who's on first

Me again. Taneasha has a home, and some furniture, but no intrawebs. So, I'm back in my usual Tuesday spot, but I'm taking a break from cookies.

I am a total slave to cravings. I'll spend days trying to ignore the fact that I not only want, but apparently need, a certain type of food. They don't go away. Sometimes it's something nice and healthy like bananas. And when I finanlly find a bunch that is just the right ripeness, I'll eat the whole freaking bunch. Sometimes, it's fried chicken. Way too often it's fried chicken.

Lately though, it's been beans. And not just any beans. It has to be refried beans.

I freaking love refried beans.

Damn good thing too, because they're super cheap, unbelievably easy to make, and they're totally freezable, which means they're perfect for making into burritos to freeze and heat up in the (world's most disgustingly dirty) microwave at school. But we won't talk about that for now. I passed my exams. I've got 3.5 months of calculus-free bliss.

AKA: work.

Now I get to heat up my frozen burrito in a clean nuker.

But first, I had to make beans. Yes, I know, they come in a can. The ones in the can, more often than not, have sugar in them. Sugar. Why the hell do refried beans need sugar added to them? There are times when I'm glad I'm a compulsive label-reader. <<insert rant here about what's wrong with the food industry, and the apathy of consumers>>

Refried beans don't have sugar in them. At least these ones don't. So, as an alternative to the can in your cupboard I offer:

Refritos

What you need:

• 1 c dry pinto beans
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• pinch of cumin
• ~4 c water or broth or stock
• bacon fat
• salt

Yes, I realize I'm ranting about added sugar in a post that advocates the use of bacon fat. This is not a question of "is it healthier." The sugar is likely in there to make the beans taste better, just like the bacon fat is. But, the bacon fat is drippings from the bacon I bought at a local butcher; they make their own bacon from local pigs. I can trace the bacon fat to the farm. It's less than 100 miles away. I can't say the same about that sugar. I know that food tastes better when it has fat and sugar in it. But I'm actively making a choice as a consumer. That's the difference.

What you gotta do:

Dump it all in the crock pot.

Well, kinda. Works best if you rinse the beans first, and chop the onion and garlic.

I'd been planning on using water, but remembered that I had some chicken broth in the freezer.

So I thawed it and dumped it in.

And waited.

And waited.

I am not a patient person.

Particularly not when I have a craving.

Once the beans are soft, and you can mash one against the side of the crock pot (took mine about 4 hours on high), transfer the beans only to a bowl. I don't suggest draining the beans because some of that liquid is handy to have around when you're mashing. So, I fish mine out with the masher.

Mashing is a bit of a taste thing. Or, texture thing, I guess. Some people prefer the beans whole, some like them smashed to smithereens.

I a cake-and-eat-it-too kinda person, so I mash all but about a cup of beans and then just stir them in.

And then, I add the bacon fat. Feel free to leave this out if you'd like, but I don't recommend it.

Now, before you add the last ingredient, you need to taste them. Beans need salt. I like to add the bacon fat first because it is quite salty, and then add tiny amounts, stirring and tasting until they're just right.

Roll them up in a burrito with some guac (cover it with foil and it won't turn brown at all!)

or just dip your chips right in

What weird ingredient have you found by reading labels? Or, do you read labels?

A Little Somethin' Froggy on the Side

When I mentioned to Seeley that I was thinking about making frog eye salad, she made it quite clear that she wouldn’t be eating anything with frog eyes in it.  Perhaps she’ll come around when she sees that the ‘frog eyes’ in this recipe are actually just pasta.  Traditionally, it’s made with canned fruit and marshmallows and coconut, but as you know by now, we don’t really do traditional around here.  I decided to use the basic recipe, but to put in my favorite fruits.  You can put whatever you want in it, and it’ll be sure to make a fabulous side to go with your Easter ham.  And speaking of Easter ham, be sure you save the liquid that cooks off and the bone and extra meat, and next week, I’ll show you a fabulous way to use them.  Now, onto fruity, creamy, delicious frog eye salad. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup acini de pepe, uncooked
¾ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons flour
1 ¼ cups pineapple juice, drained from canned pineapple
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 eggs

Whatever fruit you want to put in.  I used strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, and mango.

Drain your pineapple.  I used all of the juice from a big can of tidbits and a small can of crushed, but used only about half of the actual tidbits.  If you don’t have quite enough juice, you can add another kind of juice or even water to get you to 1 ¼ cups.  Put the pineapple into a container or bag and into the fridge until you need it later. 

Cook your pasta for the least amount of time on the package directions. 

Drain it, and stir in a tablespoon of butter.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.

Whisk the eggs and lemon juice into the pineapple juice. 

Pour that into the dry ingredients and whisk them together over medium heat. 

Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick.  If you run your finger through it on the back of the spoon, it will not run back together.

Pour that over the cooked acini de pepe and stir them together. 

Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate overnight. 

The next day, it’s time for the fruit.  This is how I like to cube a mango.  Cut both sides off, avoiding the pit. 

Then run a knife along the inside, not going through the skin, making little cubes. 

Turn the whole thing inside out, and then you can just scrape them off with a spoon, or even your fingers, into a bowl. 

Dice up the strawberries. 

Blueberries just have to be rinsed.

And last, but not least, is the kiwi. 

Cut off both ends and stand it upright.

Cut down the sides, removing the peel in strips.

Quarter it and dice it.  (I used 2 kiwis)

Look how pretty that is!  Lovely colors for springtime. 

Add your pineapple to the bowl and stir all the fruit together. 

Pull your pasta mixture out of the fridge.  It should be quite solid. 

To 2 cups cream, add 2 teaspoons vanilla and 3 Tablespoons sugar. 

Whip until… voilá!

With a spatula, loosen up the pasta mixture a bit.  It’s pretty solid, so you’ll kind of have to chop and smoosh. 

Fold in the whipped cream in batches.  At first it will be more stirring/smashing than actual folding. 

But eventually, the mixture will start to come together, and you’ll be able to fold properly. 

Now, add your fruit.  Oh dear.  Do you see the same problem I do?  Obviously my bowl isn’t big enough.  Oh well, I have confidence in my abilities! 

Fold in your fruit until everything is incorporated.  And there you have it!  Frog Eye Salad.  It’s sweet, creamy, fruity, and delicious. 

Don’t you just love all the beautiful colors? 

What’s your favorite springtime side dish?

Update on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 11:55AM by Taneasha

I made a lower fat version of this dish this week and it was fabulous.  Simply substitute 2 cups of nonfat, vanilla, Greek yogurt, for one of the cups of cream.  Stir the yogurt into the pasta mixture first, and then whip 1 cup of cream with 1.5 Tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and fold it in before adding the fruit.  That cuts the fat content of this just about in half, and it's every bit as delicious.