How To: Cook Dried Black Beans

Since we moved into our new house I've been trying to stay on a budget and save as much money as possible...let me rephrase that...I've been trying to save as much money on the essentials so that I can buy more non-essentials (like more white dishes for my collection). Charles seemed unimpressed when I explained this intuitive logic to him last night as I was cooking up an entire pound of dried black beans. Although the process is long (about 13 hours), the actual work involved is very minimal and most of that time is just spent waiting.

I researched how to cook dried beans and there are quite a few different ways to cook them, but I chose the method that I thought would be the easiest, even though it was the longest. This method is perfect as long as you don't need the beans until the next day. (If you need to cook them quickly everything I read said pressure cookers are the way to go as far as ease and taste.)

Step 1: Soak 1lb of dried black beans in 10 cups of water for 8 hours or overnight (I just soaked them in the crock pot so there would be less dishes to wash)

Step 2: Drain and Rinse beans, discarding any split open beans

Step 3: Cover beans with fresh, clean water in crock pot (so that the water covers the beans by about 2 inches)

Step 4: Bake on high 5 hours, then check to see if tender, if not, keep baking and check every hour until they are tender

Step 5: Drain, rinse and divide up beans into freezer-safe containers and freeze for later use. They can be


I estimate that by using dried beans instead of canned beans I saved about $10. Not too shabby! I bought the dried black beans in the bulk section at Whole Foods so that helped a little too with the price. Now I'm off to Home Goods to find something for $10 =)

How To: Make Homemade Soup

In second grade I learned my first poem (or the first one I can actually still remember) called "September"

"The goldenrod is yellow,
The corn is turning brown;
The trees in apple orchards
With fruit are bending down."

As I look out my window, and see the golden corn stalks, I get excited...excited that my favorite season Fall is finally here.

Excited to wear chunky sweaters, legging and knee high boots.

Excited to curl up on the couch every morning with a hot cup of coffee.

Excited to curl up in bed each night with a hot cup of tea.

Excited to get off work, take out my dutch oven, saute up some onions, and start making a batch of delicious hot soup for dinner.

When I started making soup from scratch I would follow recipes, such as this one, but as I made more and more recipes I started to realize they all had common denominators they followed. Now I use these "rules" to throw together soups without any recipes and soup has become the vehicle I use to use up any product that didn't get used during the week.

Here are the "rules" that I follow when I'm making most of my soups~

Rule #1: Always start by sauteing onions
Part of this is because they do add a nice flavor to soup...the other reason is because I absolutely love the way the cooking onions smell while I'm chopping everything else up. It sets the mood for my cooking "experience" and just makes me happy...and hungry!

Rule #2: Pair your ingredients based on "cuisine"
Think about the components of a regular meal you've had and liked (Mexican, Asian, Italian, Moroccan, ect) and try to implement those ingredients into your soup. For example, one of my favorite places to eat is Chipolte. I get a burrito bowl which is comprised of rice, black beans, peppers, onions, cilantro, tomatoes and corn, so I use those same ingredients in my soup. It's an easy way to know what ingredients will taste good together.

Rule #3: Saute veggies after onions are translucent
This allows the veggies to cook slightly, become "browned" and soak in a little of the onion flavor.

Rule #4: Add your liquid base
Use broth for a nice clear base
Use water plus tomato paste for a nice tomatoey base
Use water plus milk to make a chowder-like base

Rule #5: Add your seasoning and spices and know which ones compliment each other and which ones go along with which cuisine
Here are some of my favorite combinations
Mexican- coriander and cumin
Italian- oregano, thyme, dried basil
American- rosemary
Red pepper flakes are my favorite way to add a little heat to soup

Rule #6: Simmer 20-30 minutes
Simmer until the hardest vegetables (like potatoes) are tender

Rule #7: Add your protein/whole grains
Add your cooked beans, rice, noodles the last 10-15 minutes to make sure they don't start breaking apart from cooking too long. If I'm going to have leftovers a lot of times I will cook noodles or rice separately and then serve the soup over the whole grains right before serving.

Rule #8: Garnish with fresh herbs
Fresh herbs add a nice crisp, clean taste with each bite and the smell of the herbs takes the meal to the next level. Cilantro and Basil are my favorite!

What are some "rules" you follow when making soup from scratch and what are your favorite herbs/spices?

New Home: First Meal Plan!

We finally closed on our house, moved almost everything over here, and officially moved in a week ago this past Saturday. This past month has been so hectic with the long nights working at the house, that we have been eating horribly and slacking on our plant based diet so I whipped up a delicious meal plan for our first week in our new house to get us off to the right start in this new home. We are trying to save money for some new living room furniture and area rugs so I'm also trying to stick to a strict budget of $100/week on groceries for us...which means I need to make as much as I can from scratch to save money. (I am lucky to be getting free apples from a friend's orchard next week so that helped save some money!)

Here is what I came up with~ (For those who want to avoid soy products or include meat in their meals substitute it anywhere you see "tofu" or "tempeh". I would suggest going to a farmer's market and buying an organic whole chicken, roasting it and then using it throughout the week in the recipes below and a pound of lean grass fed beef.)

Breakfast:

Homemade Cereal w/ almond milk

Homemade Oatmeal w/ berries
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Muffins

Lunches:

Froze Meals (5)~ Charles

Asian (noodle dish, salad)~Saturday
Salads (3) ~Christen
Soup (2)~ Christen

Leftovers~Sunday

Dinners:

Chili with Fresh Bread

Soup/Grilled "Cheese" (use a non-dairy cheese, or hummus) Sandwhiches

Homemade Pizza

Burrito bowls (lettuce, tempeh, black beans, lime rice, chips, salsa)

Homemade Black Bean Burgers with Homemade Baked Fries and Homemade Buns

Italian with Salad and fresh bread (noodles, sauce, tempeh)

Leftovers

Snacks:

Muffins

Pumpkin Bars

Homemade Granola w/ soy (or coconut milk) yogurt

While Charles is all on-board with the health benefits of a plant-based diet he still wants to be able to eat junk food sometimes, but we also don't want to bring any food into the house that we wouldn't allow Isabelle to eat, so he brings his chex mix, oreos and frozen Healthy Choice meals and keeps them at work and has them for lunches when he feels like it. It works out really well for us and is a great compromise that keeps us both happy. My next goal though is to start making homemade frozen single serve entrees that Charles can bring with to work and throw in the microwave, like he does with his Healthy Choice meals, but I have a feeling that is going to take a lot of research and taste testing to get to that point...so for now I'll focus on all the food eaten at home being the best it can be.   =)

Another way we are saving money is by having Charles go grocery shopping on his way home from work, which saves me an extra trip, plus his work is only 15 minutes from the Whole Foods, and it takes me an hour to get there from our house. I've been using the "Our Groceries" app on my iPad to create the lists and then I can send the list right to his iPhone when he gets to the store. I'm loving the new arrangement!

I would like to know if anyone has ever made frozen homemade pizzas. I would love to make some of those and keep them in the freezer! Healthy plant based ones are like $10 at Whole Foods! I do like "Amy's Kitchen frozen vegan meals, they seem to be pretty healthy, and are tasty but are pricey.