Caitlyn's Cuban Black Beans and Rice:
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons Oil
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cans black beans (not drained)
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sauté the onion in oil over medium high heat until transparent. Add garlic and cook for one additional minute. Reduce heat to medium low. Add the black beans, cumin, cayenne, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Stirring often. Mash some of the beans with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in cilantro. Serve over cooked white or brown rice, garnish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili. This tasted really nice, I think. I had a REALLY bad toothache and the spicyness was NOT what I needed at that moment. I ended up eating buttered (or smart balance-d) noodles for dinner while watching the Glee season finale. Needless to say, I was all about being comfortable that night! (I found out on Friday, I'm going to need a root canal. Blech!)
Wednesday: Dinner at Church= Falafil, Humous, and Jerusalem Salad. Brandon's favorite fasting foods. He never ever gets tired of humous.
Thursday: Kale and White Bean Soup. I really liked this one. I used homemade vegetable stock, along with some carrots from our yard! Even though I wasn't the planter of these carrots, I now really understand the joy of eating something from your own garden! When I decided I wanted to have this soup I was thinking of something more thick and bland. I was really surprised. This was really full of flavor and much more exciting than any other white bean soup I've eaten in the past.
Friday: Country Fried Seitan with Green Beans AND BONUS Vegan Maccaroni and Cheese. I made meat. Or rather, Seitan. It was seriously easy. I was so surprised. Traditional Seitan is made by kneading wheat flour and washing it multiple times over the course of several days. Vital wheat gluten is a type of flour that is ONLY the protein and gluten from wheat flour. It makes the process much easier, basically, you add some liquid and other ingredients and it turns into this tough dough. Then, you poach it in some broth. Then it's easy to turn it into anything using it like meat.
I'm not kidding- it tastes like chicken. No, seriously.
We fried up the little "cutlets" and they were like country fried steak. (Brandon's favorite!) I forgot to make the gravy, but we didn't miss it. Then, I tossed steamed green beans with a cajun seasoning blend and some smart balance.
I got inspired to try this maccaroni and cheese recipe. PLUS, I had bought some nutritional yeast (a good substitute for cheese) and I thought I'd go for it. It was really easy. Actually, without having to grate all the cheese I normally use for my regular mac and cheese recipe, it was a LOT easier. Definitely not as tasty as my favorite Martha's Mac and Cheese. But, really nice.
Disclaimer- I usually don't make so many meat and dairy substitutions during fasts. But, to be completely honest with you, I'm not a very good faster right now. I've been a big baby about this fast. Whine. Whine. So, my own little rebellion has been to use these substitution foods. I have a feeling many of the saints wouldn't approve of my current philosophy.
Weekend Meals: I don't "plan" the weekend meals. I really like the ability to be spontaneous over the weekends. But, since I'm sharing my recipes and ideas, I thought I'd include what we ate over the weekend.
I made this Crispy Sweet and Sour Seitan. Yum!
I saved an extra fried seitan cutlet and turned it into my own little Chick-Fil-A style sandwich. Complete with veganaise.
Sunday lunch= Soul Fish. Hooray for the fish-wine-oil katalysis during this fast.
4 comments:
Love looking at your menus! And this one reminded me that I have the ingredients for a white bean, leek and spinach soup I wanted to try!
it't too hot for me to think about soup but the kale and white bean soup sounds good. have you ever baked kale in the oven?
sorry, about the root canal.
this soup was pretty brothy and light. most white bean soups i've made in the past are pretty heavy and creamy. it was a good change.
no, i haven't done too much cooking with kale. we made colcannon for St. Patrick's day this year. but, i forget about kale. it's SO HEALTHY!!!
what technique do you use in the oven?
we LOVE kale at the Labontes. We just saute or wilt it down in the big skillet with olive oil, garlic and sea salt. YUM!!
Can't wait to try some of these recipes. I'm obsessed with sweet potatoes in all forms.
Marj.
Post a Comment