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Happy Tuesday! Today is the last day to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Secret Ingredient. I am already working on 2 more recipes from this flavor-filled cookbook, and if you haven’t entered, you will want to!

Yesterday I took a mini vacation with my sister and niece, Isabella, to Davis Farmland in Sterling, MA. If you have been reading for awhile, you may remember that we visited this farm as well as Nashoba Winery last year, and we all loved it so much, we decided to go back.

Davis Farmland

Davis Farmland houses a variety of animals from around the world. Many of them are dwindling farm animal species, and Davis Farmland is working to preserve and educate about them. Isabella and I agreed that the little teddy bear-like lamb below was our favorite.

baby lamb peacock

This cow was just hilarious. He held his mouth wide open for us to drop the food in.

cow

We spent an exhausting day playing with and feeding farm animals, then at Davis Farmland’s water park and then at dinner at The Banshee, a great little Irish pub in our neighborhood.

When I got home, I knew I had to whip up some lunches for the week, so I grabbed a bunch of stuff I had on hand.

1 can chickpeas

1 can black beans

1 can organic roasted tomatoes with chiles

2 red bell peppers

2 cups roasted corn (from Trader Joe’s, great ingredient for so many dishes!)

bean salad

I simply drained and rinsed the beans and mixed those with the corn, tomatoes, chopped red pepper, and 2 finely diced cloves of garlic.

After I mixed it all up, I added some crushed red pepper flakes for spice. We will eat this for the week, served on top of heaps of spring lettuce mix with some other veggies like radishes and carrots. I love lunches that last a week!

bean and corn salad

I hope you are all having a great week so far. To be honest, it’s a bit tough to be back in the office while my family is visiting, but I have some Salesforce training to sit through. . . bah.

 

Do you buy or bring lunch to work?

Tags: beans, Davis Farmland, healthy, recipe, salad, Vegetarian

I am already looking forward to lunch today, and I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet! Yesterday I received a box of yummy Mezzetta products to sample, and since they were on the counter when I was brainstorming lunch, they provided huge inspiration for my big salad topper, Mediterranean Bean Dip.

I incorporated Mezzetta Napa Valley capers (after I ate a whole bunch by themselves!). I love the salty, slightly mustardy flavor of capers.

 capers

The bean dip recipe also featured Mezzetta’s Napa Valley Bistro pesto. I  may have eaten a couple of spoonfuls of this out of the jar here too. Hey! I am eating to fuel for a marathon! 🙂 This pesto is soooo good.

pesto

I drained and rinsed a can of pinto beans that I had lying around. I have been buying lots of pinto beans lately. I like how creamy they are, and they are a nice change from the usual black beans or kidney beans I use.

image

I added the entire can of beans to my mini food processer along with some salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and a splash of aged balsamic vinegar. After the beans were completely pureed, I added a couple heaping spoonfuls of Mezzetta pesto and pureed everything together again.

pinto beans and spices

Right before I added the dip to our lunch salads, I stirred in a teaspoon of capers into each serving of bean dip.

This dip is AMAZING. I know it sounds really simple, and it is, but it tastes completely like an afternoon in Italy, and the creaminess of the beans and the oil make it so satisfying and filling. In addition to topping salads with the dip, it could easily be served with pita triangles, crostini, and veggies, as a spread for sandwiches and wraps, and I think it would be good rolled in panko and baked or pan fried into a bean burger type of dish.

Thanks to Mezzetta for the samples! I love coming up with new recipes based on a product or two!

Don’t forget to check out my Equal Exchange giveaway . . . a $30 gift certificate to buy coffee, chocolate, tea, or snacks!

Tags: beans, capers, Food, healthy eating, healthy recipe, pesto, recipe, salad, vegetarian recipe

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