squash, kale, and black bean baked burritos

Baby Avery's second meal with kale coincided with his first encounter with butternut squash. On this night, the grown ups enjoyed roasted butternut squash, kale, and black bean baked burritos, while Avery's meal consisted of pureed squash, kale, and black beans (pictured above). All were satisfied!

Squash, Kale, and Black Bean Baked Burritos

Serves 4 plus baby

olive oil

1 medium butternut squash

1 big bunch curly kale, de-stemmed and chopped

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. monterey jack cheese, grated

4 whole wheat tortillas

1 c. of your favorite salsa

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Brush with olive oil and place cut-side down in glass baking dish. Roast in 400-degree oven until soft, about 60 minutes.

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and beginning to color. Add kale. Cover and allow to steam for about 2 minutes, until bright green and starting to cook down. Uncover and add cumin and oregano, stirring well to coat.

For the baby: Scoop a couple spoonfuls of the roasted butternut squash and put into the bowl of a food processor. Add a scoop of the kale mixture and a spoonful or two of black beans. Process to desired consistency, adding a bit of water if needed.

For the grown ups: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide remaining butternut squash, kale, and black beans among the 4 tortillas. Top with cheese (reserving about 1/4 cup) and roll into 4 burritos. Place burritos in glass baking dish. Spoon salsa over the top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes.

southwest stuffed bell peppers

A recent clear sign that I'm feeling fully settled in the new house and new city: I signed up for a local CSA. This means that every Tuesday, a box will arrive at our doorstep filled with fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms. The first delivery arrived last week with a wide variety of mouthwatering contents: nectarines, baby bok choy (yummm), romaine lettuce, beets, 3 heads of garlic, an avocado, carrots (from Coachella!) and two beautiful green bell peppers.

I love getting a box full of surprises each week. Even though I'm pretty adventurous at the grocery store and farmers' market, inevitably the box contains something (or sometimes, a number of things) that I likely would not have considered buying. This often leads to meals that I otherwise likely would not have thought to make. I love that sort of inspiration and the "outside of the box" thinking (pun intended!) it pushes me to partake in.

The challenge last week was that it had slipped my mind that the box was coming when we grocery shopped the weekend prior. Which left us with more than normal amounts of produce. Not a bad problem to have, but I had to get creative to ensure nothing went to waste. So, while the green bell peppers were beautiful, I had to figure out a good way to put them to use along with the red and yellow bell peppers I'd picked up at the grocery store. Enter stuffed peppers.

Before the box arrived, one of the week's dinner dishes in my head involved squash and black beans. I decided to repurpose these, plus some other ingredients I had on hand, into a southwestern pepper stuffing.

We ate two of the peppers hot out of the oven with a big side salad. The remaining two went directly into the freezer, to be rebaked at a later date, so that we could refocus our energies on eating the rest of our veggies over the remainder of the week!

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers
Serves 4

4 bell peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed (I chopped the tops and threw them in our salad)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small jalepeno, seeded and minced
a sprig of fresh oregano, chopped
2 Tbsp. cumin
2 bottleneck squash, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheese, shredded (I would have used monterey jack if I had it, but in this case used the cheddar we had on hand)
sour cream (for topping, if desired)

Heat a large pot of water over high heat until boiling. Add peppers and boil 4 minutes. Remove carefully with tongs (another good use for the instrument I didn't see the need for but Randy convinced me were essential) to drain on a paper towel.


Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Add oregano and cumin, stirring to coat. Add jalepeno and cook 1 min. Add squash. Cook 2 minutes, until squash just starts to become tender. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, mix squash mix together with beans, rice, and salsa.

Use the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to oil the bottom of a glass baking dish. Fill each pepper with the squash-bean-rice mixture and place in baking dish, open side up. Top with grated cheese.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot, topped with sour cream. Enjoy!

black bean brownies

I am equipment impaired at the moment.

Perhaps that's why it has taken me until late February to write my first post in 2012. I also think it's taken me this long to adjust to being back to real life post-2011.

What a year 2011 was: some parts were amazingly happy while at others I was overwhelmed by the most intense devastation I have ever known; at times things were messy, at others there was crystal clarity on who I am and where I am going. There was divorce. There was cancer. There was death. There was love.

But I digress (a little heavy for a cooking blog, right?). So, let's get back to my current equipment limitations. Part of my back-to-real-life move involves a new living space in Northern California. It is comfortable, but small. The two burners, mini-fridge, and toaster oven haven't served as much inspiration for me to cook. Plus, I'm by myself. It's always interesting to me how I eat when I'm by myself, because it seems to vary quite greatly from when I'm with someone else. "Dinner" becomes composed of such things like nuts and grapes, or a bunch of kale (seriously: this is the one thing I have cooked consistently since being back in California).

The other kitchen I have access to is in Southern California (this is where the love piece from 2011 comes into play). And while his kitchen is more sizable, because it is also temporary and furnished by someone else, some things are lacking. This created the situation last night for a slightly more challenging brownie endeavor than I had planned. The amazing news is that, in spite of my numerous mishaps and equipment substitutions, the brownies still turned out super tasty. I have to think that actually following the instructions would make them even more so.

Yes, it's a little strange that black beans play a starring role. But somehow it works. My taste-tester wasn't able to guess the secret ingredient (though he'd tell you that I gave it away too quickly and he would have identified it eventually).

The following recipe is one that I've wanted to try for quite some time. Last night, I paired the brownies with fresh raspberries. Tonight, they will be enjoyed with vanilla ice cream. Once some things come together and there is a non-equipment challenged kitch in the picture again, I'll likely try making these again. In the meantime, we're enjoying the gooey chocolate goodness!

Amazing Black Bean Brownies
From 101 cookbooks
As written, makes 45 2-inch brownies

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 c. unsalted butter
2 c. canned black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 c. instant coffee
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 c. agave nectar

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 11x18" pan with parchment paper*.
*I didn't have this size pan, so halved the ingredients and put in a 8x11" pan, yielding probably thinner brownies than the original recipe.

In a glass bowl, melt butter and chocolate in microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir to melt chocolate completely.

Add beans, 1/2 c. walnuts, vanilla, and a couple spoonfuls of melted chocolate into a food processor. Process about 2 minutes, until smooth.**
**I didn't have a food processor. I thought the blender would be a good substitute, but this ended up more challenging than I anticipated. I had to pour in the entire butter/chocolate mixture at this point to get enough liquid for the blender to do anything. I didn't quite get the smooth consistency desired, but I got as close as I could given my instrument! I also didn't read carefully enough and added all of the walnuts, unchopped, at this step. Given that I was trying to blend vs. process and I didn't get to totally smooth, I think my resulting product probably turned out pretty similar to what was supposed to happen by processing half of the walnuts and leaving the other half chopped.

In a large bowl, stir together the remaining walnuts, remaining butter/chocolate mixture, instant coffee, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until creamy, about 1 minute.*** Add agave. Beat well. Set aside.
***I didn't have an electric mixer, so substituted brute force whisking: lots of it.

Add bean mixture to chocolate/coffee mixture. Stir until well blended. Add egg mix, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat remaining 1/2 cup of egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over batter. Use a wooden toothpick**** to pull egg mix through, creating a marbled effect.
****I didn't have a wooden toothpick, so used a fork, which worked fine.

Bake 30-40 minutes, until set (30 minutes was the magic number for my halved recipe and smaller pan). Let cool completely in pan before cutting. Brownies will stay soft until refrigerated.

zucchini enchiladas

It is officially zucchini season in Northern California. I know this because zucchini has become a staple in our weekly CSA box. Zucchini is perhaps the best known of the various types of summer squash (part of the Cucurbitaceae family - relatives of melons and cucumbers), with its tender, creamy white flesh.

I'm impressed by the versatility of this vegetable. Over the course of the past couple of weeks, I've roasted it (roasted vegetable rice & beans), sauteed it with onions, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and lots of garlic to mix with whole wheat pasta, and most recently, stuffed it along with black beans and pepper jack cheese into enchiladas. While all have been good, this latest combo is my favorite so far. Here's what I did:

Zucchini Enchiladas

Serves 4

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 zucchini (about 2 cups), chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

1 tsp. cumin

15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

6 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated

2 c. enchilada sauce

12 6" tortillas

1 avocado, sliced, to garnish

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped, to garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it begins to soften. Add zucchini, cumin, and lime juice. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until zucchini begins to soften. Mix in black beans.

Spread 1/2 c. sauce in the bottom of a 13x9" baking dish. Spoon zucchini mixture down the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top enchiladas with remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve topped with avocado slices and cilantro.

One year ago: peanut spinach & tofu

roasted vegetable rice & beans

I've been eating too much sugar lately. I've fallen into one of those patterns where cookies are a must-have after dinner. I've said yes to every cupcake that has crossed my path at work (which has been nearly daily as of late!). I'm a strong believer in indulging in moderation. But my indulgences have been more than moderate lately.

Enter vegetables.

This dish came together in my mind as I was driving home from work. We had zucchini from the weekly CSA box that needed to be consumed. I paired it with some other veggies, brown rice, black beans and a spicy cilantro-lime dressing for a flavor-packed, healthy dinner. A few days of eating like this, and my sugar cravings will be a thing of the past. Here's what I did:

Roasted Vegetable Rice & Beans

Serves 2

2 c. brown rice

3 small zucchini, sliced then quartered

3 spring onions, peeled and quartered

a small bunch of carrots, chopped into 1/2" pieces

2 Tbsp. olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

the juice of 1 lime, divided

1 pint cherry tomatoes

15 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c. cilantro, roughly chopped

Cook rice according to directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put zucchini, onions, and carrots into a glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, spices, and half of the lime juice. Add mixture to vegetables. Toss well to coat. Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. Add tomatoes. Return to oven for 15 minutes, until tomatoes begin to soften.

Mix rice, beans, and roasted veggies with cilantro and remaining lime juice. Enjoy!

One year ago: white bean hummus crostini

black bean soup with avocado lime cream

I've been sick. Nasty flu morphed into head cold, which left me with little energy or desire to cook (or, rather, my "cooking" lately has consisted of heating cans of soup). Though my cold drags on, earlier this week I decided to get over my cooking hiatus and get back in the kitch. On that particular day, we were in the middle of the first (maybe only?) fall storm in Northern California: winds up to 60mph in our area and a day and a half straight of rain (being from Seattle originally, I realize this is not actually a lot of rain, but I've quickly become used to the California sunshine, so even a brief amount of moisture from the sky seems unusual!). The storm made the house feel cold and made me want something hot to simmer on the stove. So, even though it's pretty much all I'd been eating for the past couple of weeks, I decided to make soup.

This recipe is from The New California Cook, a gift from my friend Dave. I have a number of the recipes in the book flagged to make, but this is the first one I've tried so far (I'm not sure what took me so long!). It turned out really tasty, so I'll definitely be consulting this cookbook more often for ideas in the near future.

I made a few slight moderations to the original recipe - (1) I substituted veggie stock for half of the water called for, (2) I omitted the ham hock, (3) the original topping recipe was lime cream; I added half an avocado to make it an avocado lime cream. The following reflects these modifications.

Black Bean Soup with Avocado Lime Cream

Serves 6 to 8

1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 quart vegetable stock

1 quart water

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Avocado Lime Cream:

1/2 ripe avocado

1/2 c. sour cream (I used a vegan version)

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp. salt

pinch of freshly ground white pepper

Soak beans overnight in enough cold water to cover generously (or, if you're like me and don't think this far ahead, you can do a quick soak: bring the beans to a boil in just enough water to cover, boil for 2 minutes, then cover, turn off heat, and let stand for 1 hour). Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until softened (about 3 minutes). Add jalapeno, garlic, bell pepper, cumin, coriander, and oregano and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add drained beans, stock, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are tender.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot, leaving a bit of texture (if you don't have an immersion blender, you can puree half of the soup in a standing blender, then return to pot). Reheat gently. Add lime juice, cilantro, and salt and black pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick, you can thin it with water.

To make the avocado lime cream, mash the avocado then combine with other ingredients. Whisk or use immersion blender to create a smooth consistency.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with avocado lime cream, avocado slices, and a dallop of salsa, if desired. Let it warm you up on a cold day!

veggie fajitas

Summer has been busy lately! My recent travels and activities are definitely resulting in a reduction in posts. I'm expecting that will continue for awhile, but will continue to cook and write about it as time permits. 

I made this dish a couple of weeks ago and it's been sitting in my "to post" pile since. It commemorated my first time using queso fresco ("fresh cheese"), a white cheese that originated in Spain and after spreading to Mexico, became common in Mexican cuisine. I found it to be similar to feta in taste, but a little softer and less crumbly in texture. Along with cilantro, it was the perfect topic to the veggie fajitas made with fresh zucchini and peppers from the CSA box. Here's what I did:

Veggie Fajitas

Serves 2

1 small red onion, sliced into thin strips

1 zucchini, sliced and then slices halved

2 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, cored and sliced

2 Tbsp. of your favorite salsa

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped

queso fresco

4 whole wheat tortillas

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir occasionally while chopping the other vegetables, adding them to the pan as they are chopped. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp tender. Add cilantro, salsa, and black beans. Continue to cook until mixture is heated through. 

Heat tortillas if desired. Fill each with 1/4 of the bean/veggie mixture. Roll into burritos. Top with cilantro and queso fresco.

I served the veggie fajitas together with avocado salad. Delish!

black bean vegetable chili

While in my cooking frenzy after having returned from vacation last weekend, I decided I needed to have a pot of something cooking on Sunday. After a scan through the pantry, I chose black beans. There were also some random vegetables leftover from the prior week's CSA delivery that were still good, but a little past their prime. What better way to mask that than in chili? Here's what I did:

Black Bean Vegetable Chili

Serves 4-6

16 oz. bag black beans

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 pattypan squash (or 2 normal squash), chopped

2 bell or 4 gypsy peppers, deseeded and chopped

1 Tbsp. cumin

3 Tbsp. chili powder (I used chili pasilla)

14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes

1-1/2 c. corn kernels, cooked*

*I used 3 fresh ears of corn from the CSA box. To cook, husk then place in microwave safe dish with 2 Tbsp. water. Cover with lid and microwave 5 minutes. Wait until cooled, then slice kernels from cobb.

Soak beans overnight. Rinse well. Add beans and 6 cups water to a large pot, cover, and simmer 1-2 hours, until beans are tender. Cook onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add squash and pepper. Cook until crisp tender. Add spices and mix well. Remove from heat.

Once beans are tender, add squash mixture, tomatoes, and corn. Continue to cook for 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally, and adding more spices to taste.

Serve with warm cornbread topped with grated cheese and chopped tomatoes, if desired.

cumin lime sea bass with black bean veggie medley

This is another recipe from about a week ago that I'm finally getting around to posting. I'm not sure I've ever had sea bass before. Our fish was from the farmers' marked and it was delicious. I highly recommend this dish, which was filling, healthy, and a good combination of flavors. Here's what I did:

Cumin Lime Sea Bass

Serves 2

1/2 lb. sea bass fillet 

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder (I used chili pasilla)

Put fish in shallow pan. Drench upward facing side with lime juice, then cover with spices. Broil 5" from preheated broiler on high for about 10 minutes, or until the top begins to blacken and fish is cooked to desired doneness.

Black Bean Veggie Medley

Serves 2+

1 c. corn kernels*

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 bunch curly kale, destemmed and sliced or torn into bite-size pieces

15 oz. can black beans, well rinsed and drained

1/2 c. salsa

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

hot sauce (optional)

*I used 2 fresh ears of corn from the CSA box. To cook, husk then place in microwave safe dish with 2 Tbsp. water. Cover with lid and microwave 5 minutes. Wait until cooled, then slice kernels from cobb.

Cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add bell pepper and cook 3-4 minutes. Add kale and cook until bright green, covering pan to allow it to steam. Add black beans, corn, salsa, lime juice, hot sauce (if desired) and cilantro. Mix and cook until heated through.

I served everything on a toasted corn tortilla. Note: leftover black bean medley makes a fantastic nacho topping! Yum!

polenta stuffed peppers

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you may have noticed a pattern: when I find a new basic that I like, I try out lots of different variations. This happened with frittatas. Then again with risotto. And yes, now I'm on a stuffed pepper kick!

On the train on my way home from work the other day, I was going through the contents of my kitchen in my head. We'd received the weekly CSA delivery the day before, so there were fresh gypsy peppers on hand that would definitely need to be involved in the evening's meal. Ever since I made the rice stuffed peppers last week, I'd been thinking about other potential fillings. One that kept coming to mind was polenta. So I started thinking about what would go well with peppers and polenta... Once my mind landed on black beans, I knew that was the direction I would take my next attempt at stuffed peppers.

Next, I started thinking about sauces. I wanted some spice. And maybe a little smokiness. There's an enchilada-like sauce in one of my cookbooks - it's intended in the recipe to be a roasting sauce for fall vegetables. But I thought a variation of it would be pretty tasty over my soon to be stuffed peppers, so on my walk from the train home, I popped into the grocery to pick up canned chipotle in adobo sauce (the secret ingredient!).

I could taste the peppers at this point, and was super exited to see if they would turn out as good as I imagined. As I was prepping the ingredients, I made a last minute decision to slice the peppers horizontally (rather than cut the top off and actually stuff them; since I didn't actually mix the stuffing ingredients together, this was my way of ensuring you get a good mix of flavor in every bite). I guess that means really these should be called filled peppers, but you get the idea. Here's what I did:

Polenta Stuffed Peppers

Serves 2

4 gypsy peppers (or 2 bell peppers), halved lengthwise and de-seeded

1/2 c. dry polenta (corn grits)

15 oz. diced tomatoes

1/2 cup cilantro

1 1/2 Tbsp. canned chipotle in adobo sauce

1 tsp. lime juice

15 oz. canned black beans, drained and rinsed

3 oz. firm tofu, chopped into small pieces (optional)

Make the sauce by pureeing tomatoes, cilantro, chipotle/adobo, and lime juice in a food processor until smooth.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to boiling in a medium pot. Add polenta, mix, and turn the heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens.

Spread a couple spoonfuls of sauce in a baking dish and spread to cover. Place the peppers, cut side up, into the dish. Fill each half with polenta. Spoon black beans and tofu (if using) over each pepper, then top each with a generous spoonful (or more!) of sauce.

Bake 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

The peppers turned out just as tasty as I imagined! There will likely be more stuffed/filled pepper recipes to come if they keep arriving in the CSA delivery. I'm thinking perhaps my next version will feature a Greek twist...

mexican dinner frittata

This week's CSA box might be my favorite combination of things so far: green cabbage, collard greens, kiwi, clementines, dino kale, yukon potatoes, garlic, and onions. This produce all has a lot of potential. So much so, that I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to make (or eat) most...

...so I let a beauty contest determine with what we'd feed our hunger this evening! Though the skinny dino kale might have beat the collard greens in a swimsuit competition, the collard greens won me over with their bright green stalks (and obvious sunny personality). I decided they'd take home the crown tonight. Runners up onion and clementines will get to join in on the fun. Hopefully the rest of the veggies won't be too jealous.

I've actually been thinking about this dish for a couple of days. One of my early blogs was on my love of leafy greens-egg-cheese combos. Tonight's version will be a south-of-the-border twist. It goes like this:

Mexican Dinner Frittata

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers)

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and chopped

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

6 eggs

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)

1 cup corn chips, crushed

1/2 c. salsa

1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pan. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to brown. Add collard greens and cook, continuing to stir occasionally, until bright green. Meanwhile, whisk 6 eggs in a large bowl. Add black beans, cumin, and cilantro. Once the greens are done cooking, add them to the egg mixture and stir well (the eggs may start to cook from the heat of the greens - that's ok).

Turn on the broiler to high. On the stovetop, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over med-high heat in an 8-inch skillet. Once the oil is hot, add crushed chips, evenly coating the bottom of the skillet. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and reduce the heat to med-low. After about 2 minutes, go around the edge of the skillet with a spatula, slicing the egg mixture away from the pan (so that the finished product isn't cemented to the pan).

Cook for about 5 minutes longer, until the eggs look mostly set (and no longer runny on top). Spoon salsa and then sprinkle cheese over the top of the eggs. Transfer to the oven to finish cooking under the broiler about 5 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown.

Remove from oven. Let sit for 5 minutes. Cut and serve topped with sour cream and sliced avocado.

  

We had ours this evening with a side of clementine oranges. And we'll have some tasty leftovers for breakfast! Correction: I will have some tasty leftovers tomorrow. JR liked it so much that he already ate two servings!

the bachelor & black bean hummus

Treasures in this week's CSA box include:

fuji apples

yukon potatoes

mandarin oranges

flat leaf parsley

gold chard

carrots

broccoli

Tonight, Marika and I are watching the latest episode of the Bachelor (recorded from earlier this week). Cross the CSA treasures with a need for tasty snacky food and what do you get? Black bean & orange hummus. Yum!

The hummus recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks - Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan (see Dreena Burton's blog). This particular cookbook has an entire chapter devoted to hummus. I've tried most of them and the black bean and orange tops my list. Here's how it goes:

Black Bean & Orange Hummus

From: Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan (Dreena Burton)

2 1/2 cups cooked black beans

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 1/2 Tbsp almond butter

1 large clove garlic, sliced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 tsp orange zest

freshly ground black pepper

1-2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

In a food processor, combine all ingredients (except parsley for garnish) and puree until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl several times. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with parsley.

I usually substitute the parsley with cilantro (there's something about cilantro + orange that I LOVE),

but went ahead and used parsley as called for this time since it was part of the CSA delivery. The carrots and broccoli from the box will make the perfect 'lil dippers. Ta Da! Healthy snacks! Perhaps that will help balance out our fabulously trashy TV viewing of the Bachelor!

Stay tuned for notes on what happens with the rest of the CSA treasures this week!