Refried Beans!

Hola and pardon the delay in posting anything! I have been in Spain for exactly 3 weeks, and have craved Mexican food and specifically beans at least fifteen times. I found a good refried beans recipe online right here and adapted it a bit. I guess that refried beans are not even really a full meal, but I have been eating them with huevos y tortillas in the morning, and with fajitas (cebollas, pimientos, calabacin, lo que sea) in the evening. Everyone else is probably much more creative!

2 c. or so of pinto beans (however many you want to end up with!)
water
1/2 c. chopped onion
some green pepper, and anything else that appeals to you
2 tblsp. olive oil
salt
3 slices cheddar cheese or grated cheddar cheese

1. Drain and wash pinto beans.
2. Put in saucepan, fill water up to at least 3 inches above the beans. You can probably also add some salt at this point.
3. Cook about 2.5 hours, until they're starting to break and they're tender: first put them to a boil, and then cover and simmer on low heat for the remaining time. Make sure that there is enough water so that the beans do not stick to the pan as easily occurs!
4. Drain the beans and set aside.
5. Saute onion and pepper in olive oil in a large saucepan - I'd add the onion first for a few minutes, and then the pepper.
5. Add about 1/4 - 1/2 c. water to saucepan and add the beans. If needed, add more water. Mash up the beans with everything else using a potato masher. Add cheddar cheese and mix together. Add salt to taste. When it's heated through, voila!

Clean out the fridge mexi curry

This is a meal that I make a lot when I am craving rice or need to use up small amounts of a lot of vegetables very quickly and have no desire to make a complicated dish. Really, there's no limit to what you can put in it, as long as you can imagine it going into a lasagna or fajita. This recipe feeds 2-3 people (with rice or pita) but you could make it bigger if you have a really large frying pan.

1 small onion diced
garlic (I like to use a lot, so I put 2-3 cloves)
half of a round zucchini, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, cut into short strips
1 tablespoon of cumin powder (or you could used oregano instead, but put it in with the tomatoes)
1/4 can of jalapeño El Pato tomato sauce*
1 14 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes (or one large diced tomato)*
1 14 oz can of beans or 2 cups of cooked beans (I used pinto but most beans would work with this)
2-3 cups of chopped cooking greens (I used kale)
salt and pepper

Saute onions in olive oil until softened. Add garlic, zucchini and bell pepper and saute for a couple of minutes. Add cumin and stir vegetables in skillet until cumin evenly covers the vegetables. Add the tomatoes and sauce and beans and simmer until all ingredients are heated through. Finally, add greens and stir into pan until cooked (but not too limp--I always have trouble with this part!). Salt and pepper to taste.

* I only put in a small amount of jalapeño tomato sauce because it's really hot for me, but you could add more if you like it to be spicer. Or if you could replace it with a teaspoon of chili/cayenne powder (or an actual jalapeño!).

This summer, I became obsessed with... beets!

It's true. Those awful vegetables that taste kind of like dirt, stain your hands and the counter, and that dye your pee a strange pinkish purple that looks just weird enough to make you wonder if maybe you need make a doctor's appointment... until you remember, oh yeah, I ate some damn beets. Well, after many years of dedicated beet hatred, I finally saw the light. I not only wanted them, I craved them. They are delicious, beautiful, and - did I mention? - dirt cheap. So here's a summer beet-tastic dinner I made the very night Emily sent out this blog! Sorry for the posting delay... I agree - school just kinda takes over.

Beans! Fried Egg on Toast! ANNNDDDD... Carrot, Beet, and Jicama Salad!

Carrot, Beet, and Jicama Salad:

(adapted from Elena's Pantry)

In a large bowl, mix together:
Equal amounts of grated carrots, beets, and jicama (I used a food processor - major time saver)

Combine in a jar, then stir over grated vegetables:
Juice from one lime
1/6 (or so) cup orange juice
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Yummmmm, beets.

Tom's ragout and spaghetti

Sorry for the delay in posting things! Turns out, moving and starting school are time-consuming events...

But here is a recipe that Tom made recently that seems really easy and tastes even better the next day (if you don't eat it all in the first sitting):

Ragout

1/2 white onion
2 banana peppers
4 cloves garlic
1/2 large eggplant
1 eight-ball zucchini
1 roma tomato
1/2 jar pasta sauce (or small can of crushed tomatoes with some herbs like oregano and basil)
a few shakes of balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper
handful of mushrooms

Chop vegetables roughly. Sautee in olive oil in a pot, adding them in the order they are listed. After adding liquids put lid on and let simmer a while until tastes have combined. Eat with spaghetti or another type of pasta.

I hope you're all doing well! I'll try to post other recipes soon :).

Please post your recipes!

Hello friends! Emily, I love this blog idea, and I look forward to being inspired by everyone's recipes. Now that I'm back in Brooklyn, I'm having to get used to new stores, new foods, and new prices! I'm learning that it might not be as easy to do and eat some of the things I did so easily in San Diego. Apparently if you want to do a CSA in Brooklyn, there are huge waiting lists! And of course it's more expensive. I don't live very close to a Trader Joe's, and Fresh and Easy only has stores in California, Arizona, and Nevada. There are no large Mexican or Latin American supermarkets. Where am I going to get my produce?! Yes, living in NY again will take some getting used to.

This means that my idea for a San Diego cookbook--all the wonderful foods you all used to cook for me--would be even more helpful right now! And I think this blog is a great way to keep all the recipes in one place. Below are specific recipes I would love for each of you to post; there are others I've omitted or forgotten.

Erika: that amazing veggie lasagna we made when you visited!
Emily: your curry/coconut/tofu dishes and that delicious polenta layered thing.
Kat: Fiesta Bake!
Pinzur: stirfry and lasagna (I think it was lasagna!) with a yummy fake meat product (tofurkey sausages?).

I miss cooking and eating dinner with you all so much!

-Hannah

We found the lively part of Arlington!

I've not been doing much cooking for the past two weeks because I've been visiting a lot of people who don't have the privilege of living in Phoenix. This week, I helped Erin move to Arlington, VA and today we explored the city for the first time. Although the area around her apartment looks a lot like this, google told us that a Mexican grocery was less than a mile from her place. We walked there in the mugginess and found Glebe Market to be pretty busy at 4pm and full of cheap produce, of course! Erin got a whole basket full of food and other things for less than $15. Yay! We also found a bakery and Bolivian restaurant slightly farther down the street. It's nice to know that Arlington has some character. However, as much as I love exploring restaurants, I will be very happy to start cooking again at home soon!

Yay for recipe sharing!

Hi! I want to start a blog to share recipes among ourselves, because I've had multiple conversations with most of you about needing to spend less money on food. So, I'll hopefully be posting things on this blog about tasty meals that I/we make that are cheap versions of things or dishes full of things that we just found sitting in the refrigerator and cabinets (or delicious things that you want to brag about :-) ). I'm also going to try to add some of you as contributors and then you can share your stuff too (I'm always looking for easy ideas). And maybe I'll post about cheap ethnic grocery stores, since I'm so used to dedicating lots of time to studying those :-). Include pictures if you want!

Provecho!