Cookbook Review
One of the best ways to get out of a recipe rut is to borrow a cookbook from a friend or from the library. I've even bought a few that I discovered at the library. One of my latest finds is The Vegetarian Five-Ingredient Gourmet. I like this book because all the recipes are simple and involve easy to find, fresh ingredients. I don't like the fact that most of the salad recipes don't include any sort of dressing besides "use your favorite vinagrette", but they are still good. I really liked the menu suggestions throughout the book, since they give you good ideas for combining things. We enjoyed sweet-potato quesadillas, where you mash sweet potatoes and green chiles together, then spread it on the tortilla and top with jack cheese. They were delicious. I also really liked this recipe for black beans:
Garlicky Black Beans
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes just until soft (don't cook on higher heat because it will burn). Add the beans, water, and lemon juice. Turn heat up to medium and simmer for about fifteen minutes until beans break down a little and mixture gets soupy and thick. During the last five minutes smash some of the beans with a spoon to thicken things up. Serve with rice. The original recipe says to stir in cilantro, but I thought it was even better to top this with fresh salsa.
Garlicky Black Beans
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes just until soft (don't cook on higher heat because it will burn). Add the beans, water, and lemon juice. Turn heat up to medium and simmer for about fifteen minutes until beans break down a little and mixture gets soupy and thick. During the last five minutes smash some of the beans with a spoon to thicken things up. Serve with rice. The original recipe says to stir in cilantro, but I thought it was even better to top this with fresh salsa.
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