Hearty Pinto Bean Stew

I opened a can of pinto beans by mistake thinking that it was refried beans. As I was contemplate what to do with a can of pinto beans, I saw this recipe in The Kind Diet and decided to give it a try. It was so good! I modify the recipe to use canned instead of dried beans and enough to serve 4. It's a very quick and easy soup.

2 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced, medium size
2 cans of pinto beans
4 cups of creamy tomato soup; Imagine Creamy Tomato Soup is dairy free. Pacific Creamy Tomato Soup is not. I use Pacific Creamy Tomato soup; it available @Costco.
4 teaspoons shoyu
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
dash of red pepper flakes

Lightly sauté the onion in olive oil in a 2 quart sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients: pinto beans, tomato soup, shoyu, garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes to the onions, cover and simmer for 30 minutes over medium heat.

You can substitute 2 cups of dry pinto beans for the canned beans. Cover the beans in water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse the beans. Bring the beans and 4 cups of water to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain the water and use the beans in the above procedure. You can also cook the soaked beans with a pressure cooker.

Here is a link to more information about cooking with beans: http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/beanframe.html

Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

This dip really surprised me, it was deliciously good, my whole family loved it. I made it recently for a Lia Sophia Jewelry Party and all my friends loved it too. So many people requested this recipes to be added to my blog so here it is. The recipe is from the book The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.
When I make it, I always make two versions, vegan version for me since I am staying away from dairy and regular version for the rest of the family. When my family finish the regular dip, they all help clean out the vegan dip. Kimberly especially likes the vegan version; she says it has less fattening. I use Follow Your Heart vegan gourmet cheddar cheese alternative. It is so much better than the soy or rice cheese we used years ago when we were on a dairy free diet because of Cassidy's allergy to milk. It also freezes well; no crumbling or falling apart after thawing. One thing about store bought taco seasoning, I was reading the label and was surprised to find that it contain milk product. I make my own taco seasoning and included the recipe below.

1 can refried beans or refried black beans, I prefer the refried black beans
3 large avocados
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 - 8oz containers nondairy sour cream
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup diced mild green chiles, drained
1/2 cup sliced black olives
5 tomatoes, chopped
2 cups shredded vegan Cheddar cheese

Spread a layer of refried beans in the bottom of an 8x13 quart glass baking dish. I use two round 9.5" Pyrex pie pan since I make regular and vegan versions, you can also use 8x8 pan for thicker bean dip. Mash the avocados (pitted and peeled) in a bowl, add the lime juice, mix, and spread on top of the refried beans. Stir together the sour cream and taco seasoning and spread over the avocado.  Sprinkle the green chilies, olives, and tomato on top of the sour cream mixture and top with cheese.  Heat the dip for 15 - 20 minutes in preheated 350F oven until the dip is heated through and the cheese is a bit melted. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Taco Seasoning ( recipe is approximately equal to a store bought package)
1 tablespoon ground chili pepper (I use Ancho Chili Petter)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Moroccan Couscous with Saffron

This is a dish from The Kind Diet that I wanted to try for a long time but never seemed to have winter squash on hand. When I finally had the winter squash, I was out of carrots or summer squash. It took me three months to get all of the ingredients together and make the recipe, the result was yummy. I love this dish: love the texture of the couscous, love the sweetness of the winter squash, and love the spices.

Vegetables:
2 cups peeled butternut or banana squash, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 cups zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Real salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast for 30 minutes. Turn and mix the vegetables after it has roasted for 15 minutes.

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (vegan) or chicken broth
2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter (vegan) or butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous
2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

While the vegetables are roasting, bring the vegetable broth to boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add the butter, cumin, saffron, plus salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan and let steep for at least 15 minutes. Reheat the broth to a boil when the vegetables are ready.

When the vegetables are done, place them in a large deep skillet pan and add the couscous and the scallions. Pour the hot broth over the couscous mixture in the deep skillet pan, mix gently, and bring it up to boil (this should happened very quickly) As soon as the broth starts to boil, turn off the heat, cover the couscous mixture, and let it sit on the stove top for 15 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork before serving.

Sugar Snap Peas with Miso Sauce

This recipe is inspired by a show I watched on Food Network:  Healthy Living with Ellie Krieger. She microwave the sugar snap peas with a little water similar to steaming or blanching the peas. She then made the sauce in a sauce pan and then toss the sugar snap peas with the sauce before serving. I don't like to cook with microwave so I simply sauté the peas and simplify the ingredients list by using the Brown Sauce (see the article on Stir-Fry Sauce). If you don't have miso, it is not the end of the world. You can simply skip it, the dish taste different but it is still good. If you skip the miso paste, you may need a little more brown sauce to balance the sweetness of the orange juice.

1 pound sugar snap peas or snow peas
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 scallions, white and green, sliced
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, optional, there is ginger in the brown sauce add the ginger if you like a stronger finger flavor.
1 tablespoon of brown sauce
1 teaspoon of frozen concentrated orange juice or 1/2 teaspoon of orange marmalade jam
1 teaspoon low sodium white miso paste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Heat the oil in a stir-fry pan over a medium high heat. Add the sugar snap peas and sauté until tender; if you like the sugar snap peas softer, add a little water (one tablespoon) to the pan and cooked until the liquid has been absorbed. Add the scallions and ginger and saute for 1 more minutes. Turn the heat to low and add the brown sauce, concentrated orange juice/jam, miso paste, sesame oil and stir until miso paste is dissolved.

Celebrity Sherbet

Aunt Cindy made this ice cream at Bear Lake a few years ago and it has been one of my kids favorite homemade ice cream ever since. Lately I have been having trouble with dairy product so I made it with coconut milk and it is still so yummy!

1 1/2 quarts Half'n Half  for non-dairy version use So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage
1/2 pint whipping cream Thai kitchen or other brand canned coconut milk or light coconut milk
18 oz pineapple juice
juice of 9 oranges
juice of 4 1/2 lemons
6 cups sugar   use agave for those who are trying reduce sugar consumption; I use half the amount

Mix all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Put in a large ice cream maker and follow the ice cream making instructions. I like to use Cuisinart ice cream maker because there is no salt or ice involved and much easier to clean up. If you have use the Cuisinart,  use 1/3 of the recipe and it fit perfectly.