Black Bean Burgers

Live-Blogging from 676 W and Flat Iron Kitchen

(7:15) DW- Hot damn, I'm hungry!
(7:15) PH- Yea, me too!!!!! Want to go out to eat at that place that was on Kitchen Nightmares? I hear it's better now...
(7:15) DW- Yea, it's better now. But it's also expensive now.
(7:15) PH- Hmmm (still wanting to try it)
(7:16) DW- Let's wait and make something in my kitchen.
(7:16) PH- What do you have?
(7:16) DW- Well, there are potatoes, dill weed, black beans, spaghetti, a little black olive tapenade, broccoli rabe and a questionable tomato.
(7:16) PH- Want to go out to eat?
(7:17) DW- Naw, let's see what we can do
(7:38) ***Cab Calloway song Everybody eats at my house plays in the background...***
(7:38) DW- These black beans are great! A 29oz can for only $1.19! And half of a jalepeno for only 25 cents! And 4 cloves of garlic, half a cup of flour, half of an onion, half of a carrot, and half of a celery stalk, salt & pepper to taste which only cost 80 cents! That's realllllllly cheap.
(7:38) PH- I'll say! Can you mash up those beans in a mixin' bowl? Don't worry about straining the tasty juice goop. Mash em good and add salt, pepper and half a cup of flour.
(7:39) DW- Can do chief! While I'm doing that, can you dice the jalepeno, onion, carrots and celery really finely and sautee them in olive oil for 4 minutes. Then, mince the garlic and add it to the pan for a hot minute. Add some salt and pepper too.
(7:44) PH- Now that the jalepeno mirepoix is soft, I'll add it to the beans you just mashed and mix them together.
(7:44) DW- I'll wash my hands for food safety!
(7:45) DW- Now that my hands are clean, I'll separate this bean mess into five equal shares. Heat up 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil (valued at 20 cents) in a wide iron skillet or sauce pan.
(7:47) DW- I just flicked some water into the pan and it danced, so it must be ready. My hands are clean and a little wet, so this bean mess won't stick too bad. I'll shape the beans so they look oddly like hamburgers and slap them into the skillet, which is on medium heat.
(7:48) PH- Awesome. In the meantime, I'll clean this pot so the goop doesn't harden. Clean as you go!
(7:55) DW- Uh-oh! Better flip these burgers quick, so they don't burn..
(7:55) PH- I'll toast some cheap ass wheat bread that only costs 5 cents a slice (BOGO manager's special!) and cut some thin slices of ACME cheddar cheese that is worth 10 cents. Where's your ketchup, DW?
(8:03) DW- Hot damn these burgers are delicious!
(8:03) PH- Yea, and they're cheap too!
(8:10) DW- We probably should not have eaten all 5 of those things... so filling. At lease the whole bunch only cost $2.49...
(8:11) PH- Let's go listen to some banjo music at random tea room.
(8:11) DW- Let's!

Spring Training!!!!

Doug Glanville, gentleman, scholar and former Phils centerfielder met his wife at Morning Glory! Never had their French Toast, but they scramble eggs good...

WFC!

Keg of hummus

Whether you're making two cans' worth for personal use or supplying a party of hungry vegetarians with a keg's worth, Roasted Red Pepper hummus is a deliciously cheap spread!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, 20 minutes to 1 hr depending on whether you have an oven, makes almost 3 times as much hummus as Tribe's party size for the same price ($5-6)

Ingredients:

• 2 x 14.5 oz. cans of Cheap Garbanzo Beans (aka Chickpeas). They are on sale at Giant for 59 cents/ can!
  
• 2 medium red peppers
• 4 large cloves of Garlic
• 1 lemon
• 4 Tablespoons of Tahini (only expensive ingredient--- 5-6 bucks' worth can be used to make this recipe 3x) Refrigerate Tahini in an extra cold spot, though, because the stuff will go bad after 14 days. Make hummus for a friend!
  
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Remove the stickers from the red peppers, and place in a casserole dish. Cut the tops off of the garlic bulb (that's the whooooole thing). Use scissors and only cut off a fraction (1/8) of an inch. Drizzle with a little olive oil and place garlic bulb in same casserole dish. Cook Red Pepper and Garlic for 45 minutes.
   
3. Don't have an oven? Me neither! With no oven, Dice the peppers and sautee in olive oil for 8 minutes on Medium heat, or until SOFT. Then, mince the garlic and add to saucepan. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. If you cooked those peppers and garlic for 45 minutes, they're gonna be HOT. Let 'em cool 10 minutes then get rid of the peppers' stems, and store the extra bulbs of garlic in the fridge.
5. Juice the lemon in a small bowl and remove all seeds.
6. Scoop 4 Tbsp of Tahini into blender. Add lemon, peppers and garlic and MIX.
7. Add Garbanzo beans 1/2 can at a time. Add 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil and mix until smooth.

*Great with Wheat Thins, Pita Bread or your index finger.

** For a keg of hummus, repeat 140 times.

Where you at?

You know where I'm at...

Here's a song hot off DJ Kyanide's Best of '09 Mix Tape:

...I'm at the Taco Bell!

Glen "Taco" Bell Dead at 86

Eat more Taco Bell! 2010 has had its highs and lows already for TBell, with the Drive-Thru Diet, discovery of a classier Taco Bell image with all sorts of hip artwork in TBell dining rooms and, now, the death of its founder- the visionary- Glen Bell.

Apparently in the height of the drive thru era (1950s)Glen Bell needed a quicker alternative to stuffing torillas, toothpicking them together, and THEN deep frying the whole shebang, so he invented the hard taco shell! I wonder if he is the brains behind the sour cream gun, too...

In honor of Mr. Bell, I plan on treating myself soon...

Eat less Taco Bell

Shout Outs to India Pavilion in State College!! Best buffet EVR!!

Chana Masala, 25 minutes, 3 servings, $3/serving max

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp. Oil (Canola, Vegetable, Olive)
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• 2 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp. Tumeric
• 1 Tbsp. GROUND cumin (aka cumin powder)
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. Garam Masala (go to your spice shoppe for these things!)
• 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp. of Chili Powder (I just made it with 1 Tbsp of "Hot" Chili powder from the Spice Corner and I think it's somewhere between medium and hot at an Indian restaurant.)
• 1 bunch of cilantro (If you're treating yourself)
• 1 Cup white rice (basmati if you've got guests)

Preparation:

1. Dice onion and mince garlic.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp. Oil and cook diced onion on HIGH for 3 minutes. Stir, flip, repeat.
3. Add Garlic and 75% of cumin seeds. Cook on High for 1 minute. Stirring, flipping and repeating.
4. Turn heat down to low.
5. Chop tomatoes, strain chickpeas and add both to the pan.
6. Add salt & pepper, tumeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala and Chili powder. Stirrrrr.
7. Blast heat to HIGH for a minute and bring it back to Low. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and chili powder.
8.  Before serving to high net worth individuals, chop cilantro and sprinkle on top.
9. What about that other 25% of the 2 tsp. of cumin seeds??? Midway through cooking the 1 cup of rice, add the cumin seeds and some salt for a classy touch. 

(I make this a day in advance, for lunches. Since I buy only the cheapest chickpeas, this gives them time to soak up the spices)

2010 resolution: Eat more/less Taco Bell

This resolution can't be broken! It's a total win-win. Eat more Taco Bell? Don't mind if I do. Where else can you get 5 delicious vegetarian menu items for $3? Substitute beans in every taco, chalupa, gordita, or burrito and you will not regret it. I've been eating lots of bean volcano tacos and 89 cent bean burritos. Need more reasons? 

You can LOSE weight by eating Taco Bell and not even getting your lazy ass out of the car!!! The Drive Thru Diet only sounds counterintuitive. It works, really! Just hear Taco Bell out:

"DRIVE-THRU-DIET® IS NOT A WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM. FOR A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE, PAY ATTENTION TO TOTAL CALORIE AND FAT INTAKE AND REGULAR EXERCISE. TACO BELL'S FRESCO MENU CAN HELP WITH CALORIE REDUCTIONS OF 20 TO 100 PER ITEM COMPARED TO CORRESPONDING PRODUCTS ON OUR REGULAR MENU. NOT A LOW CALORIE FOOD. FOR COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT TACOBELL.COM"

Or, um, at least it's better for you than the normal shit on the menu? Whatever, it's still cheap as hell especially if you use that coupon.

But, if you make the more "reasonable" resolution to eat less T-Bell like I half did, there are soooooooo many cheap AND healthy alternatives out there.

Pasta with Eggplant and Red Pepper "Bruschetta", 30 minutes, 4 servings, $1.50/serving

Ingredients:

• Pasta (I like normal spaghetti with this one, but makes no difference)
• 1 eggplant
• 1 red pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 can of white beans (optional)
• Splash of red wine (not an option)
• sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 ounces of cashews, crushed 

Preparation:

1. Fill a large pot 1/2 way with hot tap water. Bring to a boil, add 1 Tablespoon of salt and a few dashes of olive oil to the water (for flavor and non-stick purposes)
2. Dice onion and red pepper and sautee in a large saucepan with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add a couple dashes of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on Med-High heat.
3. Strain the can of white beans and add to saucepan.
4. In the meantime, don't forget about the pasta!  Depending on the type of pasta, it should take 8-12 minutes to cook through. Stir and Check! When it's done, strain and set aside.
5. Dice Eggplant (don't worry about the skins, they make it taste extra eggplanty and good) and MINCE the garlic--add to saucepan. Stir, flip and shake contents of the pan. Add other Tbsp of olive oil. Bump it up to High Heat and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add a few ozs of red wine and a couple dashes of Red Pepper Flakes. Stir, flip and shake. Lower to Medium-Low Heat, COVER and Cook for 15 more minutes.
7. Combine Pasta and "Bruschetta" in the saucepan and add Crushed Cashews. Leftovers are better than fresh outta the pan's. Let it cool and refrigerate overnight. 

A serving of  this vs. Volcano Taco? I struggle with half of my New Year's resolution every time I pass a TB.