Yield: 8 Servings

Overview:

Cooking dried beans is low maintenance and a great value. Make sure to plan ahead and allow time for soaking the beans. Serve with hot sauce or salsa, if you like.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried black beans (about 2 1/2 cups), rinsed
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ripe avocado, chopped

Instructions:

Soak the beans overnight or 6 to 8 hours prior to cooking. Drain and rinse.

In a large pot, bring 1/2 cup water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in cumin and chipotle and cook 1 minute, stirring.

Add drained beans and 10 cups water. Bring soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until beans are tender. Remove 4 cups soup and carefully purée in a blender. Return purée to pot and stir in cilantro, nutritional yeast and lime juice. Spoon into bowls for serving and garnish with avocado.

I am close to a red beans expert, but never really cooked black beans. Well I tried this today, following the intructions word for word and ingredient by ingredient, and wasn’t very impressed. However never thought to try avocado as this type of garnish and that was wonderful. So it wasn’t a total failed effort.

Since long ago I stopped get all but one print magazine so I have a ton of these laying around. I saw this article about a month ago, gave it a try. It is a simple, yet wonderful solution to a problem anybody with a kitchen must encounter.

Via the Washington Post:

The new design, called MyPlate, was conceived as a crucial part of Mrs. Obama’s campaign against obesity, designed to remind consumers about the basics of a healthful diet.

The plate is split into four sections, for fruit, vegetables, grains and protein. A smaller circle sits beside it for dairy products.

I don’t take my lunch to work anymore, you know cause I work out of my house. But if I did, I’d buy one of these sandwich containers in a heartbeat.

He “kind of laid his head on the table and dozed off a little bit and woke up and got real happy,” his mom said. The little boy reportedly began hailing strangers, too.

The article also notes that the restaurant plans to retrain their employees. No shit.

Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference between that and Sandra suggesting we fill our mouths with Ritz Crackers, jam a can of Cheez Wiz in after and press hard? None that I can see. This is simply irresponsible programming. Its only possible use might be as a psychological warfare strategy against the resurgent Taliban–or dangerous insurgent groups. A large-racked blonde repeatedly urging Afghans and angry Iraqis to stuff themselves with fatty, processed American foods might be just the weapon we need to win the war on terror.

Now clearly Bourdain can be really, really blunt. But doesn’t mean it isn’t right.

Wonderful and I bet really functional cutting board by von Klaus Häckl.

Ok, now I really want one of these.

I just love the look of this tea kettle from OXO. Not a fan of the $59.99 price tag, but think I am going to have to add it to my “wish” anyway.