Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Public Baking
I am a perfectly respectable cook and baker, so why is it that when I choose to bring a baked good to a friend more often than not it’s horrible. Last night I brought a pan of brownies to a friend who had just completed his first bike race and had recently celebrated a birthday. He is still training for more grueling events so I wanted to make something that was full of good carbs and high protein. Jim had just bought three bags of coconut flour. I substituted it for the wheat flour in the recipe. Well they were awful! Maybe not the taste, but the texture was dreadful. Next time I’ll mix the flours a bit more. My husband and I took them over anyway with a six-pack of Skinny Dip beer and told him he could throw out the brownies and drink the beer. It’s the thought that counts, right?
Today’s Lunch
Black Beans
2 cups dried black beans
1/2 onion
5 carrots chopped into small pieces
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Cover the beans generously with water—about three cups—and soak overnight. Place beans, bay leaves, orange juice, cumin, thyme, cayenne and black pepper (do not add the salt—it can keep the beans from cooking properly) and add just enough water to cover the beans. Bring cooker to pressure on high heat and reduce the heat to medium low—just enough to keep up the pressure. Cook for twenty minutes. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to drop off naturally—it takes about fifteen minutes. Add chopped onion, carrots, onion, and salt. Bring to pressure again on high heat and then remove the cooker from the burner. Allow pressure to relax naturally and enjoy! I like to eat my beans with salsa. These beans are great cold, too!
Notes: I live at altitude so I have to use a pressure cooker to get beans to cook thoroughly. If you live lower down than you can cook the beans as you normally would or you can buy canned beans and cook the veggies and herbs and add them to the beans.
Today’s Lunch
Black Beans
2 cups dried black beans
1/2 onion
5 carrots chopped into small pieces
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Cover the beans generously with water—about three cups—and soak overnight. Place beans, bay leaves, orange juice, cumin, thyme, cayenne and black pepper (do not add the salt—it can keep the beans from cooking properly) and add just enough water to cover the beans. Bring cooker to pressure on high heat and reduce the heat to medium low—just enough to keep up the pressure. Cook for twenty minutes. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to drop off naturally—it takes about fifteen minutes. Add chopped onion, carrots, onion, and salt. Bring to pressure again on high heat and then remove the cooker from the burner. Allow pressure to relax naturally and enjoy! I like to eat my beans with salsa. These beans are great cold, too!
Notes: I live at altitude so I have to use a pressure cooker to get beans to cook thoroughly. If you live lower down than you can cook the beans as you normally would or you can buy canned beans and cook the veggies and herbs and add them to the beans.
