Black Bean Dip

The Ingredients

1 cup black beans

1/4 cup diced onion

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

cumin

2 sprigs of parsley
sea salt

Add all ingredients into a food processor and blend well. Enjoy! This dip tastes especially delicious with whole wheat or multigrain pita chips. 

YUM.

Black Bean Soup

The Ingredients

1 1/2 cups black beans

3 cups chicken broth

28 oz. can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes

1 1/2 diced sweet onions

6 garlic cloves, diced

4 cups of water

5 small bay leaves

cumin

adobo

oregano

marjoram

black pepper

Add all ingredients to a crock pot and cook for 8 hours at low heat. It should look like this:

Remove bay leaves. Then, with an emulsifier, blend the soup right in the crockpot. Serve with mascarpone, fresh parsley, and bacon (I had two strips that I cooked, patted down, let cool, and cut into small pieces). Enjoy! 

Final product!

Swedish Apple Pancakes

The Ingredients

1 tbsp. melted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1 cup milk

pinch of salt

1/2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 apple

First, mix eggs in a bowl with a mixer. Then, add other ingredients (except for the apple, which needs to be grated). I used a grater to break it down into shaved strips. The batter should be somewhat runny and should look like this:

Lightly butter a pan to add mixture to. It should look like this:

After a few minutes on one side, use a plate to flip the pancake over and cook on the other side. DON'T FORGET to butter the pan again to prevent burning. Serve pancakes with apple sauce, cinnamon, and confectioner's sugar on top:

Enjoy!

 (This pancake was broken into smaller pieces for a not-so-heavy breakfast). 

Spanakopita

The Ingredients

2 cups raw spinach

1/4 sweet onion

3 garlic cloves

2 sprigs of parsley

provolone cheese

phyllo dough

light olive oil

extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper

Chop onions and garlic. In a pan, add light olive oil and raw spinach. The spinach will reduce after a few minutes at med-high heat. Then, add garlic and onion. At med heat, sautée until lightly  caramelized. Use salt and pepper to taste. Drain out excess oil and set aside. 

In a baking dish, use a brush to lightly brush on extra virgin olive oil on the bottom of it. Then, add phyllo dough sheets in layers of 2-3. Add spinach mixture to the phyllo dough. Add in chopped parsley and make sure it is evenly mixed into the spinach mixture. Then, use a shaver to cut the provolone and ensure that the amount of cheese is just right. I used a milder (real, Italian) provolone cheese that melts very well. Add on 2-3 more sheets of phyllo dough. Brush on extra virgin olive oil to the top of the phyllo dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Pre-baking

Final product, cut into squares. 

Roasted Root Vegetable Medley

The Ingredients

2 blue Adirondack potatoes

3 golden beets

3 parsnips

1 sweet onion

5 cloves of garlic

parsley

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

pepper

herbes de provence

Peel vegetables and cube/chop into small pieces. Throw in 5 whole garlic cloves, onion slices, and diced onions. Then, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and herbes de provence. Add chopped parsley. Drizzle olive oil on the vegetables and mix well- I get my hands dirty! It should look like this:

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, or until caramelized/browned. Enjoy!

YUM.

Organic Farm Delivery #3

Baby spinach, arugula, golden beets, sunchokes, turnips, empire apples, adirondack blue potatoes, black beans, parsley, and sweet onions. YUM! 

Easy Gnocchi

The Ingredients

2 cups (potato) gnocchi

2 tbsp mascarpone

truffle salt

pepper

This is the easiest dish ever. Cook gnocchi for about two minutes. They should float when done. Drain pasta and add to bowl with mascarpone and truffle salt. The heat from the pasta will break down the cheese into a soft cream. Enjoy!