Cuban Black Beans with Kale

It's our last day in Florida and I'm in a mad rush to pack us all up and get out of the condo. But there's something I need to share with you. I wasn't kidding around when I said I was making recipes from Everyday Happy Herbivore on this vacation. These Cuban Black Beans with Kale came about as I made and adapted my fifth recipe from this new cookbook. It was outstanding. The rest of the family (those who came early enough to lunch to score some!) agreed.

This is a great recipe for so many reasons. First, it's delicious. Second, it's easy. And third, I hope that all of these ingredients are now staples in your Plant-strong kitchen, so it's a great weeknight meal. Plus, you can use whatever greens you have on hand, it doesn't have to be kale.

Adapted from the recipe "Skillet Frijoles Negros" from Lindsay S. Nixon's book, Everyday Happy Herbivore.

Cuban Black Beans with Kale

serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side dish

Printable Recipe

low sodium vegetable broth, a few Tbsp

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (using a microplaner if you have one)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 15 ounce cans black beans, undrained

4 cups finely chopped kale or other greens

2 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice (whatever you have on hand)

optional: hot sauce, to taste

Place a medium pot over medium-high heat and coat the bottom of the pot with low sodium vegetable broth. When broth is boiling add onion and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Lower heat to medium. Add garlic and ginger. Cook until onions are translucent, stirring frequently and adding more broth if necessary to prevent burning.

Add chili powder, cumin, paprika and cinnamon. Stir.

Add undrained black beans and stir. Mash with the back of a fork or a potato masher, leaving some of the beans whole.

Add kale and stir. Lower heat to low and let simmer until mixture thickens. Stir in lime or lemon juice and hot sauce (optional) to taste. Cover until ready to serve.

Didn't win a copy of Everyday Happy Herbivore in the giveaway? That's okay, you can get it on Amazon for only $13.57! What a bargain!

If you own a  copy of EHH, what has your favorite recipe been?


A little housekeeping: The winner of the EHH giveaway, Quiltspinner, has not contacted me yet. Please e-mail me at healthygirlskitchen@gmail.com. Thank you!

A Night of Firsts, Baked Eggplant Fries

Thank you for your comments and suggestions on my last post. I have a feeling that I am going to be referencing Helga (???) a lot here on HGK, so I've got to give her a name that really fits.

I think I was on our New Jersey road trip when I first laid eyes on Baked Eggplant Fries with Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce. It was one of those moments when I was like, "Oh My Gaaaaaaaaaa, I must remember to make these when I get the opportunity to and I really hope that this recipe doesn't fall into the deep recesses of my brain!" Luckily for everyone involved, the Baked Eggplant Fry image stuck with me, and Jennifer from Virtually Vegan Mama's creation was reborn in my kitchen (Lucy?).

My mother and father-in-law, Judy and Marv Solganik (and sis-in-law Janet on the left). It was Marv who just recently, at age 81, got in the wrong line at the Cleveland Marathon and ran the half-marathon instead of the 5K that he had signed up for. What an inspiration!

It was at my first Friday Night dinner with the new kitchen (Rosie?) that the Baked Eggplant Fries made an appearance, and boy did they create a food memory. They are lemony, crunchy and simply outstanding!

Here is the complete menu for the dinner:

Attias Family Baking Co. Whole Wheat Challah and Apple Cinnamon Challah

Chaya's Carrot Soup recipe here

Baked Eggplant Fries recipe here

Sweet Potato Enchiladas with Black Beans, Kale and Salsa Verde recipe here

Mexican Slaw? recipe here

Papaya and Basil Salad recipe here

Raw vegan Key Lime Pie from Organic Energy

Mama's Peas Vanilla Bean Mini Scones recipe here

Vanilla Soy Creamy Iced "Cream"

Want this recipe? Get it at Virtually Vegan Mama's blog.

Here are my experiences and suggestions: I needed to double the amount of the herbed soy yogurt marinade and also increase the amount of whole wheat breadcrumbs by 50%  in order to make all of the eggplant into fries. Maybe my eggplants were larger than Jennifers?

I'm also not a huge fan of dill, and I used a variety of fresh herbs from my herb garden, which I am proud to say is doing wonderfully, given it's new location in my yard and all of the rain we have been having.

They are best eaten straight out of the oven, which is not so practical when you are serving a crowd at a sit down dinner. Perhaps they are best left to occasions when you are not having company or when you are serving guests in a really casual way, because you need to be "working" the fries and serving them as they come out of the oven in batches. But don't let that scare you, these are a must try!

Dr. Neal Barnard Comes to Cleveland, Part II and a Chef A.j. Inspired Quinoa Salad

Here I am at work today, enjoying my variation on Chef A.j.'s Quinoa Salad with Pistachios and Currants, for BREAKFAST. Not my usual fare, but sometimes I just can't eat the same green smoothie again.

I'm still thinking about some of the things I learned at Dr. Barnard's lecture on Tuesday evening.  Here are a few more of the highlights:

1) Even non vegans should be taking a B12 supplement, especially after age 50. There just isn't enough of it in any food for anyone to get enough of it, whether they eat cow or not.

2) Why a low fat diet works so well for weight loss. There are two components to the lean vegan effect. First, because a low fat vegan diet is so high in fiber (plant roughage, fruit and beans), your appetite never gets out of control and you are so much less likely to overeat, a.k.a. "Volumetrics." I have found this to be miraculously true. And second, the thermic effect of food is at work. Also termed "the after meal calorie burn," the following is an explanation of this mechanism:

"Contrary to many popular diet books, Dr. Barnard says: 'Insulin is your best friend when it is working properly.' What�s more, 'Carbohydrates are not the enemy,' says Dr. Barnard. 'They are, in fact, our natural energy source.' Insulin, made by a gene on chromosome 11, can stimulate calorie burn. The problem is it can also shut down fat burn. The trick of is finding a proper balance between the two functions. Again, according to Dr. Barnard, the key is the type of food you eat.

The job of insulin is to push the proteins and sugars we eat into our cells to build body parts and provide fuel (glycogen) for our movements. 'Insulin travels to your muscles, liver, and fat tissues, where it pushes proteins and sugars into your cells,' says Dr. Barnard. 'As it does so, it temporarily shuts down your fat burning machinery,' he adds. That makes sense, of course, because there�s no need to burn fat when food is being pushed into the cells.

Happily, the building process inside the cells speeds up the metabolism and burns calories. '[It�s] is a big job, causing your cells to actually release calories in the form of heat,' says Dr. Barnard. This after-meal metabolism boost is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). 'It�s a nice way to burn calories,' says Barnard. 'All you do is eat, and your body does the rest. These calories are gone forever � they never even get a chance to turn into fat.'

The foods with the biggest TEF are those containing plenty of complex carbohydrates or a mixture of carbs and protein. 'For example, broccoli and other vegetables are about 50 percent complex carbs and 40 percent protein, a mix for a good burn,' says Dr. Barnard. 'On the other hand, butter, chicken grease, and [egg yoke] are just fat, and deliver a much poorer burn.' Again, plant foods win out over animal foods.

Under normal circumstances, the interruption in fat burning is brief. A problem arises if you become flabby and out of shape, however, because your insulin doesn�t work as well. The extra fat on your body requires more insulin and your calorie-burning system becomes sluggish. 'The body produces more and more insulin, and it shuts off fat burning more effectively than it should,' says Dr. Barnard.

You�re insulin also works overtime if you snack constantly. An endless stream of junk food never gives your insulin a chance to rest. 'If you have a constant supply of snacks, your body has no need to use its fat, and insulin keeps your fat-burning processes slower than they would normally be,' Dr. Barnard writes.

A lack of fiber is also a problem. 'Normally, fiber � plant roughage � helps keep insulin levels in check by slowing the release of sugars from the food you eat,' Dr. Barnard counsels.

To keep your after-meal calorie burn up and minimize fat-burn stoppage Dr. Barnard suggests a diet high in healthy carbohydrates and fiber, and low in fat." http://www.cbass.com/FatGenes.htm

3) It's never too late to undo the damage done by years of poor eating. Have you ever cut your finger? Did it heal? Of course it did! The same goes for your internal parts . . .the human body will heal if given a chance!

Dr. Barnard would love this quinoa salad that I'm eating as I type this. I threw it together last night and didn't have all of the ingredients that Chef A.j. called for, but it was outstanding nonetheless!

Simple Quinoa Salad with Currants and Pistachios
based on a recipe from Unprocessed by Chef A.j.

8 cups cooked quinoa
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (the juice of 3 lemons)
3/4 cup pistachios
1 cup currants
1 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Enjoy!

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