Jamaican Style Red Beans and Rice

I found this delicious-sounding Red Beans and Rice dish from Emeril Lagasse and decided it must be done. With some minor alterations. Okay, a LOT of alterations. But the deal remains the same; you'll need a good two and a half hours to make this, so get onnit early!

You will need:

8 oz dried kidney beans ( about 1 1/4 cups)
6 garlic cloves, chopped big. ly
3 cups cold water
946 ml chicken stock, unsalted and fat free (sounds DELISH, right??)
1 cup light coconut milk
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon butter
2 tsp salt
4-6 Thai chiles, or 1 giant Scotch Bonnet pepper (I don't even know what that is)
1/2 tsp ground all spice (about 10 seeds)
2 cups uncooked brown rice
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2)

Prep! You can do most of it while the beans start, so rinse them and throw in the pot with the garlic, water and chicken stock. Bring them to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Now do the rest!

Strip the thyme off the sprigs; save those stalks for your stock, yo! I lurrrrvvvvvee fresh thyme, I just wanna lick my fingers after.

Chop your onion, halve your chiles, cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces and um, open your canned coconut milk. After cutting the chicken, you may as well cover it and put it back in the fridge. You don't need it for awhile.

After the 30 minutes, add in the thyme and coconut milk, cover and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour.

So then it looks..thusly

Now dump in the onion, chiles, salt, butter, all spice and some pepper, stir and cover for three minutes.

Dump in rice! Stir well, bring to a boil, stir again, cover, let cook for five minutes then stir and cover again. Whew! Got all that? Awesome! High fives all around, go take a break, let that cook for 25.

Until it looks thusly. Ish

Now add in the chicken, stir well AGAIN, cover and let cook for 10 more minutes.

Now set it aside and don't look at it for 10 minutes. Eyes up here, soldier!

Give it ANOTHER good stir (we're gonna have wrestler forearms soon!), portion between 6 people at 359 calories per, that's not bad, right?? We could have a salad and a wee eensy bit of dressing and we'd be in around that 400 calorie range, woo hoo!

Enjoy!

I like walks on the beach, days that end in Y and sunsets and rainbows...

Sausage & Bean Soup

I've made variations of this soup over the years; I typically use lentils but a friend mentioned Cannellini beans (white kidney beans) one day, so I immediately decided to give them a shot. Yes, I am just that suggestible. I only wish I was kidding. Also, any reason for beans AND sausage!

You will need:

2 tsp oil (not EVOO ever for cooking!)
1 lb hot Italian turkey sausages, (or mild, should you be a baby. or be feeding a baby)
1/4 tsp chili flakes (see above note re: feeding babies); optional
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, about 1 1/2 c
2 stalks celery
1 c carrots, about 2 medium
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp tomato paste
900 ml chicken stock - I am using no-salt-added
1 540 ml can Cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans)
5 c kale (about a small bunch
Salt, pepper, 1 tsp thyme
2 c water

First, prep! Should you have sausages that have a casing, remove it. Otherwise, it's easier to cook them whole and slice up after. Dice your celery, chop your carrots, mince your garlic. To prep your leeks, first you want to slice off the dark green tops (save for stock!) and cut the white and light green parts into 3 inch chunks, about like zo:

Slice them lengthwise and rinse the layers under running water. You would not believe the crud that gets in there. King Crud of Crudtown has set up shop there, you need to wash that crud right out of your food. Crud.dy.

Cut each half lengthwise three to four times, depending on width, and dice finely.

People always ask why leeks instead of onions (okay, my mom always asks); I just like the different nuances of flavour that leeks have. Milder, but warmer. Man, I sound like a food hippie. Namaste, betches! Cut your kale into ribbons; I find the easiest way to get the spine off the leaves is to run a paring knife along the hardest part.

Prep all done!

Now we begin: heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, add in the sausages, breaking apart into bite-sized chunks as you go. Unless you have the casing-less sausages, then cook them whole and slice after, reserving juices. I suggest using a flat-edged wooden spoon, but then of course I do. I love them. This is when you could add in the chili flakes, should you want to spice things up.

When the sausages are all browned, remove and set aside somewhere relatively warm. Add the leeks, carrots and celery into the pot, stirring to scrape up any browned sausage bits. Drool. After about 5 minutes, when they feel pretty much softened, add in the garlic and cook for one more minute. Just one!

Stir in the 2 Tbsp tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cook until it darkens and starts to stick to the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Ish.

Dump in the chicken stock, using your flat-edged spoon to scrape any brown stuff off the sides. Oh yes, we want ALLS the fond and flavour in our pot.

Add in the rinsed Cannellini beans, sausages, kale and 1tsp thyme. I read somewhere that the beans won't break down if there is too much salt, I hold off on adding any more s&p until the end. If it seems as though there isn't enough liquid, add up to 2 cups of water, until all is covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Check about halfway through, see how the flavour is developing and if the beans are starting to soften. After 20 minutes, add salt and pepper, check your beans. Should be lovely.

This breaks down into 6 big servings, at 262 calories each, which is toadilly awesome. You could add some bread, a glass of milk and be right at or under the recommended 400 - 500 calorie per meal guideline.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

We are still in the deep freeze, but at least it feels more season-appropriate. Totally fine for -40 AFTER Christmas. Okay, not really, but when we make up rules like that, we feel more in control. Canadians! Masters of self-delusion! At any rate, a friend mentioned black bean soup the other day and I haven't been able to get it oot of my head. Here's what I came up with.

You will need:

1 tsp butter
2 leeks
1 small carrot
1 celery stalk
3 garlic cloves
2 cans black beans (540 ml each) - rinsed, for the love of all that is holy
6-ish stalks cilantro
3 c chicken stock (or vegetable stock, should you want to make this vegetarian)
28 oz can diced tomatoes
Salt, pepper, ground cumin

Prep! Dice your carrots and celery, mince your garlic. Separate the stems from the leaves on the cilantro stalks, set leaves aside. Mince the stems.

Leeks are a little different. Cut off the dark green tops, set aside for stock (haven't tried them yet in there, totally going to!) and rinse the insides of the white / light green parts. You would not believe how dirty it is in there. Guh-ross. Cut the ends off, then slice lengthwise. Rinse under running water, pulling apart the layers. Then slice lengthwise into three pieces, then crosswise. You know, make them smaller. Exactly how is not important.

Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven, add in the leeks, carrot, minced cilantro stems and celery. Cook until somewhat softened, about 4-6 minutes. Add in the garlic, cook for only one more minute. Just one! Or until you can smell it, so maybe 30 seconds.

Add in the (rinsed, right?? don't skip this step, for reals) beans, chicken stock, tomatoes, salt, pepper and about a teaspoon of ground cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes, tasting about halfway through. Probably needs more pepper. And cumin. Maybe even some salt.

Remove the lid, let simmer for five more minutes while you chop up the cilantro leaves into thin slivers. My old cooking instructor would insist that I call this en chiffonade, but it really isn't that fancy. Slivers! Add in the cilantro leaves, cook for five more minutes, done!

This also came out to 6 big cup and a half servings, at 243 calories each, with an unreal amount of fibre and protein. Hey! I just realised this could also be vegetarian! And it's not even Wednesday!

Enjoy!

Sunday: Tuscan Chicken

We are elbows deep in a rainy summer right now; I am hoping to have nice enough weather to be able to grill some chicken, but just in case, I am going to throw in one of my favourite chicken and tomato dishes. Plus I love using chicken thighs, although I hate de-boning them so I cheat and buy the ones that are already done. Does anyone else think of that cartoon by Gary Larson "Boneless Chicken Ranch" whenever you see that description? I do, but I am probably a bad person.

1 lb chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 red, yellow or orange peppers, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
14 oz can diced tomatoes
2/3 c white wine (or chicken stock if you aren't into intoxicating minors)
1 tsp oregano
15-oz can cannellini (white kidney) beans
Salt, pepper

Prep! Slice your onions and peppers thinly, trim the fat off the chicken. Drain and rinse your beans. I wouldn't crush your garlic in advance, though, messy and you want all the flavour in your pan. I am going to be ricing my tomatoes because the original recipe called for passata, and I can't find that nowheres. Should you have a food mill or potato ricer, feel free to press your diced tomatoes the same way, even a fine mesh sieve would work. Just push through the mesh and voila! Or just used diced and don't do anything to them, it will just be a little more chunky.

Heat the oil, season your chicken with salt and pepper; cook until golden on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Flaaaavour

Remove the chicken from the pan, set aside and keep warm. Add the peppers and onions to the pan, cook until almost softened, about 3 minutes.

Now crush your garlic! Add it to the pan, cook for just one more minute. Just one!

Right about now your kitchen starts smelling amazing

Pour in the wine or chicken stock, scrape up all the awesome brown bits on the bottom. Return the chicken and add in the diced tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. I always feel uncomfortable when I read "season to taste" in a situation like this, because I certainly don't dig tasting sauce that has half-raw chicken in it and cold tomatoes. What I mean in this situation is sprinkle some on, taste it in 10 or 15 minutes and adjust as needed.

Bring to a boil, then simmer at low heat for 30-35 minutes, until the sauce is reduced somewhat and the chicken is cooked through. Flip the chicken halfway through.

Add in the rinsed and drained beans; stir and heat through, about 5 minutes.

I made this into 4 portions at 408 calories per serving and added some fusilli and broccoli for a full meal in the 400-500 calorie range. Mine was a little higher because I had a couple hundred grams of chicken thighs. If you used the 1 pound, you would end up closer to 330 calorie range. I prefer it with a lighter pasta, say angel hair or spaghettini, but fusilli is what I had, and it was lovely. If you haven't tried cannellini beans before, you have to. They add juuust the right amount of creaminess and a nice punch of protein, fantastic. Try it!

Enjoy!