Monday, September 07, 2009

dreaming tree

In a continued effort to reduce the amount of paper waste that our home produces (a massive task these days when wedding presents keep arriving on our front door wrapped in more paper than can possible be necessary), we have been trying to use as few paper towels (including Clorox GreenWorks counter wipes) as possible. Today I bought these and think I am in love. They are thinner than the cloth towels I had been using and rinse/dry very quickly.

In other news, we made a delicious black bean & salsa soup to accompany our burritos for dinner tonight. Brian has advanced from kitchen outcast to sous chef with admirable aplomb. Recipes below, but no pictures because we devoured everything too quickly. I also made a vegetarian lasagne and Rigatoni Bolognese to freeze for the week.

Our lives are super exciting, I know.

Black Bean & Salsa Soup
adapted from Leo on the Loose

Ingredients:
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ c. vegetable broth (chicken works if you don't have veggie)
1 c. chunky salsa
1 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. cayenne (we like stuff HOT, you may want to skip this if you don't like spicy foods)
squirt of lemon/lime juice

Method:
In a blender (or using an immersion blender), combine beans, broth, salsa, cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice. Blend until fairly smooth. Heat the bean mixture in a medium saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

Vegetarian Burritos
via Gourmet

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
½ lb. mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bunch spinach (about 1 pound), coarse stems discarded, washed well and spun dry
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup water
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 scallions, finely chopped
¾ cup coarsely grated pepper Jack cheese (about 5 ounces)
Salt
½ cup canned mild enchilada sauce
2 (10-inch) or 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Method:
In a heavy skillet cook onion and mushrooms in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until golden. Add spinach and garlic and cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, about 30 seconds. Stir in water, beans, lemon juice, scallions, pepper Jack, salt, to taste, and cook stirring, until cheese is melted.

In a small saucepan, heat enchilada sauce.

Heat a dry skillet (large enough to hold 1 tortilla) over moderately high heat until hot. In skillet heat tortillas, 1 at a time, turning frequently, 30 seconds, or until softened, and transfer to a work surface. Divide filling between tortillas and roll up burritos.

*Note: We do not like enchilada sauce, so we dressed our burritos with Tapatio instead. I also used the leftover black beans from the burritos and added them to the soup while it was heating on the stovetop. It gave it a nice texture and kept the soup from just being pureed black beans.

No comments: