Refried Beans

Refried beans always seemed like such an ironic luxury to me. Like donuts or potato chips, it was always something that was cheap and "common", yet I was never really able to eat, especially not as much as I'd like. Seen as unhealthy or just unusual to order on the the occasions I'd eat Mexican food growing up, I mostly avoided it. Well I've been hankering for it, indeed, and now that I'm an adult, I can eat anything I want! Googling and checking metafilter eventually got me this recipe. The secret ingredient is, incidentally, salt. Seriously, you need a lot of salt for this - it's not just me, I swear.

Prepare:
-Soak 1 cup of dried beans overnight in water
-Quarter 1 small onion and dice half an onion
-Chop about 3 lengths of bacon
-Mince 3 cloves of garlic
-Ready bay leaves, salt, and whole peppercorn

Cook:
-Place soaked beans in a medium pot and cover with water plus add another inch and a half of water. Put in quartered onion, a couple bay leaves, a tablespoon of peppercorns, and 2 tsp of salt (the water should taste like seawater)

-Simmer for an hour or until beans are ready (they should taste edible but still a bit firm; if you take a couple out of the pot and blow on them, the skin should peel). Drain the beans but reserve about 1/2cup of the water-Meanwhile, fry bacon on medium heat in a large pan until completely crispy and all the fat is in the pan. Remove the bacon and set aside

-Fry the onion in the bacon fat until it starts getting translucent and then add the garlic

-Add the beans and a bit of the water onto the pan and start mashing, add more water to reach desired consistency.-Enjoy on its own or in a burrito

Tips:
-Some of the recipes called for adding "salt pork" into the pot when cooking the beans. I think this is just a thick, salted and cured pork to add to the taste of the beans. I don't have it so I didn't use it
-I made this a second time and when cooking the beans in the pan, added about a tsp of pico de gallo and a tsp of cumin to give it a bit more flavor and it came out quite tasty.
-This can also be done with tinned beans, just add them at the same step as the cooked beans.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Noodles, Corn and Brussel Sprouts

I know I've posted a pumpkin soup recipe before but I wanted to post anew since this one is a bit different. That and a friend told me that this was "fanfuckingtastic" (thanks Claire).

Prepare:
-Chop up and peel half a large pumpkin
-Lightly coat with olive oil and place in a roasting tray
-Thinly slice 1 large yellow onion
-~5 dried dates
-Dekernel one corn
-Halve about 7 or 8 brussel sprouts
-Get about 1 cup of cooked chick peas
-Dice 1-3 hot chili peppers
-1 cup dried pasta (I used wholemeal spirals)
-Spices and seasonings... bay leaf, salt, pepper, honey, cinnamon, cloves...

Cook:
-Roast at ~ 400F/200C for about an hour, putting about half a head of garlic still in the peel in the tray after 30 min-Once the pumpkin is ready, lightly sautée onion for about 5 minutes -When onion is translucent, add pumpkin and roasted garlic (remove the peel!) to the pot, cover with water and stock powder or stock
-Bring to a boil, add bay leaves and chili
-Turn heat to a simmer, cover and leave alone for about 15 min
-Once pumpkin starts falling apart, add the chickpeas and dates, mix through and then puree using hand-blender and attain even mixture
-Keep heat at a simmer
-Add pasta and brussel sprouts
-Add 1-2 tbsp honey
-About 5 minutes later, add the corn kernels
-Mix 1 tsp of cinnamon and cloves each through
-Once pasta is done, take off heat. Serve immediately with toasted breadTips:
-I added the chickpeas mainly to give a bit of protein and thicken it up without using cream or anything - I couldn't really taste them, though. If you wanted a more beany taste, using a stronger bean like butter beans or borlotti beans would be best, as would upping the amount used and perhaps reserving some for after blending
-The corn and brussel sprouts worked quite well... the corn gave a sweet crunchiness and the sprouts a nice green solid feel. Broccoli or cauliflower would work quite well, put in a bit after the pasta
-The dates, honey, cinnamon, and cloves helped to make the soup a bit sweet and really complement the roasted pumpkin taste. The chili gave a bit of a bite that worked quite well with the the mellowness of the rest of the soup. It wasn't too sweet by any means; just had a nice richness to it
-Cream (coconut, especially) would not hurt this soup
-Make a large batch! This freezes quite well (almost better the 2nd day)

Creamy Chumus

I'm made hummus before, but it didn't turn out the way I like it: it was good, but didn't have the creaminess of the Israeli chumus that I like so much. My older brother emailed me a recipe for the creamy kind and, while a bit labor-intensive, turned out just how I wanted it.

Prepare:
-Over night, soak 1 cup of dried chickpeas in 4 cups of water and 1tsp baking powder (use a large pot)
-Ready 1/3 cup tahini, 1/2 cup lemon juice (I used the juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime), 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tsp coarse salt, 2 tbsp olive oil
-Get out your food processor

Cook:
-Drain water from soaked chickpeas, fill pot back up with 4 cups water and 1/2tsp baking powder - bring to a boil and simmer for about 40 minutes (skimming off some foam from the top), until each chickpea is consistently yellow all the way through (ie they're edible)-Drain (but save water) and cool water and chickpeas down to room temperature and then stick in the freezer for about 30 min (or fridge for 2hrs) until well chilled-Process chickpeas with lemon juice and salt until even and creamy. It should be thick but not too thick. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of the cooking water to thin it out a bit-Add garlic and tahini and process completely
-While processor is still running, drizzle olive oil into it
-Taste and decide how to adjust (add more tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic, etc)

Tips:
-Well, this turned out how I wanted it. It was a bit plain and so next time I'll go for a garlickier item, or perhaps make it spicy
-Originally, the recipe called for 1/4 cup lemon juice and I added 1/2 by accident and it turned out perfect. Normally I don't like things too sour, too, and I was fine with it
-The recipe called for 1/2 cup tahini but even with 1/3 cup the tahini taste was still quite noticable
-In the recipe, they mention in the stage between lemon juice and tahini to spread chickpeas on a "fine mesh sieve" to get out the peels. I tried with a paper-towel and (obviously) couldn't get anything out, so I just skipped that step and it turned out fine
-My processor was a bit too small for all the stuff, so I separated everything in two and mixed it with half the ingredients, then mixed the stuff back together

Spicy Lentil and Veggie Tomato Soup

This hearty vegetable soup is tasty, filling, and fairly healthy. Takes a bit of time to cook but really isn't that bad for what you get. The extras freeze quite well.

Prepare:
-Chop 1/2 onion, 1/2 zucchini, 1 cup mushrooms, 1/2 a bell pepper, a couple chili peppers,and mince some garlic
-In a saucepan, put 1 cup lentils and enough water to barely cover. Cook covered, on medium-high, for about 10 minutes. Drain and keep
-Ready 1 can peeled tomatoes, as well as 2 cups of stock (or water with stock powder)
-Drain and rinse 1 can of beans (borlotti is good, or canellini)

Cook:
-In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, and pepper in some olive oil on medium heat-After 3 minutes, add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for about 2 more minutes
-Add and crush the tomatoes in the pot and add the stock. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to simmer
-Simmer for 20 minutes, then add lentils
-Simmer for 10 minutes and then add beans
-Simmer for 5 more minutes and then garnish well with salt, pepper, dried basil and rosemary and serve hot

Tips:
-Fennel, broccoli, and others would go well in this soup
-Cook longer to reduce the volume and thicken up the soup
-Goes great with a simple garlic-bread: Peel one small clove of garlic, toast bread and as soon as it's out of the toaster, rub the raw garlic up and down. Garnish with olive oil and black pepper

Bean and Broccoli Baked Polenta

I got some polenta from an awesome Mediterranean grocery store and whipped up (and modified) a recipe from an Italian cookbook. It was nice, if a bit bland. It is a bit intensive (you cannot stop stirring polenta, really) so make sure you have everything ready ahead of time.

Prepare:
-Ready 3 cups water with 1/2 tsp of salt in a pot
-1 cup of polenta (yellow cornmeal)
-2 tbsp olive oil
-Chop and lightly steam about 1 cup broccoli
-Drain and rinse 1/2 cup cannellini beans
-2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Cook:
-Preheat oven to 400F (205C)
-Bring the pot of water and salt to boil and then reduce to simmer
-Immediately add polenta in a light, slow, constant stream (I put the cup of meal into a glass and then poured from there), mixing it as you add it. Break any lumps that happen to form-Once all the cornmeal has been added, add the olive oil
-Continue to cook, stirring the whole time (a wooden spoon is best), for 20 minutes. Make sure it's medium-low heat (to keep from polenta sticking to bottom of pot)
-Add beans, broccoli, and some cracked black pepper and salt and mix thoroughly-Pour polenta onto a baking dish (I used a loaf pan - it came out thick)
-Sprinkle cheese on top-Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese has brownedTips:
-This was a bit bland - having a tomato or pesto sauce to go with this would be great
-I served this with kangaroo sausage. I think adding sausage directly to it would be nice as well.

Celery and Bean Tomato Stew

I had a freshly purchased batch of celery and half a can of beans in my fridge and I was wondering what to do with them. I spent sometime googling around and managed to formulate something pretty decent. It was surprisingly not bland and made for a great lunch with a fresh roll.
Prepare:
-Chop 1 or 2 big stalks of celery, 1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 small carrot, and some broccoli
-Finely dice one potato
-Rinse and drain 1 1/2 cans of beans (I used berlotti beans and butter beans (aka lima))
-Ready 1 can of peeled, crushed tomatoes
Cook:
-In a large pot on medium heat, with some olive oil fry onion, garlic, and celery on medium heat until onions are cooked and fragrant-After about 5-10 minutes, add the rest of the vegetables, the beans, and the tomatoes-Add salt, pepper, cumin, some soy sauce, and a bit of sesame oil
-Lower heat to low, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring every now and then making sure the tomatoes get crushed. Once the potato is done, so is the stew

Tips:
-You can obviously use any vegetables that you like. Zucchini, cauliflower, etc would work well. Also I think substituting the potato for pumpkin would turn out quite triumphant
-For the tomatoes, instead of a can you could use fresh tomatoes. 1 can is about 3 or 4 roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced. The way to peel tomatoes easily is to lightly cut the skin in one part, then put in boiling water for like 30 seconds, then cold water for a couple minutes, then peel off by hand

Hummus

I got a new food processor for my birthday and so tried to inaugurate it with hummus. I love the Israeli style hummus (pronounced ch-oo-moos), which is much creamier and richer and less grainy than the hummus available in most stores. I failed, however, in making it and instead made a more Western-style hummus. Still tasty but not my cup of dip.
Prepare:
-1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed (I should have used the fresh, maybe, and also removed the peels... but I didn't)
-1/3 cup tahini
-Several cloves of garlic
-Some olive oil
-Juice of 1/2-1 whole lemon, pending your taste
-1/2-1 tsp pending on your taste of the following: cumin, paprika, black pepper, salt
Cook:
-Roast the garlic in the peel in a toaster oven for about 20 minutes or until soft
-Process the chick peas first

-Add garlic, oil, lemon juice, and spices
-Add oil/water until reaches desirable consistency and flavor
-Garnish with some olive oil, parsley, and pine nuts, and enjoy with fresh pita, bread, or crackers

Khichdi

At the farmer's market this weekend I bought a punnet of mung beans on some whim. I don't know why, as I'd never had them before, but thought that I'd seen some interesting recipes that call for mung beans and would give a try. I did some googling and stumbled onto this, poorly arranged, page with lots of interesting recipes, and I opted for Khichari (aka Khichdi). I thought it was very tasty and interesting, though pretty bland. Looking over the article in wikipedia, suddenly it makes sense: it's the first food babies get and it's given to recovering patients! If only I'd known, I'd have changed it even more than I did. Oh well, for next time.
Prepare:
-Ready a cup of mung beans... I think you're supposed to peel them ahead of time, though I didn't. To do that, just soak them in some water for a while, I think-Chop up some cauliflower, carrot, tomato, onion, green onion leaf, and some hot pepper (this is what I was lacking!)-Ready spices: 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1-2cloves crushed garlic, 1tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp cumin, 1tsp coriander powder/seeds and salt and pepper (I used crushed black and Korean red pepper powder)
-Measure out 1 cup long grain rice
Cook:
-Heat beans in a pot with 5 cups of water until soft, around 5 minutes-Add vegetables (except onions) and rice, bring to boil and lower heat to med-low
-Check when rice is soft (around 15 - 20 min, for me)-Once rice is fairly soft, in a large wok on medium heat, lightly roast onion in 2 tbsp butter/ghee for 2 minutes, and then add coriander, ginger, and garlic-Once onion is soft/translucent, add the pot of rice and vegetables into the wok-Mix in, adding cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, and green onionTips:
-Well this was definitely bland, I needed to add way too much salt and pepper afterwards but that's okay, because I know I have to fix it for next time. The recipe didn't even call for garlic or onion but I had to add it in. In the future, I will use at least 2 chili peppers in the pot, as well as one in the wok, and up the cumin. I also may consider using a half stock/half water mix for the rice
-The recipe called for adding the vegetables 10 minutes before the rice, but this just made them so reduced that they were nonexistent, so I changed it to be with the rice. If you like vegetables more or less raw, then adjust accordingly. Other vegetables that would probably work well: broccoli, zucchini, and some kind of bean added at the end (chickpeas, for instance)
-Eat with na'an, papadums, or other flat bread

Spicy Pumpkin, Cauliflower, Chickpea with Rice

I found this recipe in our local Brisbane magazine. It looked delicious, healthy, and pretty easy and so I gave it a whirl. It called for couscous, which I didn't have, so I used medium-grain rice instead.
Prepare:
-Cook 1-1.5 cups of rice
-Dice pumpkin, onion, hot pepper, and cauliflower into small chunks-Crush a couple cloves of garlic
-Drain 1 can of chickpeas
-Prepare spices and herbs: cumin, curry powder, basil, parsley
Cook:
-In a wok on medium heat, lightly fry garlic in (olive) oil
-Throw in onion, cauliflower, and pumpkin and cook for about 10 minutes-Add spicy pepper and cook for about 5-1o more minutes, or until veggies are tender (stick a fork in a piece of pumpkin and if it comes out easily, then it's ready)-Add chickpeas, 1/2-1 tsp cumin and curry powder, as well as salt, pepper, etc.-Cook through for about 5 minutes or until chickpeas are fully heated and semi-cooked
-Mix in rice, once stirred through, rice should acquire brown quality
-Serve with a bit of olive oil and some fresh, chopped basil and parsley (I didn't have fresh so I used dried, unfortunately)Tips:
-Zucchini would go great in this (in fact, that's what the recipe called for), I would add it in with the peppers. Broccoli would be good, too.
-I didn't have any curry powder, so I used extra cumin, some pico de gallo and