Black Bean Agave Brownies

That's right, black beans and brownies, together. Alan approached me making these with firm skepticism; I approached it with curiosity. I wasn't so sure about it, until I was reminded that bean pastes are used quite regularly in Chinese desserts - and the Chinese seem to be doing okay. And I have to say, they turned out pretty well. I even noticed a large slice missing from the pan this morning after Alan packed his lunch.

To be honest, I've been trying to figure out exactly what the black beans are replacing in this recipe. You could say they replace the flour, but brownies don't usually use too much flour, and these ones do NOT have the texture of flour brownies - they're much more of a rich fudgy flourless cake type brownie. So I guess it's a flourless brownie with some of the butter and chocolate being replaced with black beans? They're not exactly "health food" as there's still a hefty amount of butter and sweetener, but at least they're fudge with fiber and protein.

And the question everyone is asking: do they taste like black beans with chocolate? No, not really. The recipe calls for some imitation coffee, which I didn't include, and there is a touch of bean flavor to mine (but I don't mind it). I think if you included the coffee or something like it, it would wipe out any of the bean taste.

Last note: I don't have a food processor, and I think it would have really helped. I used my vitamix instead, but the stuff you're blending is so thick, the wheels were spinning, and it ended up being more difficult than I imagined. So, you can get it done with a good blender, but a food processor would be ideal.

Okay, the recipe already:

Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter (I used 3/4 cup and it was fine)
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (canned is fine)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups light agave nectar (the whole 12 oz bottle)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. The recipe tells you to use an 11x18 pan; I used a 9x13 and 9x9 (ends up being the same square inches) and it was really thin, so you should be fine with just a 9x13. Spray the pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside. (If you use a blender, you'll have to keep stirring it; keep it on a relatively low speed so it will churn a little instead of spinning in place.)

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Cook it relatively quickly after pouring it into the pan, since the agave can separate from the batter. The recipe recommends putting it in the fridge and cutting it up when it's cold; I don't know if you have that kind of willpower, but I didn't. Eat some while they're hot, and put the rest in the fridge.

Cooking Gurus

Nikki and I were talking yesterday about posting recipes we find on other sites, and it turned out we both had the same website in mind: 101cookbooks.com. It's all vegetarian and all natural, and she has one recipe after another that I'm dying to try - looking through them, I wonder why I ever ate a non-extraordinary meal. So don't be surprised if most of the things I post on her are just me documenting trying one of these recipes.

What I wanted to share today, though, isn't a particular recipe. She has a page devoted to building a natural foods pantry, that goes over some basic ingredients you should have on hand for a lot of natural foods cooking. She goes over oils, grains, sweeteners, vegetables, herbs, etc., and says why she likes each one and what standards you should use when choosing ingredients. I found it super helpful.

www.101cookbooks.com/build_a_natural

Coconut Ice Cream

This delicious recipe is from my friend Jo. I want to try it with mango instead of chocolate.


Coconut Ice Cream
1 can whole fat coconut milk
3oz approx of real dark chocolate 72% real cocoa or higher
Sweetener of your choice, Agave, Stevia, Dates sweeten to taste.
1tsp vanilla
Blend all ingredients until warm (about 5 min), This works best with a blendtec, vita mix type blender.
Freeze.
Thaw for 10-20 minutes before eating.
For creamy dairy like ice cream freeze in Ice Cube trays and just before serving put cubes in blender with some almond milk, coconut milk, or something like that. It just takes a little milk.
Serve.
Variations we enjoy.
*1/4 cup -1/2 natural peanut butter When this is blended for about 5 min it becomes thick like fudge. This is my favorite.
*Mint, you can add Peppermint oil or extract or a few peppermint leaves. This is wonderful.
*Nuts of any kind.
*Mix ins- pour ice cream into a flat Tupperware type container and sprinkle with nuts, marshmallows, toffee, whatever you like in your ice cream. Once sprinkled on push slightly to get it into the mix better.
* you can leave out the chocolate (I don't know why you would want to!) and mix in some frozen berries.
After making a few batches you will start to get creative and come up with some great variations. This is a great Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free alternative to traditional ice cream.

Southwest Quinoa

Hooray for Quinoa and its complete protein! I like this recipe in the winter because it doesn't rely on a lot of fresh ingredients, but I'm sure it would taste fantastic with fresh grilled corn and fresh diced tomatoes.

Southwest Quinoa

Ingredients
olive oil
dash cumin (optional)
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 c quinoa
2.5 c broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro, torn

Directions
Heat oil in medium saucepan. Add cumin and stir briefly. Saute onion until translucent, then add garlic until just fragrant. Add dry quinoa and stir until coated. Add broth and tomatoes. Increase heat to high until mixture bubbles, and turn heat down to medium to simmer. After 10-15 minutes, or when most of the liquid has been absorbed and the outer part of the quinoa is pulling away from the inner part, add the corn, black beans and cilantro. Mix together and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Enjoy with sliced avocado and a squeeze of lime.

Mediterranean-ish Quinoa Salad

I thought I'd start things off with a quinoa dish I made last night that made me, my tummy, and even Alan happy. I went to the store and bought a bunch of ingredients for nothing in particular, thinking that for sure I would have everything I needed to make any number of recipes I'd found online, and discovered that I had about 70% of the ingredients for a large number of them. So I improvised a little bit. It worked as a main course for us (just because I ate so much), but I think it would go perfectly as a side dish with some grilled fish. Since I didn't have any, I included some tofu in this. Substitute at will.

Ingredients:
-1 cup uncooked quinoa
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-12 oz tofu, cut into small cubes
-1-2 cloves of minced garlic
-1-2 zucchini, cut in half and then into thin slices
-handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
-juice of lemon
-dill
-salt to taste

Get the quinoa cooking - I do mine in my rice cooker, and it actually works quite nicely. While that's cooking, heat the oil on medium-high in a large saute pan, add the garlic and tofu, and let the tofu brown (about 4-5 minutes). Add the zucchini and let it soften, another 4-5 minutes, then add the cherry tomatoes. I don't like mine cooked very much, so I just let them cook for about 2 minutes, tossing the pan most of the time.

Put the cooked quinoa in a large serving bowl and add the veggies, feta, and lemon juice. Add as much dill as you want - I like a lot, but for some it's overpowering (like Alan, who picked up a sprig, smelled it, and made a face you don't want people to make when they're tasting your cooking. Maybe let people add it individually). Toss it all - add a little more olive oil if it's dry.

This is good warm, but it's also super yummy the next day when the dill has flavored everything.

Black Bean Burgers

This one is always a favorite, and can be vegan AND delicious.


Black Bean Burgers

1 19-ounce can black beans (I have never found a can this size, I usually just use the normally commercially available size and make 3 burgers)
1 4-ounce can diced mild chilies
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (I actually don't put this in)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 pita pockets


In colander, drain beans and chilies together. Rinse with cold water, shake the colander and let it drain in the sink for a few minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the beans and chilies with 2 Tbsp of the cornmeal and the onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and a pinch of salt. With a potato masher, mash the mixture until about half the beans are crushed. Form into 4 three-inch patties. Add the remaining cornmeal to a small bowl, then press both sides of burgers into the cornmeal until well coated.

In a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the burgers and cook until crisp on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until crips and warm all the way through, about 3-5 min.

Cut off the top third of the pita pockets and spread sour cream inside if desired. With a spatula, carefully place a bean burger inside each pita. Spead the salsa on top of each burger; if desired, garnish with lettuce, fresh cilantro or tomato (I like to do avocado slices and salsa and sour cream only, very good).

Enjoy!

Avocado Tomatillo Green Sauce

This salsa/sauce/guacamole is great because it is all veggies, and so the only fat in it is the good kind from the avocados. Surprisingly, I did not get this recipe from any of my favorite Mexicans, past or present. This one came from one of the whitest guys I knew at BYU; actually, from his aunt. Guess he's out of luck because I still have his aunt's hand-written recipe.

-8 tomatillos
-2 jalapeños (fresh)
-2 avocados
-1/4 red onion
-1 clove garlic (sometimes I omit, because it leaves a pretty strong aftertaste)
-1/3 to 1/2 bunch of cilantro (go ahead and include the stems)
-lime juice to taste (my addition to an already pretty good recipe. It also keeps it from turning brown. Added bonus!)
-salt to taste

1) Peel the tomatillos and wash the sticky film off. Cut the tops off the jalapeños, but leave the seeds in. Boil tomatillos and jalapeños in water until tender (you can stick a fork in it easily.) Usually the tomatillos are done first, and I let the jalapeños go a minute or two more.

2) Put tomatillos and jalapeños directly into a blender. Add some of the water you boiled them in. Usually, just about 2 inches or so. You can always add more later, but you don't want it too watery. Blend.

3) Add avocados, onion, garlic (if used), cilantro. (Note: Sometimes the cilantro stems will get caught in the blades, so just use a fork to untangle. But usually, they're fine).

4) Add salt and lime juice to taste.

5) Best served warm. You can heat up again later if you need to. It's great with tortilla chips, or also on quesadillas or tacos. Disfrútalo! (Enjoy it!)