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Drunken BBQ Beans

May 11, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 11 comments

This is a post you will want to bookmark if you love smoky barbecue flavors in an all-vegetarian meal. It is easily my new favorite vegetarian dinner, and soon you will see why.

Beer! Not a light beer, but something flavorful, amber or darker, like this Sam Adams Irish Red.

Half a can of chopped chipotles in as much adobo sauce as you can squeeze out the can. Reserve the rest of the chipotles for later, maybe to make some salsa?

I decided to use up the beans I had in my cupboard, a can of pinto beans and a can of kidney beans, draining and rinsing them before getting started. I am pretty grossed out by the liquid that comes in the can!

Making these beans was simple, but if you allow a little bit of extra time for them to simmer on the lowest heat, you reap the flavor benefits. Into the pot went the beans, the beer, a heaping tablespoon of molasses, and the chopped chipotle in adobo sauce. Mix up all of the ingredients, and simmer until a nice, syrupy sauce has formed.

Serve atop a tasty wedge of corn bread, topped with grated sharp cheddar or another cheese of your choice.

Being totally stuffed up and feeling icky with allergies has really killed my appetite, but this dinner brought it back. I topped it with some pickled cabbage slaw that I made earlier in the week for a zesty, crunchy contrast to the hot, smoky beans and soft, somewhat sweet bread. A bowl of heaven, I tell you! Cooking with beer is where it’s at.

Do you cook with beer or wine often? What’s your favorite dish?

Technorati Tags: beans, beer, Food, healthy recipe, Vegetarian

Tags: beans, beer, Food, healthy recipe, Vegetarian

Mediterranean Lettuce Wraps

May 4, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 13 comments

A Med Month recipe and a giveaway! As I mentioned in yesterday’s eggplant dip post, I am celebrating National Mediterranean Diet Month with Oldways. If you haven’t heard of Oldways, I would suggest checking out their site. They are all about changing lives through real food, and their various programs offer something for everyone.

When planning my grocery shopping this week, I had the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid in mind and decided to whip up a dinner of fresh Mediterranean-style lettuce wraps for our Meatless Monday dinner.

I started with a couple of simple ingredients, a large bag of red lentils, soaked in several cups of water for a couple hours, mixed with a box of Near East Taboule wheat salad mix. Once I added the Taboule (Tabouli? The box says Taboule, but it looks strange to me!), I added a little more water, stirred in the seasoning packet that came in the Taboule box, and refrigerated the lentil mixture until we were ready to eat.

That’s right, we ate the lentils raw. There is something about red lentils, just soaked in enough water, that I love. They have a sweet pea flavor and a nice little crunch.

Preparing the rest of the meal was simple. I mixed up the eggplant dip and left that at room temperature, then chopped and grilled a rainbow of bell peppers. I hope you don’t get tired of seeing my grill pan; I love the way food cooked on it tastes!

Everything is more fun eaten in a lettuce wrap, so large romaine leaves were the base of this meal. Once the peppers were grilled and chopped, I added scoops of the lentil and bulgur mixture to the lettuce, and then we topped them as we wanted.

To my lettuce wraps, I added a spoonful each of the eggplant dip and Fage Greek Yogurt, then I rolled them up and enjoyed a nice crunch!

Our dinner incorporated elements from many parts of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, including two vegetables, a grain, a legume, and yogurt. It certainly felt like a well rounded, healthy meal while also being filling, inexpensive, and flavorful.

To celebrate Oldways and Mediterranean Month, Oldways is giving me a copy of their book The Oldways Table to give to one lucky Travel, Wine, and Dine reader.

Enter to win!

1) Follow @oldwayspt on Twitter and tweet “I want to win The Oldways Table from @traveleatlovemm & @oldwayspt” with a link back to this post.

2) Leave a comment with your favorite ingredient/s from the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

3) Check back on Monday morning for the announcement of the winner. I will post the winner here, and if I don’t hear from him/her in 48 hours, I will choose another winner.

Good luck!

Technorati Tags: Food, healthy recipe, Med Month, Oldways, recipe, vegan, Vegetarian

Tags: Food, healthy recipe, Med Month, Oldways, recipe, vegan, Vegetarian

Easy Eggplant Dip

May 3, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Happy Med Month! What is Med Month, you ask? And why am I so excited about it?

During the month of May, Oldways celebrates National Mediterranean Diet Month (Med Month)! Here’s what Oldways has to say about Med Month:

This campaign is all about eating meals that taste terrific (and happen to be healthy too), and about inspiring everyone to make small but profound changes in their lives. While many of us wait until the New Year to set out goals for health and fitness, we’re offering another opportunity, a sort of mid-year second chance, to think about your relationship with food and how you live.

Please join us in celebrating the Mediterranean Diet, which is built upon an active lifestyle and delicious, fresh flavors, the makings of which are as close at hand as your nearest grocery store. It’s a diet that doesn’t taste like a diet, and its proven health benefits are remarkable: It can help you lose weight, fight disease, and even boost brain health.

Last year, I participated in Med Month with a delicious recipe that pulled together some of my favorite parts of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid including salmon, olives, tomatoes, and of course, wine. When asked to participate again, I jumped at the chance and hope to have several recipes and maybe even a couple giveaways for Med Month.

Last night’s dinner was centered completely around Med Month. I will be posting the main course tomorrow morning, but thought I would share this easy, delicious dip that I also served.

It started with a large eggplant which I sliced into disks, generously salted, and set aside for about 30 minutes to get rid of the bitterness.

While those were hanging out, I started getting my grill pan hot and placed on it 3/4 of a yellow onion, in thick slices. I also gathered the rest of my ingredients, cumin, a red chili pepper, and olive oil. Lots of olive oil.

Once the onions were grilled, I rinsed the eggplant, rubbed a bit of olive oil on the slices, and grilled them until soft. Grilled eggplant is amazing.

To make the dip, I waited until the onions cooled, then added them, along with the red chili pepper and a teaspoon of cumin and 1/4 cup of olive oil to my food processor.

I pulsed it until the onions were completely pulverized and then added the eggplant. A minute of pureeing later, I had a creamy, spicy eggplant dip that was perfect with our dinner.