Category Archives: Type of Food

Lia’s Black Beans

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These have become our favorite black beans to accompany Latin American meals. I recently made these for a class I taught with Ana Maria from Guatemala and got the coveted thumbs up.Lia's Black Beans

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 large poblano chiles, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 guajillo chiles, soaked, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons ground ancho chile
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 cups dried black beans, rinsed and soaked overnight (or fast-soaked in a pressure cooker)
Generous hit of sea salt
2 cups water
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

Heat canola oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add onion, poblanos and garlic, and sauté 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown. Add guajillo chiles and spices, and sauté 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add beans, salt, broth and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours, until beans are very tender.

Using a potato masher, mash the beans until there’s a mix of whole beans and creamy mashed beans.

Serves 10-12

Grass-Fed Beef Bulgogi

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Bulgogi means “fire meat” in Korean and is the name of a beef dish in which paper-thin sliced meat is soaked in a flavorful combo of soy sauce, black pepper, ginger, rice wine, and pureed fruit. In this version, readily available pureed kiwifruit stands in for traditional Asian pear to help tenderize the lean grass-fed beef. To make the beef easier to slice super-thin, pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes. If you don’t feel like firing up the grill, you can stir-fry the beef. Serve in lettuce cups with short-grain brown rice. We also love it on warm tortillas with a dollop of Fiery-Sweet Peach Salsa.
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Glass Noodle Salad with Spicy Sweet Shrimp

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Holy smokes, this Asian noodle salad is yummy! And ridiculously easy to pull together, too, especially if you have extra Spicy Sweet Shrimp on hand–or substitute other leftovers, like Mahogany Grilled Chicken. Packed with flavor yet light and refreshing, this noodle salad is a go-to, one-dish healthy dinner.

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Lemon Verbena Honey Granita

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Granita is a super-simple summer dessert or appetizer that’s simply a frozen mixture of water, sugar and other flavorings. I planted a lemon verbena in our garden right near our Adirondack chairs simply because I wanted to be bathed in its heady fragrance whenever I was chilling out. And then I made this granita and fell in love with the plant even more. If you don’t have lemon verbena on hand, try lemon thyme or lemongrass, or just add the zest of another lemon.

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Fiery-Sweet Peach Salsa

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The heat of the jalapeno and bite of the red onion play nicely off the subtle sweetness of the peaches in this summery salsa recipe. Serve this peach salsa with just about anything grilled, from pork and chicken to salmon. Or if you’re like me, pop open a cold beer, rip open a bag of tortilla chips, and dig in! I like my salsa caliente, so I leave the seeds and stems in the chile pepper. To tame the heat, discard the stems and seeds.

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Mexican Chocolate Brownies

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I’ve come a long way since making box-mix brownies as a kid with my dad. I’ve learned that it’s not that much more work to make them from scratch, and you can customize them to suit your taste. This recipe is inspired by Mexican chocolate, which is sweet, cinnamony, and nutty. The chile powder adds a touch of smoky heat, but you can omit it if you like.

mexchocbrowniesrecipes1/4 cup 1 percent low-fat milk
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (optional)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Bring milk to a simmer (do not boil) in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stirring until they melt and the mixture is smooth. (It will look like the yummiest hot chocolate ever.)

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and chile powder (if using). Combine granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and eggs in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer.

Beat in chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake 22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over top of brownies and cut into 16 squares.

Serves 16

Kitchen MacGyver Lemon Curd

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This lemon curd recipe requires no special equipment. Grate the lemon zest on the fine holes of a box grater, and use a saucepan and heatproof bowl to set up the bain-marie to gently cook the curd. Lemon curd is delicious spread on toast or scones, dolloped on pancakes or waffles, or even used in place of the cheesecake filling in Strawberry Cheesecake Tartlets. (Of course, hang onto the egg whites to make angel food cake or meringue cookies.)

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Asian Pesto

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I first developed this spicy pesto recipe out of desperation with an abundance of end-of-the-season Thai basil (it freezes wonderfully). Now it’s one of our summer staples … especially now that Noemi loves being in on the action. Get creative with this flavorful pesto recipe. Rub it on chicken and fish, mix it into rice noodles, stir-fry some tofu and spicy greens. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle–or don’t want to use yours–just whip it up in a food processor; drizzle in extra lime juice and a bit of water if you need liquid to process.

asian-pesto-recipe3 cloves garlic
3 dried Thai chiles
Sea salt, to taste
1/3 cup peanuts
1 tablespoon sugar
2 packed cups Asian basil leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chiles to a paste with a tiny pinch of salt. Then add peanuts and sugar, and pound to incorporate. Handful by handful, add the basil and pulverize completely in between additions. Stir in fish sauce, peanut oil and lime juice.

Serves 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Tilapia Po’ Boys

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A po’ boy is a New Orleans sandwich traditionally made with deep-fried oysters (another sustainable seafood pick) or shrimp. In N’awlins’ lingo, these po’ boys are served “dressed” with lettuce, tomato and seasoned mayo. Look for U.S. farmed tilapia, as the most sustainable choice; otherwise, substitute domestically raised catfish.

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