best-ever 15-minute baked beans (vegan and non-vegan versions)

really easy, fast, delicious way to switch up your bean game. you can take the finished beans and bake them in a low oven for an hour, but i think they’re just fine like this for a quick lunch. don’t let society pressure you into adding bacon and sugar. caramelized onions add plenty of sweetness.

TIPS FOR THE PERFECT BAKED BEANS:
– a long, slow cook, if you have the time. i make these for a quick 15-minute dinner and leave them simmering for an extra hour afterwards so they’ll be perfect the next day for lunch. they’re great when they have been cooking for ten minutes, but nothing can compare to how they taste a half-hour later.
– go a little heavier with the molasses than you think you should. it’s a big part of the flavor you associate with baked beans.
– don’t be scared to experiment. leftovers, like roasted bell peppers, chicken, sausages, and even bits of stale bread, can work in baked beans just like in chili.
– even if you don’t like it hot, don’t leave out the smoked paprika or cayenne – even just 2 pinches can help balance out the flavors.
– don’t forget to undersalt if you use processed meats like sausage or bacon, and oversalt if you’re leaving them out. beans like salt.

VEGAN
– saute onion in coconut oil (or oil of your choice)
– when caramelized, add cooked (or canned) pinto beans, tomato sauce, molasses, vegetable stock, apple cider vinegar, and minced roasted garlic cloves.
– season with mustard, garlic and onion powder, clove, thyme, and smoked paprika or smoked salt if you have it. add veg worcestershire sauce if you like it.
– simmer on low for 15 minutes.
– add brown sugar, maple syrup, or hickory syrup if you like it sweet, or just serve as is.

NON-VEGAN
– if you like your beans bacony, start by frying a few strips of bacon, then remove the bacon, crumble it onto a plate, and set it aside. fry onions in the bacon grease.
– otherwise (this is my favorite,) just start by sauteeing onion in chicken schmaltz (or oil of your choice)
– when caramelized, add cooked (or canned) pinto beans, tomato sauce, molasses, a little vegetable or chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, and minced roasted garlic cloves.
– season with mustard, garlic and onion powder, clove, a pinch of thyme, and smoked paprika or smoked salt if you have it. add worcestershire sauce if you like it. don’t forget salt and black pepper.
– simmer on low for 15 minutes.
– add brown sugar or maple syrup if you like it sweet, or just serve as is.

+

edited 2016 & added to “favorites” since i make these all the time

Advertisement

peachy yum-yum (easy peach cobbler)

6 peaches
2 T lemon juice
2 T corn starch
1/2 c sugar

boil 1 minute & pour into 2-qt. casserole dish

preheat oven to 400

separately, cut 3 T butter into 1 T sugar, 1 1/2 t baking powder, 1/2 t salt (opt) and 1 cup flour.
stir in 1/2 c cold milk and 1/4-1/2 t pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.
drop by spoonfuls into peach mixture.
sprinkle brown sugar over the top and bake at 400 for 25-30 min.

+

i forgot to write down the name of this (“peach cobbler”). i rushed over to a friend’s with it. when they asked me what it was called, i said “peachy yum-yum” without thinking about it.

the cobbler is like biscuit dough. the peach syrup that forms from cooking the peaches for just one minute is thick, red, rich, and habit-forming.

this is a great and easy method for softening underripe peaches. highly recommended, even if you skip the biscuit dough on top and just snack on some peaches and sugar.

+

from pick your own: peach recipes

compromise cornbread

it is not easy to find a cornbread everyone can agree on.

should it be sweet or savory? dense or light? mostly cornmeal or mostly white flour?

i finally found a cornbread recipe that can please those who like northern cornbread (sweet and light) and those who like it southern-style (savory and dense).

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (i used about 1 1/4 c apf, a quarter-cup combined coconut and oat flours, and a quarter-cup combined sorghum and rice flours. you can also use your favorite gf flour mixture.)
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt or seasoned salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, or for a moister but less healthy cornbread, 1/4c veg oil and 1/4c cooled and melted butter
1 large egg
3/4 can of corn kernels (opt) [i used a whole can and it was just a tiny bit too much]
1/2 serrano or jalapeno, minced (opt)
huge pinch cheese (opt)
huge pinch of smoked paprika (opt)
huge pinch roasted garlic powder (opt)
huge pinch fresh cilantro (opt)
small pinch dried oregano (opt)

grease your pan or muffin tin

preheat to 375

whisk together dry ingredients.

separately (i used a large mason jar and shook it up together) combine the wet ingredients

mix together until just combined

bake 25+ mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
(muffins took about 35 minutes and bread in large casserole dish took over 45 minutes)

+

modified from the king arthur flour recipe

bubbling butter beans

Are you wondering, like I was, “What are butter beans?”

I have seen canned butter beans in the stores down here and wondered what they were! To me, they taste just like cannellini beans, and other delicious white beans. I love lima beans, but I think I like them even better when they’re called butter beans.

Lima beans, butter beans – whatever you call them, they are creamy and rich-tasting. Somehow, even though they are the bacon of the bean world, they are incredibly high in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and iron. They even lower blood sugar.

3 tablespoons olive oil or fat
6 slices thick-sliced bacon (or sausage)
½ cup finely chopped shallots or sliced onions
4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled, plus 1 tablespoon grated garlic (use a Microplane) or garlic mashed to paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
4 cups cooked butter beans or two 15-ounce jars or cans butter beans, drained, rinsed if canned (also known by their other name – lima beans! Substitute any other white beans here!)
1 cup diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
White wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until it sizzles when a piece of bacon is added. Add the rest of the bacon, the shallots, crushed garlic, and sage and cook, stirring, until the shallots are just translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the beans, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over high heat until very hot. Add the tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the grated garlic and oregano and cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and the tomatoes are crackling.

Stir the tomatoes into the bean mixture, along with the prosciutto fat. Season with salt and pepper and pour into a 2-quart casserole or baking dish.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the beans are velvety and creamy. If the beans start to look dry, add a splash of water.

Stir the parsley into the beans, adjust the acidity with white wine vinegar as necessary, and drizzle generously with olive oil. Serve, or keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.

+

adapted from seven spoons. the photos of these beans with a sunny-side up egg over the top looks amazing.

+

update:
AMAZING!

i tweaked it considerably.

MY VERSION:

VEG: roast garlic and other roastable veggies. whatever’s in season: squash, brussels sprouts, anything! chop them, and start them in a pan or pot with some olive oil.
NON-VEG: in a large pot or pan, add bacon, ham, salt pork, bits of fat you trimmed off last night’s pork chops or chicken, or ground sausage. any flavorful, fatty meat.
BOTH: add two small sliced onions. (add extra fat if they stick.)
add half a head of roasted garlic and any roasted veggies you have.
rinse two cans of butter beans and add.
fry for a few minutes.
add seasoned (herbed) tomato sauce and your favorite stock or even just a little water and cooking wine. pepper, salt to taste, fresh herbs if you want. it’s all good.

the sauce ends up buttery and creamy from the beans.

this is simple, quick to prepare, cheap, very filling, and HIGHLY recommended. great as a dip, or a sandwich spread, or piled on crackers or toast, side dish, or just eaten alone! butter beans don’t have a “beany” taste or texture – they are great for picky eaters. i tend to prefer heavily seasoned beans, but this is perfect just like it is.

korean fried chicken and waffles (and a vegan, gf version!)

no junk food? check out the super-healthy vegan and gluten-free version!

+

korean fried chicken and waffles

chunk three pounds of chicken.
coat in an egg and a teaspoon each salt and pepper, ½ cup potato starch powder, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sweet rice flour, 1 ts baking soda, and 1 egg.
fry for ten minutes.
remove from oil and let strain a few minutes.
re-fry for ten minutes, or until crunchy and golden brown.

sauce:

fry 4 cloves of garlic in a little oil.
Add 1/3 cup tomato ketchup, 1/3 cup rice syrup (molasses mixed with maple syrup or honey can substitute), ¼ cup hot pepper paste, 1 tbs apple vinegar.
Simmer the mixture ~7 minutes. Keep heat low; burns easily.

top with sesame seeds and serve with waffles.

+

super-healthy korean veggies and waffles

cook your favorite vegetables in homemade lacto-fermented kim chee (or garlic, ginger, hot pepper paste, and apple cider vinegar if you don’t have kim chee), and serve with waffles!

healthy waffles? sure!
make the waffles yourself with blends of protein-packed flours and lighter, easier to digest flours. i like half lighter flours and starches, like brown rice flour with a little potato starch or oat flour or coconut flour for sweetness, and half heavier flours, like some mixture of buckwheat, nut meal, and teff.

+

first recipe from maangchi. idea for korean chicken and waffles comes from some restaurant.

+

edit july 3 2012
(full menu: black sweet wild glutinous rice, sukha bateta nu shaak minus the cashews, a perilla walnut and berry vinaigrette marinated salad, popcorn chicken pieces, sichuan blistered long beans [long beans cut into 2in segments and fried on high heat with oil and chili sauce], and vegan korean sauce

)

WOW! that chicken recipe is wonderful! it looks like something from a restaurant! DEFINITELY using it again! served the chicken with a gojuchang korean hot pepper sauce i made up, and it was awesome!!

smothered pork chops

Smothered Pork Chops
barely adapted from Tyler Florence (via Food Network)

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, bone-in
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Add the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper to a wide, shallow bowl. Stir to combine. Pat both sides of the pork chops dry, then dredge them in the flour mixture.

Set a large cast iron pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it shimmers, shake any excess flour off the pork chops and carefully add them to the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the chops are golden brown. Transfer the pork to a plate and tent to keep warm. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the seasoned flour over the pan drippings (the exact quantity of flour isn’t super important) and whisk to incorporate into the fat and cook off some of the raw flour flavor. Add the chicken broth and whisk to combine. Let the liquid cook down for about 5 minutes, or until reduced and slightly thickened. Whisk in the buttermilk then return the pork chops to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through (at least 145 F on an instant-read thermometer). Season the gravy to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parsley before serving.

+

from http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2012/04/smothered-pork-chops.html

sourdough biscuits

what is up with my sourdough starters??? :(

+

modified this recipe slightly

Sourdough Biscuits
makes around 10 biscuits

2-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup lard, (yes, lard, the “most elegant fat you’ll ever meet”) cold and cut into chunks, or a mix of half lard and half cold/frozen butter
1 Tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
(ed: half a teaspoon of packaged yeast, since my starter is still weak)
1 cup sourdough starter, freshly fed a few hours earlier
up to 1 cup of milk
melted butter

In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients except the baking soda. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter (I use my fingers) cut in the lard (yes, lard. Don’t even try substituting shortening. Lard is where it’s at for flaky biscuits, pie crusts and tortillas. ) or lard and butter into the dry ingredients until it is mealy and the fat is in roughly pea-size pieces, evenly distributed throughout the flour. Add the starter and stir well.

Now, mix the baking soda with just a teaspoon or so of warm water. Add to the dough and stir well.

Then, add in just enough milk to make a biscuit dough. Biscuit dough should be quite sticky and just stick together. It should never be dry.

Dump biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface, turning to lightly cover with flour and just barely, with your hands, push the dough together to form a rough rectangle. Gently press down until it is about an inch and a half depth.

I have made dozens and dozens of biscuits and have tried all kinds of techniques. I find that my biscuits are lighter and fluffier when I don’t overwork the dough, don’t flour too much and don’t use a rolling pin! The pressure from your hands is enough.

The dough should feel like a soft baby’s bottom.

Now, using a biscuit cutter, or even just a glass, dip the cutter into flour and then quickly cut the biscuits, making sure to have as little waste as possible between cuts. You can (and will be) reforming the dough to make more biscuits until the dough is used up, but the fluffiest, lightest, highest raising biscuits will be the ones that you cut from the first batch.

So try hard to get as many biscuits out of that first cutting as possible.

Why? Because biscuits are pastry and they become flaky through the interspersing of fat throughout the dough melting during baking and making layers. The more times you press the dough together, the more the fat pockets will disperse, the layers will flatten, and the biscuits will be denser. I’m sure someone, somewhere explained it more eloquently, but that is just how it works around here.

Place biscuits, touching, on a greased baking pan or 9″x13″ pan. Allow to rest and rise for about half to one hour.

Right before baking, baste the tops of the biscuits with melted butter (this was the secret at the Colonel’s, by the way) and bake in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30-35 minutes.

+

i will be the first to admit that i did not follow this by the letter. next time i will, because they definitely didn’t rise very much in the hour they hung out before being baked.

they are, of course, completely delicious and buttery even when dense and i’ll have no trouble eating all of them, especially when slathered in veggie gravy or leftover veggie stew.

sourdough cornbread 2

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan liberally with shortening or butter. In a large mixing bowl, combine

1 C stone-ground yellow cornmeal

2 T sugar

1/4 C butter/oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 C scalded milk

Stir to dissolve butter and sugar. let cool until just warm. Blend in

1 C sourdough starter

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

Beat well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 425F for 30 – 35 minutes. Serve warm with butter and preserves. Makes 9 servings.

from here

+

i tried to make this recipe, and the dough came out so dry i thought there must be some major difference in the hydration of my sourdough starter. i searched online for another recipe and added the scalded milk (part scalded kefir, too).

now we’ll see!

+

9:21 pm
just popped it in the oven
it smells great, but the batter is REALLY wet

i’m suspicious

+

next day:

not bad! the batter was so wet, i wasn’t sure it would be good, but it’s decent! i added basil and cayenne. i’m still not satisfied, though. the texture wasn’t quite right. also, too much corn. stay tuned for sourdough cornbread 3.

sourdough cornbread

update 1/28:
no good. trying this one instead.

+

Sourdough Cornbread

1 cup sourdough starter
1/3 cup oil or butter
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup salt
1 cup cornmeal

Mix sourdough starter, egg and oil. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to sourdough mixture. Mix until well blended. Pour into an 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.

+

from southern living.

soul food, may 2011

i got an intense craving for soul food last night. i tried to cook soul food. but it took on this weird southern german soul food quality with the kartoffelsalat.

here’s what i actually made:

TURNIP AND MUSTARD GREENS
fry one onion in each skillet, one seasoned with bacon grease and the other with olive oil
add roasted bell peppers and thicker stems of turnip and mustard greens
stir-fry until stems have softened a bit
add roasted garlic and leafy greens
stir-fry until greens wilt
add salt, pepper, and paprika

CORNBREAD (k. made gf corn muffins)

* 2 eggs
* 1 cup buttermilk or 3/4 cup milk and 1 T. white vinegar (skim milk works ok; you might need a little more milk, but a full cup of milk is too liquid compared to buttermilk)
* 1 cup coarse, stoneground cornmeal
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter an 8×8″ pan.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. If using, add the non-fat milk powder and whisk in. Continue cooking about 5-10 minutes until it is turning a light brown and has a delicious, nutty aroma. Do not skim, keep all those browned milk solids.
3. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Drizzle in the butter, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs.
4. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just enough to form a batter. It is ok if there are a few lumps. Avoid overbeating as this could make the cornbread tough.
6. Pour into the pan and bake about 25 minutes

KARTOFFELSALAT
see prev. post… i just omitted the stock (forgot it :/) and added a dash of balsamic and a ton of dill, parsley, and chives from the garden. the glaze seemed weird (because i forgot the stock) so i used a splash of veggie oil. the potatoes were greasy, sweet, and weird. we ate every last bite.

i also made a veg version with an uncooked acv/balsamic/veg oil slurry and tons of dill and parsley, chives from the garden, and onions.

topped with homemade lacto-fermented giardinera