.5 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
2 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Cocoa
2 Cups Applesauce
1 Cup of Pineapple juice

Directions:
Heat oven to 163°C (325°F).
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add applesauce and pineapple juice and mix well until batter is smooth. Pour into a bread mold.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until done. Check to see if it’s done by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Toppings (clockwise from top left):
- Peanut Butter and Fruity Chocolate Frosting
- Fruity Chocolate Frosting
- Peanut Butter
- Fruity Chocolate Vanilla Whipped Cream

Fruity Chocolate Frosting Recipe:
1 packet (37 grams) of Chocolate Pudding powder (without added sugar)
2 Cups of Pineapple juice
1/8 teaspoon of Vanilla extract (make sure there is no added sugar!)

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together 6 Tablespoons of the 2 cups of pineapple juice with the pudding powder until creamy. In a small pot, bring the rest of the pineapple juice to boil. Remove from heat. Pour in creamy mixture and stir. Boil for an additional 2 minutes, and then remove from heat. Refrigerate or pour over your cake warm!

Fruity Chocolate Vanilla Whipped Cream Recipe:
Ingredients:
200 grams of Whipping Cream
1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla extract (make sure it’s sugar free!)
4 Tablspoons of cold or room temperature Fruity Chocolate Frosting

Directions:
With an electric mixing wand (with whisk attachment), whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the vanilla extract and whisk shortly just to distribute the flavor. Add the chocolate frosting and whisk until hard peaks form. Enjoy!

I also froze this and it made a great frozen whipped topping!

So, I was in the mood for something sweet after my morning jog today. That’s all well and good, but since I can’t eat sugar, that makes things a bit more complicated. But, miraculously, I was able to come up with something really yummy!

Ingredients:
1 Cup of uncooked Oatmeal
1 Cup of frozen Strawberries
1/2 Cup of plain Yogurt
2 Tablspoons of Raisins

Directions:
Heat up the strawberries in a small pan and mash up with a spatula as they soften. Warm up until cooking, then remove from heat. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

Serves: 1

This chicken came out SOOOOO delicious! Thank you for the recipe Nermin!
A group of us were meeting at the garden 2 weekends ago and Nermin was making chicken for “breakfast” at noon time. He had a open fire with a sort of grill-frying pan

and he was cooking chicken, pork, mushrooms, and onions. Oh man – I have never had such delicious chicken! When I asked for the recipe, I was pretty sure I miss heard that there were only 2 spices! So simple, and so fine! And, I’m sharing it with you!

Ingredients:
2 chicken legs
4 cloves of Garlic, diced
Salt
Sunflower seed or Canola Oil (about 1/2 a cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven to highest heat – about 275°C (527°F) on grill or broil(aka top heat). Place chicken in a large casserole dish and sprinkle with plenty of salt and rub ingarlic. Pour oil over chicken – oil should cover the entire bottom, so add more if you need to.
Place chicken in oven and back for 8 minutes. Then, turn chicken and back for another 6 minutes. Make sure chicken is fully cooked in the middle.
Goes well with:
-Rice: pour the left over garlic oil from the chicken onto the rice
-French bread or Kaiser rolls: cut the bread in half and left it sit face down in the oil with the oven off for a minute or two until the bread is warm

For those of you who don’t know what Obatzter is,it’s a delicious southern German concoction of camembert, butter, cream cheese, onion, and paprika Edit: I asked the butcher’s wife today how they made their Obatzter, and she said their ingredients are: Limburger cheese, Butter, Onion, and Paprika – everyone has their own recipe – and this is my favorit!. It’s found in every grocery store, corner store, and butcher shop in Bavaria (if not, it at least seems that way!). 99% of the time I have wittnessed people spreding it cold or room temperature on bread or crackers, but, personally, it just doesn’t taste good to me that way. The other day I accidentally used the meat we were going to make into hamburgers in another dish and was left with 4 Kaiser rolls and no planned dinner one night. I realized we still had some Obatzter from our local butcher’s Metzgerei Willomitzer, so I got creative. My husband actually did all the work…so he gets at least half of the credit! Oh, let me tell you, it was so delicious! I remember smelling them baking in the oven and thinking, what the heck did he do?? Did he just whip up a gourmet pizza behind my back?? It smelled heavenly! Then, he pulled out our dinner..mmmm!

Ingredients:
4 Kaiser rolls, halved
16 Tablspoons of Obatzter
1/8th of a large Onion, diced

Directions:
Preheat the oven to broil (top heat only) at 200°C (400°F). Spread 2 Tablespoons of Obatzter on each roll half; sprinkle on some onion, and pop them in the oven for 3-6 minutes or until the cheese has melted and your bread is lightly toasted.

Serves 2