Stuffed Squash with Spinach and Quinoa

I made this yummy squash for dinner the other night, and thought it would be great to share the recipe for those of you hosting a vegetarian at Thanksgiving.

While there are usually enough sides at a Thanksgiving dinner to fill up even a hungry eater, it's nice to have something that looks like a centerpiece.

I used a 4-cup squash, but there's enough stuffing to fill one twice the size.

Also, I baked the squash while cooking the stuffing on the stove, then filled the cooked squash and served it. You could also stuff the raw squash and then cook it at 350°F for about an hour. Or you could use a slow cooker - a much-appreciated device when all the burners and ovens are full with other dishes. Put the raw stuffed squash in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Fashion a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper into a sling and nestle the squash in it inside the slow cooker. This will make getting the cooked squash out of the slow cooker easier.

But don't save this recipe for Thanksgiving. It's great on any fall or winter evening. The quinoa and beans give it a high protein content, the spinach (or any other green you like) provides a nutrition boost, the rosemary and garlic boost the immune system. (Although you can omit the garlic if you don't like it.) Skip the feta if you're serving vegans.

Here's what I did.

Stuffed Squash with Spinach and Quinoa
1 winter squash
2/3 cup pinto beans (or 1 14 oz can of a bean of your choice)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz raw spinach, thick stems discarded, washed and coarsely chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp smoked chile flakes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa, rinsed first in boiling water then in cold water a couple of times
2-4 tbsp chopped black olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta (or more to taste)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash the squash and pierce the top with a knife a few times. Bake about 40 minutes until it feels soft and a knife slides easily in near the stem.

Pressure cook the beans for 23 minutes until tender. (Or cook them for a couple of hours in a pot of water on the stove. Or drain the canned beans.)

Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Stir in the salt, paprika and chile flakes. Cook another minute. Add the stock and quinoa, bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the beans, olives, feta and rosemary. Stir to mix.

Cut the top off the squash and scoop out the seeds and any stringy guts. Spoon the stuffing into the squash, adjust the top jauntily, and serve.

Any extra stuffing can be served on the side. Sprinkle with extra feta if desired.

Serves 6

Autumn Supper

I planned supper in my head on the way home the other night: cooked white beans in the fridge, a small butternut squash in the cupboard, and a bunch of tiny turnips - greens detached but in a bag with them - in the fridge. That sounded like the makings of a good autumn supper.

I went outside to pick some thyme and rosemary, then started dinner.

I gently warmed some garlic in a covered skillet with butter while I peeled and diced the tiny squash. I added the squash to the pan with a splash of white wine, covered and let it braise until tender, about 20 minutes. I stirred it occasionally to make sure the squash wasn't sticking.

I put the beans in a covered pot with a little water over low heat. While they warmed, I puréed about 2 tbsp of rosemary, 1 tbsp of thyme, a small clove of garlic and a good glug of olive oil in the blender. I added a little water to thin the sauce, then poured it in with the beans. The piny aromas stimulated our appetites.

I turned to the turnips, which turned out to be watermelon radishes. You can see how I cooked them here.

It was a lovely dinner - a contrast of flavors and colors: orange, buttery squash; sharply aromatic beans; and peppery green and red radishes.

Chickpea Salad

Bean salads are the ultimate portable vegetarian lunch. They are high in protein and fiber from the beans, vitamins and minerals from the vegetables and herbs, and don't need to be kept refrigerated — although an ice pack in the lunch bag is a good idea.

This week, we're taking this chickpea salad with cilantro and celery to work. It doesn't have a lot of dressing on it, so we're less likely to drip oil on our shirts, and it's full of fresh flavors and crunchy textures that make it a pleasure to eat.

You can take this recipe as a guide and switch out ingredients depending on what is in your fridge: parsley and mint for the cilantro, green peppers and radishes for the celery, scallions for the red onion. With bean salads, the possibilities are endless.

I particularly like the munchiness of chickpeas, but I've yet to find a dried bean that doesn't make a good salad. The key is to cook them until they are tender, not mushy. You can use canned beans, of course, but they don't taste quite as good.

Dried beans are worth getting to know. If you have a pressure cooker, you can cook up a batch of chickpeas in under half an hour. Or you can cook them in the slow cooker overnight. Or simmer them for a few hours on the back burner of the stove. Extra beans can be frozen, although when they're defrosted they're better in stews and soups than in salads — the freezing makes them a little mushy.

Once the beans are cooked, it's a snap to toss them with dressing and vegetables for a mouthwatering dish that will fill the lunch box for a few days.

Chickpea Salad
1 cup dried chick peas (or 2 cans)

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 tbsp chopped red onion

salt and pepper

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

Cook and drain the chickpeas. Put them in a bowl and add the two vinegars and plenty of salt and pepper. Let come to room temperature.

Stir in the celery, cilantro and red onion. Toss well. Pour the olive oil over top and toss again.

Serves 4-6.

Black Bean Burgers

I've made many bean burgers over the years, but I've never cooked one on a barbecue because I feared they would fall apart.

Last Friday, continuing the expanding of my horizons inspired by Elizabeth Orsini's book From Garden to Grill, I made these black bean burgers and handed them to Larry to cook over the coals. He was dubious at first, but they did cook up beautifully.

Orsini says that the key to a making a veggie burger hold together is squeezing the vegetables dry before you add the beans: too much moisture and they fall apart. It seems quite obvious once she's said it, but since I spent my life trying to make burgers that were moist on the inside, it never occurred to me.

These burgers did hold together well on the grill, but I thought they were dry on the inside. Larry didn't. (He put our homemade salsa on his burger — maybe that's the secret.)

We didn't use buns. Instead we saved room for the sides: grilled shisito peppers, green beans from our garden, and a great salad of grilled corn and tomatoes also inspired by From Garden to Grill.

We only grilled two of the four burgers this recipe makes. We kept the others in the fridge to eat at another barbecue Sunday night. There's nothing like eating outside on summer evenings.

Black Bean Burgers
2/3 cup black beans (or 1 14-oz can)
1 stick celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 eggs
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 cup bread crumbs

Rinse the black beans and cook until tender (about 20 minutes in the pressure cooker or 90 minutes simmering on the stove). Make sure they're soft before you drain them. Drain the beans and pour them onto a kitchen towel. Roll them up and press gently to dry them.

Use a food processor to chop the celery, red onion and garlic very fine. Pour them into a strainer and squeeze out the excess water (your plants will enjoy the water).

Put the beans in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until only a few lumps remain. Stir in the drained vegetables.

Whisk the eggs with the cumin and chili powder. Stir into the bean mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs. The mixture should hold together well.

Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into patties. Put on a plate, cover with wax paper, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to a couple of days) until ready to cook on the grill.

Grill over high heat (hand can be held over the rack for 4 seconds) for about 8 minutes per side.

Serve with salsa or ketchup. Avocado would be great too.

Serves 4.

Yummy Potatoes

Sometimes, when I feel Larry has eaten enough weird healthy vegetable dishes for a while, I serve him some yummy potatoes. Potatoes are happy food, pretty much any way they're served.

Of course, he helps by going to the library and getting books  like Smashed, Mashed, Boiled and Baked: A Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes by Raghavan Iyer.

Iyer's previous book was 660 Curries, so you know he likes flavorful food.

The other night I made his recipe for Moroccan Potato Stew with Saffron Biscuits. I think it would have been delicious without the biscuits, but heck, why not go all out on potato night.

Needless to say, the dish was a hit. In fact, it was even a hit on the 3rd night of leftovers. The seasonings were robust and the vegetables blended beautifully with them. The simple biscuits were delicious, even without the saffron. (I remember using the last of my saffron and deciding it was time to start growing my own saffron crocus. While I still want to do that, in the meantime I think I'd better just buy some more to last until the fall harvest. I'm sure the biscuits would have been even better with a little included.)

This is really a healthy recipe. Chickpeas and spinach, sweet potatoes as well as white — it's not that different to the food we usually eat. Maybe that's why I made the biscuits — it's important to be a little decadent on yummy potato night.

I did alter Iyer's recipe a little to suit what I had in the house. I hope you do the same thing when you cook the recipes on this blog. After all, half the fun of cooking is experimenting.

Here's what I did:

Moroccan Potato Stew with Biscuits
2/3 cup chickpeas
1 lb potatoes
1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp smoked chili flakes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
14oz can diced tomatoes
1 bunch spinach

Cook the chickpeas in simmering water until tender, 2-3 hours depending on the age of the beans. Or cook them in a pressure cooker for 22 minutes and let the pressure come down on its own. (Or use 2 15-oz cans chickpeas.) Drain and set aside.

Peel the white and sweet potatoes; cut into 1-inch cubes. Put in a bowl and cover with water so they don't turn grey before you need them.

Grind the coriander, cumin and cinnamon in a spice grinder (or coffee maker reserved for spices) until they are a fine powder. Pour into a small bowl and stir in the paprika, chili flakes, salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. When it begins to shimmer, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring regularly, until they start to brown around the edges. Stir in the spice blend and stir for about 15 seconds until wonderfully fragrant. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes (including the liquid),  2 cups water, cooked chickpeas and drained potatoes. Stir it all together well so the vegetables are coated with the spices. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until the potatoes are tender.

Wash the spinach and remove any tough stems. Stir into the pot. Cover and let steam until cooked, about 3-5 minutes.

You can eat this excellent stew now, or you can go wild and put biscuits on top.

Biscuits
2 cups white flour (plus extra for dusting)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
4 tbsp butter, cut in slices and chilled
1 cup keffir or buttermilk
1/2 cup whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Pour the cooked stew into an ovenproof casserole.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add chilled butter and break it up into pea-size pieces with your fingers as you mix it in.

Stir in the keffir and whipping cream to make a wet batter.

Mound a half cup of flour on a large board or surface. Cover your hands with flour too. Scoop up 1/3 cup batter with your well-floured hands and drop it into the mound of flour. Gently roll it around to coat it completely with flour, then shape it into a biscuit and put it on the stew. Repeat with all the dough — you'll have 6-7 biscuits.

Place the casserole, uncovered, into the oven and bake until the biscuits are browned on top, about 25 minutes.

Serves 6

Bean and Barley Salad

It was hot on Sunday but I was determined that we would eat lunch outside.

So as the main course I served a chilled bean and barley salad. Fresh herbs added zest to the complete protein of beans and grains. I had planned to scatter feta over the top, but I forgot. It was still yummy. (I would have used about 2oz diced feta.)

Barley is best known as a soup grain, but it makes a lovely salad — more interesting and less dry than rice.

This salad is also good with black beans. And the herbs and vegetables can be swapped out for whatever is in your fridge.

The salad lasts well for a few days - I'll be eating the leftovers for lunch this week.

Bean and Barley Salad
2/3 cup chickpeas or other beans (or 2 14-oz cans)
1 cup barley
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp grated lemon rind
3 tbsp lemon juice

Cook the chickpeas until tender. (In a pressure cooker it will take 22 minutes. In a pot of boiling water, 2-3 hours.) Drain and set aside to cool. (Or drain and rinse the canned beans.)

Cook barley in simmering water until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, parsley, mint, celery and red onion. Stir in the chickpeas and barley. Toss with the lemon rind and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper (more salt than you might think — the barley can take a lot).

Chill until ready to serve.

Garnish with watercress, nasturtium flowers and feta if desired.

Bean Salad with Celery and Cilantro

Bean salads are great in bagged lunches. They are a good source of protein and they travel well. This week we've been eating this refreshing salad made with celery and cilantro.

I sometimes make it using chickpeas or kidney beans or tongue of fire beans or pinquitos. This time I used Trail of Tears because I had them in the cupboard and I thought the color contrast would be pretty.

The soft beans play against the crunch of the celery and red onion. I like the cilantro, but sometimes I use chopped gherkins instead.

The key is to toss the beans with the dressing while they are still warm. They then absorb some of the dressing as they cool down and become really flavorful.

Bean Salad with Celery and Cilantro
1 cup dried Trail of Tears beans
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 tsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped red onion (or more to taste)
3 tbsp olive oil

Pick over the beans, discarding any that you don't like the look of. Rinse them, then put in a pot with water to cover by 2-4 inches, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently until tender. This will take 1-3 hours depending on the age and type of bean.

(Alternatively use 2 14-oz cans of beans. Drain and rinse them then continue. But they won't taste quite as good.)

Drain the cooked beans and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the vinegars and some salt and pepper. Toss gently and let the beans sit at room temperature until they are cool enough to eat.

Stir in the celery, cilantro, red onion and olive oil. Toss well. Season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Serves 4-6

Black Beans

Long-time readers know that Larry prefers to eat his barbecue hamburger with black beans on the side. While I think that's weird, I never turn down an opportunity to eat beans. I cooked our standard go-to black beans for our Memorial Day barbecue on Sunday. They are easy to cook and always get rave reviews.

They also freeze and defrost well, ensuring excellent feasts in the future.

I used a roasted poblano from my freezer. I usually use a chopped green pepper when they are in season — a couple of months away yet. Also, the birds / slugs have eaten my parsley to stalks. Otherwise I would have added 1/3 cup chopped parsley with the cilantro.

Black Beans

2 cups black beans

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 roasted, peeled poblano, seeded and chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, peeled

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano

2 tsp salt

pepper

1/2 cup white wine

Soak beans in water to cover by 2 inches for 3 hours. Drain. Put the beans in a large pot with the onion, pepper, and water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Turn off the heat and set aside. Do not drain the beans.

Warm the olive oil in a small frypan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cilantro, sugar, cumin, oregano, salt and a dozen grindings of pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine. Simmer over high heat until the wine is reduced by a quarter, about 5 minute.

Stir the contents of the frypan into the beans. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, until the liquid has evaporated and the beans are yummy, about 15 minutes.

Serves 6

Cooking in the Time of Drought

I love my pressure cooker. It allows me to make dinner with nutritious beans in less than an hour.

My grandmother, who preferred to be vegan, gave me my pressure cooker on my 18th birthday. Many years later, it's still going strong. (I have replaced the seal a couple of times.) I used to bring down the pressure by running water over it. Now that I treasure every drop coming out of the faucet, I have learned to bring down the pressure quickly, but without water.

I put the sorted and rinsed beans in the pressure cooker, add cold water to cover by at least 4 inches, then cover and put on high heat until the pressure comes up to full. I turn down the heat until it's just simmering. Most beans take about 15 minutes; chickpeas take 22 minutes and soybeans would take even longer. When the timer goes off, I put the pot on the counter, aim the steam release in a direction where it will do no harm, and open it up. Steam flies. (I like to think it's steam cleaning my kitchen.) When the steam finishes, the lid unlocks and I can open it. I make sure to lift the lid away from me, because it's still mighty hot.

When the steam stops rising, I take out a bean and cut it with a knife to see if it's cooked through. If not, I put the lid back on, put the pot back on the burner, and let it simmer — not under pressure — another 3-4 minutes and then test another bean. They'll be done soon.

Then I drain the beans over my trusty pyrex jug. When the water cools I pour it on my plants.

Good beans, cooked quickly, with no water wasted.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Lime

It's rare for me to buy fresh tomatoes out of season. Cherry tomatoes seem to travel better so I buy organic cherry tomatoes (grown in Mexico) for Larry's lunch salads all winter. They seem to taste okay, especially when dowsed in honey-balsamic salad dressing.

But the other day my local grocery store had organic vine-ripened tomatoes and I bought a few to stir into this warm salad of quinoa and black beans. The zest of the limes made the dish interesting, and the tomatoes added juiciness and color. I then went outside to encourage my tomato seedlings to grow faster — I'm ready for homegrown tomatoes.

Quinoa is a much-hyped high-protein grain. It's also really bitter, which is why I rinse it three times — the first time with boiling water. There's melted butter in the vinaigrette, which also helps soften the taste.

I came in from the garden and threw some black beans in the pressure cooker. While they were cooking (15 minutes once up to pressure), I cooked asparagus for our side dish, started the quinoa cooking, and whisked together the vinaigrettes for the asparagus and the quinoa salad. It took a little over 30 minutes to put dinner on the table, not too bad for a healthy meal made from scratch.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Lime
1/3 cup dry black beans (or 1 can)
1 cup quinoa
2 limes
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Pick over the beans to remove any stones or debris. Rinse them, then cook in boiling water until tender (about 2 hours) or pressure cook for 15 minutes. (If they're still a little hard when you reduce the pressure, put the lid back on and let them simmer until they're tender. Don't overcook them — you want them to hold their shape.) Drain the beans and set aside. (Or open the can of beans, rinse well and drain.)

Put the quinoa in a sieve and pour boiling water over it. Drain well, then pour cold water over it twice. This thorough rinsing will wash off the bitter saponins. Cook the quinoa in a pot of lightly salted water for about 10 minutes until tender but not soft — al dente if you will. Drain it, return it to the pot, and leave it covered, off the heat, to rest 5 minutes or so until you're ready to use it. It will absorb any remaining water and become fluffy and dry.

Grate the limes to make 2 tsp of zest. Squeeze 2 tbsp of lime juice into a large bowl. Add the zest, melted butter and vegetable oil. Whisk in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Add the black beans and stir well. If necessary, let the beans rest in the vinaigrette until the remaining ingredients are ready. Then toss in the quinoa, tomatoes, shallot and cilantro. Season with extra salt and pepper if needed.

Serves 4

Balsamic Bean Stew

Starting with plain old dried beans, an enormous variety of dishes can be created. Adding tomatoes or herbs, puréeing the beans, serving them hot or cold. It is impossible to get bored with beans.

Last night, I used balsamic vinegar as the sauce for some large white beans. While it's not the most attractive dish to photograph (a sprinkle of parsley would have helped), it was wonderfully zesty. Roasted red pepper added sweetness and radishes gave a nice crunch. It was a tasty meal along with Oat Groats with Mint and Lemon and steamed broccoli.

(The balsamic makes these very tangy. Make sure to serve over a grain to soften the intensity.)

Balsamic Bean Stew
2 cups large white dried beans (like limas or gigantes)
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp celery salt
1 roasted red pepper, peeled and diced
8 small radishes, topped and tailed, and sliced in thirds

Pick over the white beans and discard any debris. Rinse them, then put in a large pot with water to cover by at least 2 inches. Add the diced onion. Cover, bring to a boil, and then lower the heat so the beans simmer gently until they are tender, about 2 hours. Drain the beans and stir in the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, some salt and pepper, and celery salt to taste. Add the red pepper and radishes.

Serve warm.

Serves 6

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chili

I love our slow cooker. I put food into it and then go outside and putter in the garden until I'm hungry. Miraculously, dinner is ready! And I don't have to worry about it burning if I've spent longer outside than I intended.

My go-to slow cooker book is Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. Her chipotle sweet potato chili is sweet, smoky and colorful, and it has quite a kick.

We enjoyed it over a mound of brown rice with gently-steamed snap peas on the side. Best of all, there will be leftovers for later in the week.

I started the kidney beans cooking in boiling water on the stove, then assembled the rest of the stew and started it cooking. I drained the kidney beans when they were just tender and stirred them in. They were able to pick up good flavors even in the shorter cooking time.

Although I like a good spicy kick to offset the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, you can add less chipotles if you prefer. Also, I used a roasted red pepper from my freezer. You can use a fresh one if you prefer - just seed and chop it and throw it in the sauté pan. No need to roast and peel.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chili
2/3 cup kidney beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 roasted red pepper, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp chili powder
4 small sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp canned chipotle in adobo, chopped

Pick over the kidney beans and remove any small stones or debris. Rinse them, put in a pot with enough cold water to cover the beans by at least 2 inches. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, about 2 hours. Drain and set aside.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut in 1/2 inch chunks.

Warm the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion, red pepper and garlic. Cover and cook gently until the onions are tender. Stir in chili powder and cook, stirring, about 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in sweet potatoes until they are covered in spices.

Scrape this all into a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Pour in the canned tomatoes with their juice, the cooked kidney beans, and 1 1/2 cups water. Season with salt, about 1 tsp or to taste. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Stir in the chipotle. Taste and add more chipotles or salt to taste.

Serves 6-8

Beans and Greens

Dried beans and fresh greens are staples in our household. We eat them regularly, and rarely the same way twice. There are so many varieties of dried beans and fresh greens that the combinations are endless.

Here's the most recent one I made, combining curly kale, white lima beans, and canned tomatoes.

It actually tasted as good as it looks.

Here's what I did.

White Beans and Curly Kale Stew
1/3 cup dry white lima beans or canellini beans
4 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 dried red chile pepper, crumbled
1 large bunch curly kale, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves

Cook the beans in boiling water until tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain and set aside.

Warm olive oil in large sauté pan. Add garlic and chile pepper and cook over medium heat until fragrant. Stir in kale and vegetable stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the kale wilts, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, cooked beans and thyme. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle stew into shallow bowls and serve.

Serves 4

Vegetarian Posole

I got an awesome gift for Christmas: dried blue posole from Rancho Gordo.

I had never cooked posole before. In fact, I hadn't even eaten it, because local versions always include some meat.

But I found a recipe for vegetarian posole on the Rancho Gordo website, and dove right in.

(If you have not visited their site, it's worth it just for the photos of their beautiful dried heirloom beans - real bean porn. Then you'll probably feel the need to buy some of their beans, and then you will have the foundation of many wonderful meals.)

Posole, like hominy, is corn that is dried, then cooked, then treated with calcium hydroxide (lime) so the skins come off when they're rubbed. The corn is then dried again. This is a traditional process that makes dried corn - hominy, posole - that cooks up into a fabulous thick soup.

This is a soup with endless varieties. Start with the dried posole and some dried beans. Add a few vegetables. Simmer it all together and you'll have a fabulous stick-to-the-ribs meal. Serve it with warm corn tortillas for pure heaven.

I used zucchini in my posole even though it's winter. My freezer is full of blanched diced zucchini from plants that grew vigorously in my garden last summer. I grew four seeds of the Italian heirloom Trombetta di Albenga, and the vines romped up and over my rain barrels, through the fig tree and the neighbor's yucca, producing yard-long zucchinis that were tender and delicious, but a little overwhelming to this family of two. Fortunately, zucchini freezes well, so we've been enjoying it this winter in soups and stews like this one.

If you do not have a freezer full of zucchini, you could use green beans in this recipe instead.

Vegetarian Posole
1 cup Rancho Gordo dried blue posole
1 cup dried yellow beans (or pinto or other heirloom beans)
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp red chile powder (the kind that is pure chile)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
3/4 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 to 3 cups diced zucchini
14 oz can chopped tomatoes, drained
cilantro and warm corn tortillas to serve

Soak the posole in water to cover for 6 hours. Drain. Cook in plenty of fresh water, simmering but not boiling, for about 2 hours until tender.

Meanwhile, rinse the beans and put them in water to cover by a couple of inches. Let soak for 6 hours, then pour them with their water into a large pot. Do not drain them.

To the beans in their soaking water, add the vegetable stock and enough water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Bring to the boil and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or two depending on the age of the beans. Do not drain. Turn off the heat and set aside until the posole is ready.

Sauté the onion, garlic, chile powder, cumin seed and dried oregano in the oil until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the zucchini and tomatoes. Cook another 5 minutes.

Add the cooked vegetables to the pot of beans. Then stir in the drained posole. Simmer about 30 minutes, adding water if it's too thick.

Serve in bowls, sprinkled with cilantro, with warm corn tortillas on the side.

Serves many. Fortunately it freezes well.

This zucchini grew on top of my rain barrel, which is why it has this great shape.

White Bean Salad

Bean salads are the ultimate lunchbox treat. They travel well, are full of protein and fiber to nourish the body for a busy afternoon, and pair so well with a simple green salad and a piece of fruit for dessert that the lunch hour becomes a satisfying break for the spirit as well as the body.

This week we're eating a white bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes. I use large white lima beans, but cannellini would be pretty too. When I packed them for lunch, I added some halved cherry tomatoes for color and freshness. When I was really organized I snipped some fresh mint over top as well.

Cooking the beans with aromatics enhances their flavor. If you are using canned beans, drain 3-14oz cans of beans and rinse well. Stir in one celery stalk, chopped in bite-sized pieces, and omit the onion and bay leaves. The salad will still be good, but I do encourage you to try cooking your own beans.

I used the sun-dried tomatoes that are hard, not packed in oil. If you use the oil-packed kind, don't refresh them in hot water. Also, use a little of the oil in place of the olive oil for a richer flavor.

White Bean Salad
1 cup dried great northern or cannellini or navy or white lima beans
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 celery stalk, cut in half lengthwise
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes, softened a few minutes in hot water then drained
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 shallot, finely chopped (or a couple of spring onions)
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil

Sort the beans to pick out any stones or debris or broken beans and discard. Rinse and put in a large pot with the onion, celery, bay leaves and 8 cups water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, about 2 hours. Pick out the onion, celery and bay leaves. Drain the beans and place in a large bowl. Add the sun-dried tomatoes.

In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar, parsley, capers, shallot, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Pour this over the warm beans, toss gently to combine, and set aside at room temperature to cool.

Just before serving, add chopped tomatoes if desired, and a little sprinkling of mint. Season with extra salt and pepper as desired.

Serves 4-6

Beans and Potatoes with Kale

I made this simple dish of beans, potatoes and curly kale the other day. It is both satisfying and highly nutritious. The beans have protein and fiber, the potatoes have essential insoluble fiber (read my post on the health benefits of potatoes here), and the kale is full of vitamins and minerals.

Plus, it was pretty on the plate.

I used the small pale green flageolet beans beloved by the French. White lima or cannellini beans would be good too. Or trout beans - my latest heirloom bean purchase - which are small white and brown beans also called Appaloosa beans because of their coloring.

Beans and Potatoes with Kale
2/3 cup flageolets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red-skinned potato, cut in 3/4 inch dice
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch kale, tough stalks removed, leaves sliced in ribbons
juice of 1/2 lemon
grated parmesan (optional)

Cook the flageolets in a large pot of simmering water until tender, about 90 minutes depending on the age of your beans. Drain and set aside. (They can be cooked up to a day ahead and stored in a closed container in the refrigerator if needed.)

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and a sprinkle of salt. Stir well, cover the pan, and let cook a few minutes while the potatoes turn golden brown. Carefully turn the potatoes over with a spatula and continue cooking them until they are cooked through and golden.

Add the onion and cooked beans to the pan. Keep cooking, with the lid off, letting the beans brown a little and catch on the bottom of the pan to enhance their flavor. Don't stir for a couple of minutes until the onion has softened and the beans have browned a little.

Stir in the garlic and kale. Lower the heat a little and cover the pan. Let the kale wilt for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with grated parmesan on the side if desired.

Serves 2-3

Beans in Coconut Milk

One of the great things about dried beans is the way they can be transformed into so many different dishes with just a variation in seasonings.

I have a dozen varieties of beans in my cupboard at any one time (you can see my current list near the bottom of the column to the right) which gives me a variety of textures and sizes to choose from depending on how I will use them. Bigger ones are good in salads and smaller ones in soups. However, they are all pretty inter-changeable, and can all be made delicious.

The other day I served a standard meal of beans, grains and greens. The beans were pinquitos (small reddish beans native to southern California) cooked in coconut milk; the grain was millet; and the greens were curly kale cooked my usual way.

It's such a simple dinner, yet highly nutritious. Lots of fiber, B vitamins, minerals and protein in a relatively low-fat and low-calorie yet satisfying meal.

Beans in Coconut Milk
1 1/3 cup pinquito beans or other small bean
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped
2 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
14 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can coconut milk

Cook the beans in boiling water until tender, about 2 hours. Drain and set aside.

Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Stir in the jalapeño, turmeric, cumin, coriander and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the cooked beans, tomatoes and coconut milk. Lower the heat and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the beans are warmed through. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Serves 4-6

Three Bean Stew

This is a fun winter stew using fresh green beans, dried Christmas limas (or other dried bean) and frozen edamame. We enjoyed the colorful combination as a meal in itself, and then as leftovers served over brown rice a couple of days later.

Three Bean Stew

2 1/2 oz green beans

1 1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame

1 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

3" rosemary sprig

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 carrot, chopped

1/3 cup dried beans, cooked

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Trim green beans and cut into 2-inch lengths. Cook until tender. Drain. Cool in ice water and drain again. Set aside.

Cook edamame according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.

Warm olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add carrot and celery. Cook, stirring, until softened, another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked beans and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add green beans and edamame. Cook a couple of minutes until heated through. Add the butter and stir gently until it is melted. Discard the bay leaf and rosemary.

Serve hot.

New Year's Good Luck

I have adopted the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck.

I'm willing to sign on for pretty much any tradition involving beans.

This year I cooked them with tomatoes, rosemary and thyme, tossed them with smoked cheddar cheese, and baked them in the oven.

Needless to say, they were delicious.

(The smoked cheese substitutes for the traditional bacon flavor in black-eyed peas. But you can leave it out if necessary, the dish will still be yummy.)

Black-eyed peas are one of the quicker legumes to cook. I usually don't even soak them, just let them simmer for an hour or so until they are tender. On New Year's Day, however, I did soak them in water to cover for 3-4 hours before cooking them. It shortened the cooking time a little, which was nice. Best of all, it reminded me that while 1 lb of dried black-eyed peas doesn't look like much, when they have expanded in the soaking water they make enough to feed an army. I cooked them in a large pot, and then baked them in a large casserole. Larry was a little taken aback at the size of the dinner.

Fortunately, they last well in the fridge. They will be my lunch for quite a few days to come.

And if black-eyed peas on New Year's are lucky, then more black-eyed peas must be even luckier!

Happy 2016 to you!

Baked Black-Eyed Pea Casserole
1 lb dried black-eyed peas (about 2 cups)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
14oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 cup grated smoked cheddar or smoked jack
3/4 cup grated aged cheddar

Soak the peas in water to cover by 3 inches for a few hours. (The less time you soak them, the more minutes they'll need to cook.) Drain.

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until golden-brown. Add the can of tomatoes, then fill the can with water and add that too. Add the salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and drained black-eyed peas.

Simmer, covered, until the beans are tender, 30-45 minutes. Stir occasionally. This is a dry dish, so there shouldn't be a lot of liquid in the pot, but add a little water if it looks like it needs it.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Remove the bean pot from the heat and stir in the smoked cheese.

Pour into a 7x13 casserole (or other 3 quart size) and sprinkle the cheddar on top.

Bake 35-40 minutes until the flavors are melded and the beans are piping hot.

Serves 8-10

Bean and Kale Soup

With actual cool, dark evenings, I'm enjoying serving hot soup for dinner.

A good soup that sticks to the ribs is also a great lunch after a morning of gardening, especially if the soup includes beans and greens.

Here's the soup I made last week. It lasted us many days, and continued to get better with age. I'll be making it often this winter.

As with all good soups, the ingredients can vary depending on what you have in the fridge. I used pinto beans because they're a great size on a soup spoon, but you can use whatever smallish beans you have on hand. Half the beans are puréed to give some body to the soup. This is not essential, but a nice touch.

Plus I had beet greens in the fridge so I stirred them in. Chard, spinach, turnip greens or even rutabaga greens would work just as well.

I defrosted some vegetable stock to use in the soup. You could use all water if needed, just make sure it totals 6 cups, and add a little extra salt or a spoonful of tamari to give some umami. If you don't have fresh herbs, use dried but cut down the amount by a third until you taste and see if you like it.

Bean and Kale Soup

1 cup pinto beans

¼ cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

4 cups stemmed and shredded curly kale

1 potato, peeled and diced

2 ½ cups stock plus 3 ½ cups water

greens from 1 bunch of beets, chopped, about 2 cups

½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp minced rosemary leaves

1 tbsp minced parsley

1 tsp minced thyme

parmesan to serve (opt)

Soak beans for a couple of hours. Drain, cover with water and cook until tender, about 2 hours. Drain. Process half the beans in the food processor with a little water until puréed. Set aside the puréed beans and the whole beans separately.

Sauté onion, carrots and celery in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add kale, potato, puréed beans, stock and water. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add beet greens, cherry tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, parsley and thyme. Season to taste. Simmer another hour until the greens are tender and the flavors are well blended. Add extra water if necessary. (This should be a thick soup.)

Stir in reserved whole beans. Warm through. Season to taste.

Serve topped with grated parmesan if desired.

Serves 8 - 10