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May 29, 2007
Playing with my food
I had to chuckle when I was peeling this potato. Doesn't it have a realistic face? Or am I going crazy?
Posted by lhyink at 09:48 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
Family Outing
Doesn't matter where you go for family time--it's the being together that counts, right? And the children will remember time spent as a family, no matter how ordinary the destination. For us, a trip to the grocery store isn't much more than a field trip with all four kiddos along. We're quite a sight, and we get lots of looks and stares. There's the baby in his seat in the back of the cart, the two-year-old in the front, one child riding underneath the cart, and one walking with me. And we have so much fun (well, usually...).
Last Friday we took a little jaunt over to our alma mater, Bob Jones University (strange name for a school, I know), to have a picnic and let the children run around. They have a nice gazebo there with tables and chairs, perfect for a rainy weather dinner outside. I love picking the kids' brains days after an event to see what details they remember, and to get their child's-eye-perspective on what we did. Micah remembered "the race car that went backwards." Bear in mind, much of what the boys talk about has something to do with the Cars movie. So to Micah, a speeding car backing up really fast is a lot like Lightning McQueen. One of the boys remembers that we had "no water," even though it was raining torrentially that night. That's exactly why we had nothing to drink. I didn't want to brave the raindrops to go find a water fountain. The gazebo was shaped like a hexagon, as most of them are, and that's a detail Benjamin will always notice. If you know him, that's no surprise, is it? They remember our simple supper of rice and beans--not the usual picnic menu, I know--with no idea that eating beans every night is not supposed to be normal. We could hardly stifle our chuckles when Micah said we were at "Bomb Jones."
I love kids. The most mundane things can become treats to them, and they don't know the difference. When you don't have a lot of money to spend, it seems like there's a lot more love to go around. The dinners of beans and rice seasoned with thankfulness and love are indeed so much sweeter than a table bowing from the weight of food mixed with bitterness and strife.
Posted by lhyink at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)
May 10, 2007
This one's for you, Kim
Here's the recipe for Bean Burgers we have been enjoying. Gotta love those beans! Serve with homemade mayonnaise, and good whole wheat buns, and it's a meal you'll love.
A fried vegetarian bean burger made with great northern beans. This recipe makes a lot, so stock up the freezer unless you are feeding a crowd. Serve in pitas or on hamburger buns with your favorite burger toppings.
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook Time: 2 Hours
Ready In: 3 Hours
Yields: 15 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dried great Northern beans, soaked overnight
2 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 teaspoon pepper sauce, such as Franks(R) Red Hot(R) or Tabasco(TM)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 (16 ounce) package herb seasoned stuffing mix
6 eggs
3/4 cup whole wheat flour, or as needed
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the soaked beans in a large pot, and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 1 1/2 hours, until tender. Pour into a colander and let stand for a while so they drain very well.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and fry until nicely browned, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, mix together the eggs and seasoned stuffing mix, and let stand 10 minutes to soften.
3. Use a food processor to puree the beans in batches, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Puree the onions, and then the stuffing mixture, and stir them into the beans. Season with garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Mix until well blended. Stir in whole wheat flour a little at a time until the mixture is stiff enough to form patties.
4. Spread the cornmeal out on a small plate. Grab a handful of the bean mixture, and pack lightly into a ball. Press into the cornmeal to form a pattie. Gently turn the pattie over, and coat the other side. Repeat with remaining bean mixture.
5. Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry patties until browned on both sides. Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve in pitas, or on hamburger buns.
Homemade Mayonnaise
Once you taste this, you won't want to go back to the store-bought kind. And you can jazz it up with lots of flavors--garlic, mustard, lemon juice, pickles, and the list goes on.
1 egg
1 cup oil
2 T lemon juice, or 1 T vinegar and 1 T water
A squeeze of prepared mustard, or you can use ground mustard (1/2 t)
Salt to taste
Dash cayenne pepper
Combine egg, lemon juice, mustard, pepper and 1/4 cup oil in a blender. Blend to mix. Add remaining oil in a small stream. You'll have to turn the blender off after each small addition, or you'll have a mess. After you've added about half the oil and the mixture has thickened, you can just dump the rest in. Blend it in, and, voila, you have mayonnaise! If it tastes a little oily, just add some mustard or salt.
Posted by lhyink at 01:49 PM | Comments (1)