I stumbled upon this amazing site & am in love…

these would make adorable cupcakes…

little posie candies…

perfect for giving strawberry muffins…

Today is a kind of day where I spent all day around the house. You know the kind of day where chores are your destiny. Laundry, vacuuming, washing windows, cleaning floors are all on my agenda today. A simple pot of beans is perfect to make on a day like this. These beans take a good 3-4 hours to prepare (not to mention the 24 hour soaking the day before). I’m a busy bee today as these yummy little beans simmer over the stove. They can be easily forgotten for an hour or so, then require a little tender loving care; perhaps a little more water, a good stir, a temperature check, it doesn’t take much to make these little guys happy. What’s the best part is when they’re happy they kindly return the favor…

Healthy refried pinto beans
recipe from my mama

• 1 pound dry pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 T ground cumin
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 T salt

Place rinsed pinto beans in a large bowl & pour in enough water to cover the beans. Soak 24 hours. Once the beans have soaked since a second time & pour beans into a large pot. Cover the beans with water once again & bring to a bowl. Once boiling again drain the beans & return to pot. (this step is to make sure they are super super clean) Add more water to beans, enough to cover 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a bowl, add in tomato, cumin, chili powder & garlic. Stir, reduce to a simmer, cover & allow to simmer for approximately 3-4 hours. Check the beans every hour or so since they may be thirsty & need more water. Continue to cook until skin is soft & the beans are buttery & like silk. Spoon beans into a blender along with the salt & blend until your desired constancy. I put about 3/4 of the beans in the blender & mashed the other 1/4 with a fork for a slightly chunky texture. Make sure to save the cooking liquid you’ll need to add a little if the consistency is too dry. Serve warm…

Now you may notice that I referred to these guys as being healthy? Well they are, you see the refried beans you buy in the store are prepared very similar to these with the expection of one last step. Once they mash the beans they place them back into a large pan and fry them in lard or vegetable if you buy the vegetarian style beans. Hense the name ‘refried’. Not adding the extra oil, lard makes these babies a little more healthy. If you wanted you could certainly do this step…

add a little freshly grated cheddar cheese and call it good…

images: sammyw

This is a Tuscan inspired soup, really rich & thick. A meal in itself. Although this soup doesn’t have meat, it’s full of protein thanks to the white cannelloni beans & full of vitamin C thanks to the Swiss chard. It’s been chilly here to say the least lately, & this soup warmed us up…

White Bean & Swiss Chard Soup
adapted from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can 14.5oz diced tomatoes in juice
• 9 cups cold water or veggie stock
• 3/4 cup dried white cannelloni beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup long grain brown rice
• 3 cups washed and chopped Swiss chard leaves, heavy stems removed.

In a large pot heat olive oil. Saute onions, celery, peppers and garlic. Add Tomatoes and water/stock and dried beans. Bring soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer the soup for about 45 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in rice and Swiss chard. Continue simmering soup for about 15 minutes until rice is cooked. Add salt & pepper to taste.  This makes about 6-8 servings.

Served this up with some yummy crusty bread…

Image: sammyw