Black Beans. Spicy Orange Sauce. Caramelized Bananas.

Are you drooling yet?  I can't get over how much I love this.  I think I could eat it every day.  It is easy.

This is adapted from a recipe in The Family Dinner by Laurie David, which you should read, even if you don't like the recipes.  It is beautiful and reminds you of why you should eat with your family whenever possible.  I have made some changes to the recipe suit my kitchen better.

My children ate this without the spicy sauce, and they didn't complain.  They do think I've violated all the laws of nature to cook a banana.  The looks on their faces were hilarious.  My son went so far as to taste the banana, admit that it was good, and refuse to take another bite.  We were then forced to remind them (for about the 100th time) that their first night in a college dining hall will be a terrible shock.

So here's what you do:
First off, you'll need 1.5 lbs. of grilled fish, chicken, shrimp, tofu, whatever you like, as well as some rice.  White, brown, short, long, whatever.  Cook it.  This last time I made it, I tried making coconut rice.  I don't think I've quite figured it out yet, but when I do, I'll post the recipe.  If you know how, let me know.  Once you've got the rice taken care of, you're ready to make the sauce:

1/2 c. frozen OJ concentrate
1 orange, zested and juiced
2 T. soy sauce
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 c. cilantro
1/2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce  (You buy these in a can, and you can freeze the ones you don't use.)

Take all those things and puree them in the blender.  Then put them in a small saucepan to simmer and forget about it for a while.

Now cook the beans.
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. chili powder
1 T. cumin
2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 c. low sodium chicken broth

Heat  small saucepan to medium heat.  Saute the onion until translucent.  Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add the black beans and the broth and heat to a simmer.  Let that cook for 15 minutes.

Now cook the bananas.
Heat a nonstick skillet to medium high.  Pretty hot, but you don't need oil to smoke in it or anything.  You've got to get it hot enough to brown the bananas, though.  If you're making this on a hot night, a cast iron skillet on the grill might be just the thing.

4 bananas, peeled, sliced lengthwise
3 T. honey
1 T. olive oil
pinch cayenne
pinch salt

Toss the bananas with the honey and olive oil, and season with the cayenne and the salt.  Throw them in the pan and let them sit without stirring for a few minutes so that they get nice and brown.  Flip them once, cook a few more minutes, and you're done with that.

Now serve the plates:  rice, with beans and fish/chicken/shrimp/tofu, topped with the sauce and covered with the bananas.  And don't forget to invite me over.

My friend Kate's Greekish Salad & Pita Pizzas

My friend Kate invited a few of us over for dinner last night, and if you weren't there, you missed out. She made this delicious salad that is Greekish, but neither of us would want you to think we think it is authentically Greek. It is, however, delicious. It is also perfect for entertaining or a busy life because it is easy to prepare early in the day and throw together at the last minute.

Alongside the salad she served these fantastic little pita pizzas. Honestly, when I saw them, I didn't think I'd like them. First off they had uncooked red onions, and I consider uncooked onions to be a crime. But then I took a bite and realized that there's more than one way to make an onion taste good.

I forgot to take a picture of the pita pizzas, but I'll get one soon because I think they're going to become a staple in my house.

I use Trader Joe's light feta for this (and everything involving feta.) It is delicious and my lipid specialist thinks it belongs on my plate.

Kate's Greek Salad

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 lb. orzo pasta

- 2-3 heads romaine – chopped

- 2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes - halved

- 2 cucumbers, peeld, sliced, seeded, chopped

- mint – more than you’d think. I use 2 plastic packs. If you skimp, isn’t the same.

- 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into bit-sized pieces

- feta cheese, crumbled – a boatload of this, 2 small plastic tubs.

- Salad dressing – I use Girard’s champagne vinaigrette. Oddly works better than Greek.

- Pita bread – about 2, cut into triangles. Pass more at table.

If you feel like making your own vinaigrette, this works nicely. Just shake up the ingredients in a bottle. Don't be skimpy with it.

- 1 clove garlic

- 2 T. dijon mustard

- 1/4 c champagne vinegar

- 2 T. fresh lemon juice

- 1/2 t salt

- 1/2 t black pepper

- 1/2 c olive oil

METHOD:

1) Cook & cool orzo

2) Chop the next six ingredients

3) In large bowl, roughly toss orzo through feta, reserving half the feta and half the

tomatoes. Add salad dressing to taste.

4) Sprinkle remaining feta and tomatoes on top.

5) Stand little pita triangles on side of bowl. (presentation, baby!)

For the pita pizzas:

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Greek Pita Pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

-equal parts olive oil and red wine vinegar. You can start with 2 T. of each, but I used more.

- 4 (8-inch) pita bread

- salt and pepper

- 1 red onion, small – sliced thin

- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives – chopped and pitted (optional)

- 1/2 cup hummus

- 1 cup shredded Quattro Fromaggio from Trader Joe's

- 1 cup crumbled Trader Joe's low fat feta cheese

- 2 cups arugula

METHOD:

1) Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475.

Combine half of the oil & vinegar mixture with some salt and pepper and the sliced onion in a bowl. Reserve the other half for drizzling later.

3) Spread some hummus on each pita round. Sprinkle cheeses evenly over hummus, then top with onion mixture. Bake until onions soften and cheese is melted, 6-8 minutes.

4) Just before serving, toss arugula with remaining oil & vinegar mixture. Arrange arugula on top of pita pizzas. Serve.

Tasty, Easy Curry

Last night while soccer practice was happening, I made this very easy curry from Gourmet magazine.  I left out the jalapeno in deference to the kids and just went with the curry powder.  It was delicious and the kids even liked it. (They skipped the sauce, but didn't mind that the chicken had been cooked in the sauce.  I poured quite a bit of sauce on my plate, because I'm not a fool.)  Enjoy!

Soccer snacks: Roasted Red Bell Pepper spread, butternut squash soup

Alert readers may have noticed that I skipped two weeks in the soccer snacks.  I've been putting together the PTA directory and so I've been a little busy, but we did have good snacks before soccer practice.

Last week we had roasted red bell pepper spread with pita and veggies.

This week the kids had yogurt parfaits again, and I had butternut squash soup.  I used Cook's Illustrated recipe with a big container of pre-cut squash from Costco.  I know, I know, it isn't as tasty as if I cut it up myself.  But it is so much tastier than no butternut squash soup at all, which is what I would have had otherwise.

Cocktail Snacks before soccer

I know basically nothing about the 50s or cocktail parties, but something about this snack makes me think of cocktail parties in the 50s.  My kids love them, and they couldn't be easier.

Ingredients:
toothpicks (very important)
red bell pepper, chopped into pieces
apple, chopped into chunks
sausage, sliced.  I used Trader Joe's chicken apple.

I grilled the chicken, just to make it look more appealing.  Then I assembled the skewers.  The kids can do this themselves, if they want.

I actually ate the eggplant feta mint chili pepper wraps that day, because I love them.