Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Lenten Cooking

Is lenten a word?  Pertaining to lent?
Oh.  I'll google it.
Yes!  Relating to the observation of Lent.

So, after my "lesson" on cooking beans from the dry state,
my friend who is extremely skilled in the kitchen
politely questioned my sources...
I had some stuff wrong.
I have Harold McGee's text book
On Food & Cooking the science and lore of the kitchen.
My husband & I heard him speak.  He signed our book.
Shame on me for not consulting him on the matter of salt in the beans.
Thank you Kristen.  You are right.  (I'm not surprised.)
It is completely, scientificly false, to say that you will
spoil your beans by adding the salt too early.
Apparently the item that would hinder the softening of your beans is
 tomatoes & other acidic items.
So, beware when you fix your chili, I suppose. 
As for the soaking overnight issue - Harold still recommends this.
Your beans can cook without the soak.  But, they will not cook evenly.
The soaking soften the outer shell & allows the interior of the bean to cook,
once you turn the heat on.

Alright.  Enough about beans.
And, I should tell you.  We haven't been stricly faithful to our goal.
We "break the rules" occasionaly.
We were running late for church on Sunday,
so reached into the dark corner of the cabinet & got out Cliff Z bars.
Gillian said, "Mom, I love it when you break the rules."
That wasn't the only time, either...

Peyton has so many plans of things to eat for Easter.
Fruit snacks, burgers, bars, cereal, juice, Halloween candy,

In our simple eating adventure,
we have found a lunch menu to fall in love with.
Ethiopian Red Lentils & Injera
We love this little meal!  So super tasty!
If I took good food photos, I'd try to do a little post on it for you guys.
But I don't. 
But, maybe I still will. 
I'll just do it in a very unglamorous way.


bad food photo - injera batter being blended


No comments: