Joy

Joy the Baker that is! Have you seen her website? (www.joythebaker.com) She is a genius. Back in my more sugar-y days I just couldn't get enough of her fabulous recipes. I still do dabble in baking, but these days we really stick more to the healthy, savory fare. Fortunately for me, Joy also dabbles in the savory stuff and does a wonderful job there as well.

Tonight I had some gorgeous cranberry beans kicking around from last week's CSA box so I borrowed a recipe from Joy and made borlotti beans in tomato sauce with polenta I took a few liberties to beef up the veggies and used a polenta log from Trader Joe's instead of making a soft and creamy polenta, but otherwise I followed her pretty closely. I served the main course alongside a simple arugula, carrot and onion salad and the whole dinner was divine. I had NO expectation that it would be as flavorful as it was! This meal was a true testament to how amazing food can taste when you are working with fresh, top quality organic ingredients. Almost all of the veggies were from the Farmer's Market or a CSA and the only seasoning we used was a small amount of salt. Even Z, the hater of all things soupy, really liked the beans in sauce combo! Here's the recipe:

Borlotti Beans in Tomato Sauce with Polenta
many thanks to Joy the Baker

- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb trimmed and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 carrots peeled and shredded
- 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes or plum tomatoes
- 3 cups cooked and drained Borlotti (cranberry) beans

- First, if you are working with dried beans, set them to soak in a bowl filled with twice as much water as beans the night before. I put mine in the fridge with a plate over them. Once they have soaked, drain them, put them in a pot with enough water to cover them by one inch, and simmer them for about an hour. Set them aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat.
- Saute the onion, garlic and fennel until they are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the carrot and saute for 5 minutes more.
- Add the tomatoes (I used Farmer's Market tomatoes that I canned last summer with my friend J. and they were AMAZING. Totally convinced me to keep canning!).
- Simmer the mixture over pretty low heat, uncovered, for at least 90 minutes.
- Add the beans in and simmer them until they are heated through. Serve over polenta...or pasta...or even just some hearty greens like arugula or spinach!

As I mentioned before, for the polenta I went the easy route and used a "log" of polenta, which you can buy at Trader Joe's. I sliced it thin and pan seared the slices in a little bit of oil: I just cooked them for about 4 minutes per side over medium heat.

MMMmmm...THIS was an easy dinner to make, and it really surprisingly wonderful!

A couple other cooking-related notes for tonight. Last night I made one of our "easy" favorites....Greek Night. Every few weeks I whip up a big greek salad, make felafel and hummus and serve it all with some pita bread. This one appeals to all ages and it is relatively quick and easy for me to make. Now before you go getting all worked up about the process of making felafel and pita bread...the felafel comes from a mix and the pita bread comes from the store! I did entertain the thought of making both from scratch yesterday, but it was clear that it just wasn't going to happen so I went with the old standbys. You can get the felafel mix at Whole Foods or even most Safeway stores and all you have to add is water! The one change I make is that instead of frying the felafel patties I pan fry them in a cast iron skillet in just a touch of oil. Much healthier and they still taste amazing.

For the salad, yesterday I used spinach, romaine, kalamata olives, cucumber, crumbled goat cheese, minced fresh parsley and basil, halved cherry tomatoes, capers, roasted peppers and vinagrette. It had a nice depth of flavor. Every time I make Greek Salad it is a little different, depending on what I have in the fridge. This was the first time I used fresh herbs and it worked out wonderfully.

I do make my own hummus from scratch. Have I talked about that yet? I don't think I have. Really, as long as you have a cuisinart or a blender you can make your own hummus...and it is completely worth it! It is AMAZING to have fresh homemade hummus...so much better than the stuff in the little plastic jug! And cheaper too :) Here is the recipe that I use:

Hummus
- 2 cups garbanzo beans (I make my own, but you can use a 16 ounce can as well)
- 1/4 cup of the liquid from either cooking the beans, from the can, or just water
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons tahini (I get mine at Whole Foods...the jar just hangs out in the fridge waiting for hummus days)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced (I use 1 teaspoon of the minced stuff from a jar)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- Just put it all in the cuisinart or blender and blend away! I leave the cuisinart on for a good 3 to 4 minutes to make sure it is really smooth.

Eat well folks!