In case youve never tried adzuki beans let me tell you that youre missing out.  They have the texture of a black bean and a flavor along the lines of a sweeter version of a kidney bean.  You can use them in place of any similar sized bean for something different. 

The only problem is these pretty pink beans are a bit hard to track down.   I get mine in the bulk pins at Whole Foods (I know its a gluten free no no but I wash then thoroughly and have never had a problem.)  Eden Organics also has them canned flavored with seaweed at all the local groceries I go to so they are out there if you look.

Putting beans regardless of how unique they are with mango in a curry might sound odd.  I thought so too until I actually gave it a try.  The sweetness of the mango mellows the spices and gives this curry a really interesting mouthfeel making it seem much richer than it really is.  With the coconut milk included this either becomes a weight maintenance only dish or a curry to eat while skipping the rice.  To make this for a low fat/high fiber meal just sub out the coconut milk for some vegetable broth and add a bit of tomato paste to get a thick sauce without the fat.

I found this Adzuki Bean and Mango Curry recipe over at the City Life Eats blog along with a handful of other really tasty ideas for recipes for us picky allergic eaters.  Its sometimes a hard blog to navigate but this recipe is perfect so Im just sending you over there to check it out since I didnt change a thing.

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Another recipe for an Indian dish. Whos surprised? No one would be my guess since I came out as a curry lover who isnt even going to pretend by cooking many snotty French recipes anymore.

Its been a long week and this is the first night Ive been home to cook since Monday so in my overly tired state I dont have much to say. Just that this is one of my favorite dishes to order when we go out so I was thrilled to find a recipe for it that emulated the dish rather well at home. The added bonus is its super simple. Cut up a few veggies, hunt down some spices, get your amazing boyfriend to plan ahead and crockpot a huge bunch of beans over the weekend and youre all set. This took about 20 minutes to make, it is filling and flavorful and made me especially happy to be eating at home for the first time in a while.

With this we drank a random bottle of Rioja called Faustino VII the fella picked up on his last wine run. This was totally something he bought just for the bottle which in this case was not a bad thing. Its not brilliant enough to sell your sell your soul for but it was a nice light bodied Spanish wine. I like the huge super spicy Spanish red a lot but this was a decent digression from those monster wines. It definitely went nicely with the curry.

As with most recipes I upped the spices significantly from the original version. So you might want to halve the ginger and chili pepper portions if youre not into that sort of thing.

Red Kidney Bean Curry (Rajmah)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger (I grated a medium sized knob and called it good enough)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large green chili, chopped
8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

3 cups boiled red kidney beans and one cup water or 30 ounces canned red kidney beans, undrained
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a deep sauce pan over medium heat for one minute. Add ginger, garlic, onion, green chili, and let sizzle for one minute.

Add the tomato sauce and spices and cook for an additional five minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the kidney beans and tomatoes. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve over brown rice. A dollop of plain yogurt on top added extra flavor.

Original recipe from Smitten Kitchen Blog.

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The fella and I love spicy food especially of the Indian variety but this recipe was something else.  He was actually pretty okay with it but I made the mistake of trying it for the first time while I was at work.  I wasnt expecting it to be that overly spicy because Im no wimp.  Boy was I wrong.  Gladly the lunch room was empty that day because this curry was so hot I was crying.  In a very good and happy way its just I dont exactly make a habit of sitting alone in public at work weeping over my food.  It gives people the wrong impression I guess.

This curry is so good it manages to both be very very hot and tasty at the same time.  So if youre not big on spice I would suggest making it with the least amount of chilies suggested in the recipe and it should have a nice bit of kick to it.  If you really want to challenge yourself go ahead and add all the chilies and be prepared to have a pleasant fire in your mouth. 

And dont be put off by the long list of ingredients, they are mostly spices that require no effort on your part other than tossing them in the pan so it is actually a really quick meal once the beans are cooked.  I even cheat by making my beans in the crockpot while Im at work so I can start cooking as soon as I get home.  With that short cut this very hot meal takes almost no effort.

So there you go all my friends that are fans of insanely hot food, give this a try and let me know if its hot enough for you.  If not Im scared of but impressed by your idea of spicy.

Extremely Spicy Bean Curry

1/2 cup of dried chickpeas
1/4 cup of dried kidney beans
1/4 cup of lentils (puy lentils or black lentils are best)
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 generous teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoons of agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of turmeric
dash of cayenne
2 - 4 dried red chilies
1 large tomato, finely chopped

1 small clove garlic, minced
2 - 4 fresh red or green chilies, finely chopped

Rinse the chickpeas, kidney beans and lentils in a strainer. Soak overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, transfer to a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the beans are tender - roughly 1 hour.  Or put beans in crockpot covered in water at low heat for 6 hours.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Add the cumin seeds, ground cumin, agave nectar, salt, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and dried chilies. Stir quickly and add the tomatoes, garlic, and fresh chilies. Stir a few times and cook until the tomato is softened - roughly 5 minutes.

Drain off some of the water from the cooked beans and add the tomato mixture to the pot. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for another 10 - 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Garnish with the fresh parsley or cilantro.  

Original recipe from Lisas Kitchen blog. 

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This soup is autumn in a bowl. Its filling, warm, healthy and involves pumpkin. What more could you ask for? Oh its also embarrassingly easy for such a tasty dish.

Im not usually excited about cooking that involved pouring things from cans and the spice cupboard, adding heat and eating. But sometimes thats all you have the energy for, and this is the perfect thing to make while in one of those moods and still having a great dinner no one will realize you put nearly no effort into. And those cinnamony roasted pumpkin seeds I made the other day are a amazing on top of this.

The chef and I decided this soup is pretty great but its probably missing bacon. It needs a little something extra to amp up the flavor and take it from yummy to out of this world. Oh darn guess Ill have to cook it again and experiment with adding bacon next time. Unless someone wants to do that arduous task and let me know what happens.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

2 cans black beans (15 oz each), drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth

4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Baked pumpkin seeds, for garnish

In a food processor puree the beans and tomatoes with half of the vegetable broth.

Warm oil in a large pot then sauté red onion, garlic, cumin, salt, cinnamon, allspice, pepper and cayenne on medium heat until onion and garlic are brown; about 3 minutes.

Add pureed ingredients, pumpkin and the rest of the broth to the pot. Simmer uncovered until thick, stirring often and scraping the bottom, about 40-45 minutes.

Before serving stir in balsamic vinegar. Garnish with baked pumpkin seeds.

Original recipe from Noble Pig blog.

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Unless you are very lucky or have been living under a rock you may have heard of the new sandwich Kentucky Fried Chicken recently released called the Double Down.  It is two breaded chicken patties (or you can get the grilled version if youre watching your girlish figure), bacon, cheese, and the frightening sounding Colonels sauce which is basically spicy mayo.  No bun, no bread, instead it gets wrapped up in a baggy so the copious amounts of grease dont roll down your sleeve.  Sounds great, right?

It has been impossible to ignore especially as a serious foodie.  At least once a day someone is talking (okay usually rending their hair at the creations ick factor) about this sandwich.  The Jamie Olivers of the world are declaring it the food equivalent of the apocalypse and basically acting like it will be the down fall of civilization.  While the Anthony Bourdains shrug at its impressive caloric content while admitting that it kind of looks like it would be fun to try just once.

I fall somewhere in the middle.  It is a rather unnecessary calorie bomb and the world doesnt really need another bit of junk food.  On the other hand people already eat crap and this actually isnt near to the worst thing you can get in the world of fast food.  Its kind of impressive actually how much press this silly breadless sandwich has gotten and though they are a bit late to the trend it was nice to see a low carb option being marketed.

But mostly Im just sick of hearing about it.  So after an acquaintance of mine ate one and lived to write about it I decided I would make a Double Down that I could eat.  It would be my protest against fast food to try to make a less coronary inducing version of this monstrosity.  The joke was on me however.  By trying the old low carb meat dredging trick of substituting ground nuts for breading  I may have actually made a sandwich even worse for you than the original.  Now that is impressive!

I did however make it will all organic and gluten free ingredients which is not something you are ever going to find in a fast food restaurant any time soon.  So with that small victory I will admit the most embarrassing part of this whole qualifier heavy post is this... 

This was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!

There I admitted it and as an proponent of healthy eating I shall now hang my head in shame.  The thing is though, Michael Pollan is right, if you are going to eat something this bad for you then you should make it for yourself for two reasons.  One is you can control the quality of the ingredients, limit the calories where possible and if you have to take the time to prepare it you cant impulse eat it.  And secondly after you learn what goes into certain things and how gross and greasy they are you will never ever want to put them in your mouth again.

For example I decided to make homemade mayonnaise for this recipe because I never had before and didnt want to buy a tub of it at the store.  Like so many things Julie Child makes it sound so freaking easy.  This woman had to have the arms of an ox because halfway through the process the fella and I were all out of arm strength in all of our combined appendages.  And after whipping a cup and a half of oil into two egg yolks I realized how sickening mayonnaise is, now that I really truly know what goes into it I have no desire to ever consume it again. 

Which is how I ended up feeling about this entire experiment; it was a fun adventure but I will never do it again.  In fact if I had to suggest to someone how to make a less evil Double Down I would say add some cayenne to the breading, skip the bacon and go light on the cheese.  The mayo and the bacon added nothing to the sandwich.  I know, its blasphemy to speak poorly of bacon but hear me out. 

The fake KFC seasoning mixed in with the ground pecans were what really made this a treat.  That was the truly delicious part and the copy cat blend of spices did taste amazingly like how I remember the real Kentucky Fried Chicken tasting.  So I would perhaps bread chicken that way again in the future.  The other crazy piles of stuff on this sandwich and the extra chicken breast are really just for show.  And it succeeded, we now how far KFC is willing to go to get press.  It worked, were talking about them, even I gave in to the trend.  Darn it.

Organic Gluten Free Low GI Double Down Insanity

1 cup finely ground pecans

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon dried powdered rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried powdered thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg 

1/4 cup rice flour

2 large chicken breasts

4 tablespoons oil

4 pieces of cooked bacon

4 slices of cheese (I used organic goat "cheddar")

2 tablespoons of spicy mayo (recipe to follow)

Using a spice or coffee grinder, finely chop the pecans.  They will turn wet and sticky very quickly while being ground so make sure to watch their consistency so that you dont end up with pecan butter.  Also use the grinder to powder any of the spices that arent already ground.  Mix the spices and the ground pecans in a shallow bowl.

Whisk the egg in another shallow bow and set aside.  Place the rice flour in yet another shallow bowl.

Using a mallet pound the chicken breasts until they are an even thickness, about 1/4 inch.  You should have two very large mostly flat chicken breasts.  Cut each into 2 equal sized pieces so that you now have four pieces of thin chicken breast.

Warm the oil over medium high heat in a non-stick pan while you batter the chicken.  First dust the chicken breast with the rice flour.  Next coat the chicken in the egg.  Lastly dredge the chicken in the pecan and spice mixture until well coated.  When the oil is warm pan fry each piece of chicken, trying to avoid burning the pecan coating by flipping the chicken often and keeping the temperature low.  Cook until the inside of the breasts are cooked through then set aside.

Place two chicken breasts on a plate to beginning assembling the sandwich. Place two slices of bacon and  2 pieces of cheese on one of the chicken breasts and 1 tablespoon of the mustard on the other breast.  Fit the two prepared chicken breasts together like a sandwich.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the second sandwich.

Copycat KFC seasonings from this website.

Spicy Mayo

1/4 mayo (make your own or from a jar if you like)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon paprika 

In a small bowl mix everything together well.

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Apparently the winter has finally gotten to me and Im starting to snap.  In the midst of my Monday cooking frenzy I realized everything on my recipe list this week leaned toward Mediterranean foods.  Not that there is anything at all wrong with that.  It was just an odd moment to realize I had totally subconsciously arranged for myself to eat delicious slightly summery light foods.  You know you need a vacation when your taste buds create one for you.

The big hit of the slew of things I made today was this salad.  Ive made it before but this time I played with the dressing and changed up the proportions to fit what I was in the mood for to make the salad just that much better.

Ive already raved about quinoa but Ill do so again for a couple seconds in case there is still anyone that hasnt tried it.  Quinoa is similar in texture to couscous and is prepared in much the same way but is a grain from a grassy South American plant rather than processed wheat.  It has an interesting slightly bitter taste that makes it a great contrast to a bright citrusy salad like this one.  And its perfect for the Montignac Method because at 35 it has the lowest GI of any of the grains Ive looked into.

I buy mine in the bulk bins at Whole Foods where its about $3 a pound which is a pretty great deal considering my mother said a couple ounces of it is around $5 at her local grocery store.  Its just nice to have around for quick salads, a rice substitute or as an oatmeal type breakfast with a much better texture.

Unfortunately not everything I made today came out as well as this salad.  Next time I will share with the world how I failed at my fourth soufflé in a row.  It wasnt meant to be I guess and I now know not to try again.   Ill stick to less high maintenance food thank you very much.

 

Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water

1 cup pomegranate seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup pinenuts, toasted
1/ 4 scant cup cilantro leaves, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Bring quinoa and water to boil in medium pot.  After allowing to cook on a rolling boil for a couple minutes, reduce heat to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until quinoa is al dente.  Set aside off heat to allow quinoa to cool.

Add the pomegranate seeds to the cooled quinoa in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, agave nectar, and mustard until blended. Drizzle over quinoa mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and toss. Season with salt & pepper to taste. 

Modified from Enlightened Cooking blog. 

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As I get closer to the end of my pregnancy... only 10 weeks left but whos counting... Im having more and more emotions come to the surface. Mainly Im pretty much terrified at the thought of physically having this baby. I know, I know... millions of women do this all this time, but I am so scared at the thought of pushing this human being out of my body. YIKES! Dan has been really good about giving me encouraging words and promising that he will be right by my side the entire time, which does help with my anxiety (a little bit).

I have increasingly become more uncomfortable and frustrated as time passes. I hate how extremely exhausted I feel all the time, how I cant physically do what I use to, how shaving my legs is almost impossible, how I just plain hurt all over, how Im suffering from horrible acid reflux, how I have to pee constantly... and the list goes on. I know its all part of being pregnant and this is something I wanted and feel blessed to be capable of, but it has been a really hard adjustment for me recently when Im use to living a different way. I also am having a really hard time wrapping my head around that I no longer have any usable muscles in my stomach. My brain can tell my stomach muscles to flex, but there is nothing there to do so. Its a very odd feeling to me. And how long will it take me to get myself back into shape? Im already looking into the next 5K I can run this summer!

Yes, Im complaining... and truly I shouldnt be because in the grand scheme of things I have had an easy and healthy pregnancy so far. Life is good and God has blessed me a thousand times over with this amazing experience. I need to soak in every moment that I have because one day Ill look back and wonder where the time went. I am truly grateful even though I may sound like a Negative Nancy.

My sweet Remi Bear saying hello to his baby brother or sister! Goodness I love this dog!

Anyways... back to the stuff you might want to hear about. Currently, our June Bug is the size of a cabbage and weighing in at about 3 lbs. The baby will double or even triple in size up to my due date. When the baby moves... boy do I know it!!! I usually feel it mostly during the evening time when Im settling down from a long day. Its nice to lay beside Dan and have him feel all the jabs Im getting. I had my glucose test several weeks ago and passed all my labs just fine, which I was so thankful for because several of my friends who have had babies have not. More recently, I had an appointment and the babys heartbeat was 158 and Im measuring right on target. Currently, I have only gained 22 pounds, but it sure feels like a lot more to me. The doctor asked me if I had been having any contractions (which I have been since 5 months along, but they are just Braxton Hicks) and told me that if I start having really hard ones that I need to rest for an hour and if they continue then come in. There has been a lot of talk about pediatricians, touring the hospital, classes I could take, etc. Since I have not been having any problems I will have my next ultrasound at 36 weeks just to ensure there are no surprises before the baby is born and that the head is down.

Other than that, my parents have been a big help with assisting us in arranging the nursery, assembling the crib, and moving all sorts of furniture around since Im pretty worthless with lifting anything at this point. For the most part Dan and I have things where we want them to go, we just need to hang shelving and pictures up to finish it up. Im sure there will be a nursery post come along when we are ready to show it off. 

I think that is all the news I have to share with you right now. The time is getting closer and closer so I will try to make sure to update you as I find things out along the way.

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If you were to walk around our place of employment you would probably think to yourself... "Dont drink the water" because there is definitely several of us ladies who are pregnant and waddling around the building. One of the good things about this is that we have a lot to celebrate and recently we did just that for our Assistant Director of Nursing!! Here are some pics of her "work" baby shower.

Our building is very large and often times you really dont get to build relationships with your co-workers because you are constantly on the move and just dont see one another. It was nice to take an hour and celebrate Baby Logan and him coming into the world soon! Plus his soon to be momma is super sweet! Love you Jenny!

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This is what dinner looks like when I neglect to plan out recipes ahead of time.  Dont get me wrong, it was delicious but more random than Im used to.

The fella and I were both hungry and uninspired.  All we had were a couple random vegetables and a bunch of dry beans that no one wanted to put the effort into boiling.  Then while looking through the oddities of my cupboard I found one can of white beans neither of us could remember buying.  Not one to look down upon random dinner providing beans, I whipped them into a dip I remembered seeing in my food blog browsing earlier in the day.  And tada we had protein and an almost balanced meal.

Im not a fan of raw garlic (its not a fan of me either I found out in my elimination dieting so at least the feeling is mutual) so I cooked mine before adding it.  But if youre a the garlicky-er the better type and loss in a few cloves raw, this is the easiest dip imaginable.  Its like hummus for when youre all hummus-ed out or not in the mood to plan ahead for soaking chickpeas.  Especially on the forbidden corn chips this dip was extraordinary. 

White Bean Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups (or 1 15-ounce can) cooked white beans

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 a lemon, juiced 
salt and pepper, to taste


If you decide to cook the garlic, saute it briefly in the olive oil over medium heat just until it is no longer raw before tossing in the food processor.


If using canned beans, drain and rinse them, then place in food processor.  If using dried beans, cook 1 cup of white beans of your choice using your preferred method and put in food processor when cooked through.


Put all of the remaining ingredients in the food processor with the garlic and beans and pulse a few times until the mixture is very smooth.  Check the seasoning to see if more salt, pepper or thyme is needed.  Also add additional liquid at this point if you would like the dip to be thinner.  Blend again until well combined. 

Modified from an original recipe at Affairs of Living blog.

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