Black Beans and Brown Rice with Ginger Salsa

Keep it simple, keep it cheap...

I should really work on making this a regular mantra.  Good food needn't be fussy.  It certainly doesn't have to be expenxive. 

Want a quick, inexpensive and aboslutley delicious dish layered with flavors?  This dinner is for you.  The most time consuming part is cooking the rice.  Of course, my work around was to make the rice a day ahead of time while I prepped that day's dinner.  The rest comes together in no time flat.

adapted from Bon Apetit

serves 4

The Ingredients:

for the rice:

1 Tbsp olive oil, divide  

2-3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 cup brown rice

2 cups vegetable stock or water
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
pepper to taste
 

 for the beans:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 Tbsp chopped onion

1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 cup vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

 

for the salsa

2 red Fresno chiles, stemmed, halved, seeded, and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 Roma tomato, finely diced
1 Tbsp lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
salt and pepper

 

to serve

1 avocado, halved, pitted, and chopped
1/4 cup crumbled feta

fresh cliatnro
Lime wedges

 

The Process:

for the rice:

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.  Remove saucepan from heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and fold in cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

for the beans:

In a medium saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Add coriander and cumin; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beans and broth.    Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.  Cook until heated through, about 8-10 minutes.  Mash slightly.

 

for the salsa

Using the flat side of a knife against a cutting board, or a mortara and pestal, mash the chiles, garlic, ginger, tomato,  lime zest, and onion until a chunky sauce forms. Spoon into a bowl and mix in the lime juice.  Season salsa with salt and pepper to taste. 

 

to serve:

Spoon rice into one half of a bowl, and scoop beans alongside.  Top with a dollop of ginger salsa and sour cream.  Sprinkle with feta and cilantro, Serve with avocado and lime.  Omit cheese and sour cream for a vegan dish.

Vegetarian Smoked Porter Chili

The Beeroness strikes again.  I tagged this recipe a while back, waiting for the ideal smoked or chipotle beer to come my way.  Amazingly the two came together in one collaboration between two of our local breweries: Indeed and Northbound Smokehouse.  Northbound smoked the malts and peppers.  Indeed brewed the beer.  The result was a rich smoking imperial porter with a slight burn on the back end.  I'm not a huge fan of Indeed's other beers, but this beer was stellar.  And perfect for this chili. 


Thank you again Jackie.

adapted from the beeroness

serves 6

The Ingredients
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz mushrooms, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 - 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 15 oz can stewed diced tomatoes
1 or 2 large chipotle peppers in adoboe, minced
1/2  cup quinoa
1/3 cup bulgur wheat
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups smoked porter

The Process:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and red pepper.  Saute until the garlic is fragrant and the veggies are tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the broth, tomato paste, beans, diced tomatoes, and chipotle peppers.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until beans have heated through.  Stir in the quinoa, bulgur and spices.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes . The quinoa should be tender and the chili should begin to thicken.  Stir in the porter, and heat through, but do not bring to a boil.

Serve warm with garnishes as desired.

Clams in a Coconut Green Curry Broth

 

Ross and I have decided to make a conscious effort to eat more seafood.  One frustration with living in the midwest is the lack of fresh, coastal seafood.  In Hawaii we were quite spoiled. This effort probably won't be cheap.

But if we try to spoil ourselves on a seafood dinner at home, we are less likely to splurge on a fancy dinner out were that farm raised Atlantic salmon fillet is likely to cost 3 to 4 times more than a much more beautiful, healthful and sustainable fillet of wild caught coho or sockeye salmon. 

So this past Valentines Day, we ate in.  And we ate well.  There was not nearly enough bread or rice to sop up this amazing curry broth.  I suspect mussels would be equally as divine.

In an ideal world, I would have crafted the curry paste myself, but due to growing pains down south, the produce within our snow covered state has been limp, lackluster and outright sparse.  Surprisingly no fresh cilantro or basil was to be found right before our planned dinner.  Rather than run around with fingers crossed, we hedged our bets and picked up a jar of Thai Kitchen green curry paste.  My previous experience with this particular brand and the quality of their curry paste has been lukewarm at best.  This time, I had absolutely no complaints.  

adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon

serves 3

The Ingredients:
3 Tbs olive oil
4-5 Tbsp green curry paste
2 small shallots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp lemongrass, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 cup clam juice
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 lbs manilla or little neck clams

Garnish
1 lime, cut into wedges
lime zest
1 serrano pepper, sliced into thin coins

The Process
Place the clams in a large bowl and fill with cool water until the clams are fully submerged.  Allow them to rest for 30 minutes to an hour to encourage them to filter out any sand and grit.  Gently remove each clam one at a time and scrub away any grit on the outside of the shell.  Set aside until the broth is ready.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.  Add the curry paste, shallots, garlic, ginger and lemongrass and saute until fragrant, 2-3 minutes.   

Add the tomatoes, lime juice and sugar to the skillet and stir until well combined, about another 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and clam juice, whisking to break up and lumps in the cocnut milk.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the clams, cover and reduce heat.  Simmer the calms for 5-7 minutes or until most of the shells have opened.  Discard any unopened clams. 

Garnish with lime wedges, zest and Serrano peppers.  Serve with plenty of bread to sop up the broth.