Refried Beans with Cinnamon and Cloves

My mama had been begging me for weeks to make these beans.
She made them and loved them. She insisted that once I found and executed this recipe I would never have to buy refried beans out of a can again.
Mama told me, "Just google 'cinnamon refried beans' and it's right there in the results."
I tried it, and couldn't find the right page.
She wanted me to make them so bad that finally she just sent me the link.
She even bought me the ingredients and left them at my apartment when she came to visit so that I would have no excuse but to make them (I love my Mama).
Here's the the original recipe.


These beans would be best if made from scratch, but honestly I struggle with planning; so remembering to soak the dried beans long enough before dinner is hard for me.
These beans are delicious. I ate them for breakfast and dinner for at least 3 days while I was fasting. They're pretty easy to make, so try them!

Ingredients:

• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced into 1/4'' pieces
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 fresh chilli pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• two 15-oz cans red kidney beans (or other beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:

1. Generously film bottom of 10-inch skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. 
2. Saute the onions with salt and pepper to taste until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. 
3. You want to hear a sizzle as they cook.
4. Add Garlic, jalapeno, cinnamon, and cloves
5. cook the mix until fragrant (about 1 minute)
6. take care not to burn the spices
7. add tomatoes
8. saute for 1 minute.
9. Stir in the beans and water.
10. bring to a fast simmer while crushing the beans with a potato masher (or back of large spoon) as they cook
11. scrape the bottom of the pan as the beans begin to thicken
12. simmer until the beans are thick (about 10 minutes)
13. just before serving blend in the butter or margarine 
14. taste and adjust seasonings

*The beans hold in the refrigerator for 5 days; add liquid as needed when reheating.

Sorry I don't have any pictures... I ate them all!

BANANA MANIA

 I've been on a banana kick.

I just love bananas!

This morning I made banana pancakes!

They were delicious.

banana pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 bananas sliced
• 2/3 cup milk (use soy or other non-dairy milk to make it vegan)
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. mix dry ingredients in bowl.
2. put milk and 2/3 of banana in blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix until just barely incorporated. Should still be a little lumpy.
4. add in rest of sliced bananas.
5. cook on medium in a well oiled skillet.

The angels eat this for every meal.

This is the most heavenly dessert known to man.

It is a banoffee pie, aka heaven in food form.

Mona, Chris and I shared this delight at the Cornish Pasty Co. It is a very yummy restaurant. I highly recommend it. Anywhoo, their description of this delicacy is,

"Crisp graham cracker crust, homemade caramel. Fresh whipped cream and bananas."

God bless the soul who conceived this dish. The guy who made it at the restaurant said his name was Stevo. I like him.

Millennium French Toast

This morning my friend Erica and I made Millennium French toast.

This recipe is one that I got from my dad. The story about this recipe goes all the way back to the year 2000. It was the first day of the new millennium and to celebrate my dad found this recipe somewhere and made that first morning. He called it "Millennium French Toast". Basically, you make the French toast and then you put cream cheese and strawberry jam on the bread and make it into a sandwich.

I have since shared the idea with many of my friends, and everyone has loved it so far.

Erica enjoying her breakfast

Today was special because it's the first time I've used my new "The Joy of Cooking" cookbook! I got it as a Christmas gift from my friend Andrew Gaul.

The recipe we used is as follows:


Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp sugar (we used white sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 slices (at least) of French bread
• BUTTER (yum)
• cinnamon 
• nutmeg
• cream cheese
• strawberry jam/jelly/preserves

Really we didn't follow the quantities in the recipe at all... It was more like, "Lets add some of this, and some of that!" We did use the ingredients list as reference. I found that we hadn't added enough cinnamon to the mix, and next time I might add a bit more.

spread while still warm

Steps:

1. mix eggs, milk, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt in big bowl
2. soak the bread in the mixture on both sides one slice at a time
3. in a well buttered pan over medium low heat, brown the bread.
4. for Millennium French toast, it is best to spread the cream cheese and strawberry jam while the bread is still hot.

Kinda like a sandwich, but much better!