Old beans

I have a lot of old, old beans from when we were first married and bought a big huge bag at Costco.  I recently discovered how to use them so they actually cook SOFT instead of always being a little crunchy, no matter how long you cook them!  Here is what to do!

For each cup of old beans, boil 3 cups of water (I guesstimated).  Boil the water FIRST, and then add the beans.  This allows enzymes to be released in the beans, so they actually soften (differently than if you put the beans in the water and boiled them all together) Boil the water, add the beans once it's boiling, then boil for 2 minutes.  After 2 minutes, take the pan off the heat and add 3/8 tsp of baking soda for each cup of beans.  (again, I guesstimated)  Cover with a lid and let it sit for about an hour.  Then rinse and cook as desired.  I love my pressure cooker and I like to cook the beans in that.  You can also put them in the crockpot, or just cook them for a few hours on the stovetop.  Don't put any salt or anything in the beans until they are fully cooked. For fresher beans, it doesn't matter if you add seasonings while it cooks.

Cashew Chicken

This is one of my favorite recipes to use over rice.  However, I just discovered it is WAY better over couscous! Thanks to the Sisters Cafe for this delicious recipe! I omit the salt as I found it to be too salty that way, and I love to add half a bag or so of stir-fry veggies or green beans at the end.  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday and Homemade Yellow Cake Mix

September is a Birthday month at our house!  So in honor of these birthdays... this homemade yellow cake mix.  I love that I can make something that I COULD buy in a box... but now I know exactly what is in it and it tastes way better anyway. :)  I follow the substitution she gives for cake flour (since I never have it) and it turns out beautifully.  Enjoy!

Current Projects at the Sewing Table

Here are a few of the projects that are "in progress" right now.  I use the words "in progress" because with two busy little bodies to chase after and clean and wipe and feed etc... I don't get things done very quickly!

This one is actually finished... so I guess it's cheating.  I made this baby blanket for our good friend Melina who is due to have her baby at the end of September!

Ok... this one is finished too.  My first attempt at making clothes from scratch for my children!  This is a pair of capris for Audrey.  She loves them, even though they are a little too big on her this summer.  I think next summer they will be just right!

This is a nine-patch quilt I've been working on.  This is the quilt top before I added the borders.

And here it is after adding the borders!  Please ignore the lego- it's so rare that I get to spread something out on the floor without kids dancing around on it the second it's down.  It's now in process of being quilted to the back (not pictured) which is proving to be a lengthy process since I decided to hand-quilt around each of the 70 blocks... I'm about 1/3 of the way done.  I'll post an update once I make some more progress on it.

This project I'm really excited about.  I got the idea here from Mad Mim.  This is a womens size XL button-up shirt that I bought at DI for $4.  I'm turning it into a skirt.  I started taking off the sleeves before I took this picture- so that is why the seam is sticking out on one side.  I took off the sleeves, cut off the collar, added some pockets:

This is what it looks like afterwards.  I have since sewn up the side seams and made a waistband and now I just have to fit it to my waist.  I can't wait for this one to be finished!

My Lovely Garden, and Roasted Green Beans

We have enjoyed our new house and the opportunities that having almost 3 acres to play with this summer!  Most of it was 3 acres of weeds and trash, but after a lot of cleaning up it is looking much better.  I thought I would post a little about our fabulous garden, since I am mourning the change in weather that is bringing summer and, consequently, gardening season in Rexburg to an end.  This year we planted:

L to R: Dead cucumber plants (ok so two survived and I have baby cucumbers) and Zucchini!

(Front to Back) Pumpkin, which has taken over half the garden, Butternut squash which never produced, and Cantaloupe which never produced either.   I guess not enough of the plants survived for them to pollinate.

Peas and Lettuce (L to R)

Carrots and Green Beans (L to R)

Raspberries!  We got the shoots from a friend of a friend who had way too many sprouting up like weeds and wanted to get rid of them.  We welcome them!

We also had a few fruit trees that were planted I don't even know how many years ago:

Apples

Pie cherries

Plums!

The reason I am excited about my garden (beyond sheer love of watching things grown and produce food I can store in jars or in my freezer) is this recipe.  I like canned green beans.  I do- I grew up eating them that way and I have never warmed up to frozen green beans very well.  I do, however, really enjoy FRESH green beans.  *sigh*  Lovely.  I also REALLY love this recipe... it's almost like having french fries without the starch and empty carbs.  Especially when you put fry sauce on them!  I know... that kind of defeats some of the healthy but at least its better than french fries!  Please try this. It's so lovely.

Roasted Green Beans (loosely borrowed from How Sweet it Is here)

Fresh green beans (as many as you want to eat)

olive oil (or other oil of your choice)

Seasonings (I just use a cajun seasoning salt, but you could use salt and pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, whatever.  I'm pretty sure it will taste awesome whatever you pick.)

Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Spray with non-stick spray.  Dump the green beans on it, drizzle with olive oil.  Toss with your hands to coat all green beans evenly.  Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice.  Put the cookie sheet in an oven at around 425 (this is forgiving, you can do 400 for more time if you already have something else in there needing that temperature with good results) for 30-35 min.  Savor them with fry sauce.  Or some other kind of dipping sauce would probably be fine. :) 

Black Bean Burgers

I have had many requests for this recipe.  It is probably one of our family's favorite meals!  I sort of MacGyvered this recipe out of a few I've come across, and I add to it as I see fit.  We also discovered (being out of black beans) that this recipe can also successfully be made with white beans if you don't have any.  Hubby thinks this is quite racist of us. Anyway, this is how the recipe currently goes...

Black Bean Burgers
(I usually double this for our family and it works out great with leftovers for lunch the next day)

1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained well (or approx. 2 cups black beans, cooked, rinsed and drained)
2 tsp cajun seasoning (or other seasoning salt)
1 tsp cumin (if you like)
1 egg




This recipe is pretty forgiving.  Experiment with it, see what seasonings you like (you really can use whatever kinds you like), what consistencies you like (they can be a little dry or crumbly depending on the amount of liquid left in your beans and your onions).  

If you make your own bread crumbs, I food process (you can use a blender to do this also- I did this before I upgraded to my amazing food processor) them first and transfer them to another bowl.  Then, put the onion and garlic in the food processor and process til fine.  Add the beans, seasonings and eggs and process til beans are mashed.  With the food processor on, add the breadcrumbs in slowly.  


You can grill these for 6-7 min a side.  You can also freeze them and then grill them frozen, which I've heard helps them not to fall apart so much.  I usually broil them.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.  Using your hands, shape a handful of bean mixture into patties.  Broil for 10 min per side, til nice and brown.


We love these with this hamburger bun recipe from One Lovely Life (except I like to sub 1 cup of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, and also this fry sauce recipe, also from One Lovely Life.  Enjoy!