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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Beans and Peanut Butter Sauce

B"H

Monday afternoon, a few hours before I was scheduled to go over to my cousins for the Pesah Seder (the traditional/ritual meal of Passover evening) I decided I needed one more "dish" to bring with me (since I am a vegan on a very strict diet, I generally bring my own food wherever I go). I decided to make something with beans, but what should I do with the beans? (unlike most Ashkenazic Jews (Jews whose families originated in Northern and Eastern Europe), I am permitted to eat beans, rice, corn, peanuts, etc. (called "kitniyot") on Pesah).

I looked around and saw a jar of peanut butter and decided to make a peanut butter sauce.

I started with 2 tablespoons (1/8 cup) each of pinto, black, garbanzo, adzuki and kidney beans. I soaked them (well, the first time I did the "quick soak" -- boil them up and then turn off the flame and let them sit for at least an hour), then added 1/4 cup wild rice and 2 tablespoons black lentils. I added my favorite spices-- a teaspoon of each -- turmeric, paprika, coriander, cumin -- and a squeeze of spicy brown mustard and cooked it for 45 minutes (and a bit more until all the water was absorbed). While the beans were cooking, I sauteed a red onion (I sliced it into thin strips) and some frozen shiitake mushrooms. Then I added 1/4 cup of natural (no added sugar or fat, etc) peanut butter, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond "milk", a bit of stevia (for sweetness) and 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar and stirred it together until it's all blended.

When the beans were ready, I added the sauce and mixed well.

I think the peanut butter sauce added a certain je ne sais quoi to the bean dish. I actually shared it with some friends and they both liked it, too.

Compugraph Designs web site

Check out my other blogs:

Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women

Check out my squidoo lenses (articles):

Jewish Wedding Customs
Going to a Wedding Single
Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2
Strong Biblical Women Part 3
Ruth and Naomi
Strong Biblical Women 5: Tamar -- Mother of Kings
Strong Biblical Women 6: Yocheved -- Mother of Moshe (Moses)
Strong Biblical Women 7: Miriam
Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 2
Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Presidential Trivia Quiz
Christmas and the Jewish Single
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington
Passover: Holiday of Freedom
John and John Quincy Adams
Television Trivia Quiz
Jewish Perspective of G-d
Purim, Esther et al
Being an internet small business owner
Why I'm a Red Sox fan
Pythagorean Theorem
My Blogs
Top 10 Presidents
Bottom 10 Presidents
How Can We Appeal to G-d for Forgiveness?
Math Tips 2
Searching for a Fashion Partner
Math Hints 3
One Actor, Two Shows (TV Quiz)
Presidential Tidbits
Why Should anyone hire Me?
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
My experience on Jeopardy
Project:Runway and how it got me excited about designing again
Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?
My Vocational Experiences
Check out my Stress Release Mix list

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Marshall's and Soup

ב"ה

I love being thinner. Granted, it takes a LOT of hard work (mostly in the cooking area), but I love going shopping for clothing now. Of course, I would like it a lot more if I had more money to spend, but I digress.....

So I went to a local strip mall because I needed a new sandwich machine (the one I got as a gift has "given up the ghost" after daily use for the past few months -- I discovered "Food for Life" sprouted corn tortillas and I've been making sandwiches using two tortillas -- one on the bottom and one on the top -- and Dr. Prager veggie burgers -- I like Tex-Mex and Bombay flavors -- I add any or all of the following: my own vinaigrette [balsamic vinegar, spicy brown mustard and stevia to taste]; frozen shiitake mushrooms; shredded carrots; vegan cheddar cheese; kale*; a slice of tofurky "lunch meat style" vegan "meat" and I top with the second tortilla and cook in the sandwich machine for 20 minutes -- yum!) -- there's a Target there and that's where the original machine came from -- and on my way over to the Target, I got "waylaid" by the Marshall's (I've been wanting to check it out since I got to size 12 and now that I'm even wearing some size 10s and even the occasional 8 -- OMG, in High School I wore a 14-16! -- so this was the day....)

So I found myself at the "clearance" rack (I've always said if I were even at a singles event and a guy would come over to me and ask me my "sign", I'd answer "clearance -- 70% off"), pulling all sorts of things off to try on. I ended up with 10 items (coincidentally the max they allow in the "fitting room") of various sizes ranging from 8 to 12. Most of the tops were too short (they did fit but were impractical), the two pairs of size 10 jeans fit, but the legs were made for someone about 6 inches taller than Julia Child (who was 6 feet tall), so, despite the fact that I loved them and they were $3 and $5, I decided that hemming jeans wasn't on my schedule (and since they were flare legged, cuffs were out of the question). I ended up with an Anne Klein size 10 black skirt (I'm DESPERATE for skirts, particularly black skirts -- ladies, do you agree that you can never have too many black skirts???) that cost $5 (no tax in our state).

I got out of the "fitting room" and started telling the woman there (a bit on the chubby side) that I needed new clothes because I had lost some weight and now was wearing a size I didn't even fit into in High School (please don't ask how many years ago that was -- suffice to say it was a long time ago). So she asked me how I did it. I told her about regulating my adrenals (and with it, my blood sugar) with nutrient supplements and then I told her that soups are good -- particularly if you make your own without salt (or with only a bit of salt). I told her my "quickie" soup recipe.....

I take 1/8 cup each (two tablespoons or a coffee measure) of three different kinds of lentils (black, green/brown and red), sometimes also split peas, add water and spices (I like spicy brown mustard, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, etc.) cook for a while, then add two bags mixed vegetables (different styles are nice -- I just did one today with plain carrots, corn and string beans and another called "California mix" with cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, etc.) and sometimes I add a package of either frozen chopped spinach or frozen butternut squash. It makes a great soup and it's a minimum of work (no chopping veggies, no soaking beans)....

Try it yourself with different kinds of mixed veggies or quick cooking legumes and your own spice mix. And got easy on the salt.

* I buy fresh (organic) kale and I rinse each leaf in a mixture of vinegar and cold water, then rinse in running water, then I shred the kale in the food processor, put the shredded kale in snack baggies (zip bags) and put them in the freezer so I can add kale to soup, sauteed veggies, and my sandwiches.

Compugraph Designs web site

Check out my other blogs:

Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women

Check out my squidoo lenses (articles):

Jewish Wedding Customs
Going to a Wedding Single
Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2
Strong Biblical Women Part 3
Ruth and Naomi
Strong Biblical Women 5: Tamar -- Mother of Kings
Strong Biblical Women 6: Yocheved -- Mother of Moshe (Moses)
Strong Biblical Women 7: Miriam
Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 2
Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Presidential Trivia Quiz
Christmas and the Jewish Single
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington
Passover: Holiday of Freedom
John and John Quincy Adams
Television Trivia Quiz
Jewish Perspective of G-d
Purim, Esther et al
Being an internet small business owner
Why I'm a Red Sox fan
Pythagorean Theorem
My Blogs
Top 10 Presidents
Bottom 10 Presidents
How Can We Appeal to G-d for Forgiveness?
Math Tips 2
Searching for a Fashion Partner
Math Hints 3
One Actor, Two Shows (TV Quiz)
Presidential Tidbits
Why Should anyone hire Me?
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
My experience on Jeopardy
Project:Runway and how it got me excited about designing again
Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?
My Vocational Experiences
Check out my Stress Release Mix list