Category Archives: beans

Blood Orange Black Bean Blini

28 February 2012 by local kitchen

Have you ever made blini? I must admit, other than knowing that they were vaguely pancake-like, mostly Russian, and usually served with caviar, I didn’t know much about them until yesterday. They are essentially a pancake, but one that relies on yeast for leavening, rather than baking powder or soda. Traditionally made with buckwheat flour, I nevertheless found a few recipes online for a cornmeal version which appealed (especially since I did not have any buckwheat flour in the house). And why, you ask […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, breakfast, cilantro, citrus, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

100% Local: Brazilian Feijoada

7 January 2012 by local kitchen

I am an ornery cuss. Not only do I give you a hearty, wintry, braise-all-day-long meat & bean stew on a 60-degree Saturday in January, but I got dozens of great black bean ideas from you folks following my call for inspiration on the Facebook page, yet I ignored them all to try feijoada. Like I said: ornery. (Which must always be pronounced “orn-ree” for maximum authenticity.) Feijoada is a traditional meat and bean stew: according to Hank Shaw, black beans […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, main course, pork, sausage, stew, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes, stew

Chunky Black Bean Soup

2 November 2011 by local kitchen

How many black bean soup recipes does one blog need? Apparently at least one more. I made this soup on Sunday afternoon, in the midst of a (another) 3-day power outage from the latest freak storm, this one an October snow storm that dumped more than a foot of wet, heavy snow in our neighborhood. Tree branches cracked like gunshots, telephone poles snapped like toothpicks: our neighborhood is a mess. Most of Connecticut and our little swathe of New York […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, carrot, celery, garlic, green beans, scallions, soup, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes, soup, vegetarian

Ayocote Beans with Chile Sauce & Roasted Cauliflower

19 October 2011 by local kitchen

It’s cold, grey, windy & rainy in New York: an excellent day for a warm & spicy bowl of beans! Despite very liberal applications of chicken soup, I still have a cold and I know I’m cranky, but doesn’t it seem that September and October have been very November-y this year? Cold, damp, grey. It’s getting dark by 4:30pm and we haven’t even hit the end of Daylight Savings time yet. I’m really hoping that November takes an “Indian Summer or […]

Categories: cauliflower, fall, heirloom beans, side dish, vegetarian • Tags: beans, cauliflower, cooking, food, heirloom, local, recipes, vegetarian

White Bean Pesto Pizza with Linguica & Garlicky Kale

25 April 2011 by local kitchen

When I soaked the cannellini beans for pasta e fagioli last week, I used a whole pound, not thinking about quite how big runner cannellinis get (they are huge once soaked, up to 1 inch long!). I used only half a pound in the soup, so I had a lot of cooked cannellinis in the fridge, waiting for their day in the sun. I don’t know when I first thought of a pizza. I was musing on the idea of […]

Categories: beans, garlic, grains & legumes, heirloom beans, kale & leafy greens, main course, pizza, pork, sausage, spring, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Pasta e Fagioli

15 April 2011 by local kitchen

Back in my Boston days, I lived for several years in a tiny (300 square-foot) but adorable apartment in the North End, Boston’s version of Little Italy (but so much more charming, in my opinion, than NYC’s Little Italy). Boston’s North End was settled in the 1600’s and has all the requisite charm of history: twisty, cobblestoned streets, narrowly packed brownstones, tiny and ancient graveyards that pop out of nowhere, the Old North Church and Paul Revere’s house. Despite ongoing gentrification, and […]

Categories: beans, carrot, celery, grains & legumes, heirloom beans, main course, pasta, soup, tomatoes, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cannelini beans, cooking, food, Italian, local, pasta e fagioli, recipes, soup, vegetarian

Christmas Limas with Seared Pork Cutlets and Fresh Apple Relish

24 March 2011 by local kitchen

It’s just a week shy of April, yet temps hover near freezing and the snow still flutters down to add to the 3 – 4 inches that accumulated over night. So, as much as I want to be noshing on crisp pea shoots, chive blossoms, pungent ramps and mild green garlic, it seems that Mother Nature is conspiring against me. Have you had Christmas lima beans? They are big, meaty beans with a firm texture and a flavor of chestnuts. As wintry as […]

Categories: apples, beans, heirloom beans, kale & leafy greens, main course, pork, spring, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, recipes, winter

Roasted Flageolet Beans & Vegetables with Preserved Lemon

8 February 2011 by local kitchen

Update: The original was good, but as I suspected, additional vegetables and preserved lemon take this dish over the top. Updated to detail the most recent version, this one with carrots, parsnips, leek + scallions, preserved lemon, dried mint and yes, more free spice mixes from Penzeys, this one Turkish Spice. Enjoy! ———————————————————– After the excess of “man-food” over Superbowl weekend (Why is it that men lay claim to meat & grease why women get salads & ‘light’ pasta? Food/gender […]

Categories: beans, citrus, garlic, heirloom beans, quick & easy, roasting, side dish, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, flageolet, food, heirloom beans, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Cajun Sausage & Flageolet Stew

27 January 2011 by local kitchen

Because clearly what this blog needs is another stew recipe. And I don’t have enough to say about heirloom beans. Because my personal Spice Rack Challenge is to use the free sample spice mixes from Penzey’s for something other than pumpkin seeds. Because I haven’t been to the farmer’s market in three weeks and I’m down to one lonely carrot, 4 pumpkins and a few Trader Joe’s onions (she hangs her locavore head in shame) in the kitchen larder. Or maybe […]

Categories: beans, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter, year round • Tags: Cajun, cooking, flageolet, food, local, main course, recipes, sausage, stew

Vaquero Bean & Chorizo Stew

6 January 2011 by local kitchen

Vaquero beans are so beautiful, I wish I had photographed some for you before I soaked them. They do, however, maintain their lovely markings even after cooking, along with their shape and a toothsome texture. This is a pretty classic bean stew: tomatoes, sausage, aromatic vegetables and a little cilantro or parsley to finish things off. Truly, any bean will work in this recipe, so why not take the opportunity to explore an heirloom varitety that you’ve never tasted? Rancho […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter, year round • Tags: beans, chorizo, cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes, sausage, stew, tomatoes, winter

White Bean & Roasted Turkey Soup

2 December 2010 by local kitchen

Heirloom beans, roasted Thanksgiving turkey, aromatics and sage = one delicious soup. Are you as tired of turkey as I am? While I do love the big bird, seven days straight and my body is screaming for a green salad, crisp, crunchy vegetables and anything-but-meat. So what do I do? Make soup, of course. Hear me out – it makes more sense than you think. I didn’t make it to the market last weekend, since we had so much food […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, carrot, fall, heirloom beans, potato, sage, soup, turkey, winter • Tags: cooking, fall, food, heirloom beans, leftovers, local, recipes, soup, turkey, winter, yellow eye beans

Smoky Black Bean Soup

8 November 2010 by local kitchen

We’re having truly New England weather today: daylight savings is barely 24 hours old, yet I woke up to dim, grey skies, a blustery Northeast wind (I keep expecting to see a witch fly by on a bicycle) and big, fat snowflakes. Followed rapidly by sleet. Or hail. Or freezing rain. Or all of the above (or my favorite weather euphemism “wintry mix.”). There is really only one thing to do when November is still in single digits, yet you […]

Categories: beans, carrot, fall, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, soup, tomatillos, vegetarian, winter • Tags: beans, black bean, cooking, fall, food, local, recipes, soup, vegetarian

Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup

20 September 2010 by local kitchen

We’re off to Points North for a while; a stopover in Boston to visit friends, a trip to Maine to visit family and then over to Rumney, NH for some climbing and outdoorsy fun. Some husband of mine has a milestone birthday this week, so we are celebrating with good friends, family, outdoor time and, of course, good food. Since it’s always colder than you think in Maine, and I always do some cooking when we are up there, I’m […]

Categories: chickpeas, cilantro, eggplant, garlic, parsley, roasting, soup, summer, tomatoes, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup, vegetarian

Scallion Hummus

26 July 2010 by local kitchen

I don’t know about you, but ’round these parts we are literally drowning in scallions; we are getting 7 or 8 huge scallions each week in our CSA, and when I say huge, I mean huge. These puppies are close to 3 feet long and the bulbs are the diameter of a quarter. It must be The Summer of the Scallion and nobody told me. In addition to all the scallion love from my own CSA, our neighbors (and landlords) were […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, chickpeas, fall, parsley, quick & easy, scallions, side dish, spring, summer, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Fresh Favas with Bacon & Almonds

18 May 2010 by local kitchen

Inspired by the bounty found at the Ferry Market in San Francisco, this savory bean spread with local olive oil, balsamic, almonds and lemon was a rare treat for this Northeast locavore. The raves it garnered at our Saturday night dinner party suggests that it was a treat for some San Franciscans as well. The combination of flavors (fresh green beans, smoky bacon, bitter almonds, tart & brigh lemon) and textures (crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside fried […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, beans, citrus, pork, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes