White Beans with Kale and Cabbage

I know you’re going to look at this picture and the title of this post and think: “Thanks, but no thanks.” It just doesn’t look or sound like anything special. But, please, stay just a moment longer and hear me out. This was one of the best recipes I’ve made all year.

Deborah Madison is a well-known cookbook author who is passionate about connecting folks to local farmers and food. She specializes in vegetarian cuisine and is therefore a master at creating recipes that center around the flavors and textures of vegetables. Though I grew up eating cabbage only in its raw form, via coleslaw or salads, I’ve come to appreciate its sweet flavor and buttery texture when cooked. And kale has been my best vegetable friend for more than a year now, after showing up weekly in our winter CSA box last year.

Tomatoes & Shell Beans

I don’t remember eating black-eyed peas as a child, but somewhere along the line, I developed an intense love for them. They sell them fresh at the farmer’s market in the mountains and I experimented with them a few times many years ago, but couldn’t quite figure out how to cook them properly. No one in my family knew what to do with them, so after a few discarded batches, I gave up.

A few years later, I was living on my own and discovered that they sold them during the summer at one of my local Whole Foods stores.  I figured out how to turn them into hoppin’ john, which became my regular summertime lunch from then on. It took some time, but I eventually convinced Jeff that yes, he does like shell beans, and also, hoppin’ john does in fact make a delicious and satisfying meal.

Lentil Love

We have been eating around here, but we’re in the third week of our winter CSA share from Brinkley Farms. Which basically means that we’ve been eating kale, butter beans, collards, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, fresh eggs, and pork. Really there’s not much to most of those items and I’ve been making considerably shorter trips to the grocery store. We love our CSA because you get a weekly e-mail with the offerings and you can choose what you want based on the dollar amount you paid out at the beginning of the season. It’s winter so there’s not tons of variety but we don’t mind.

In the midst of those veggies, I made myself some of these lentils a few weeks ago to take for lunch. My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe and it is just killer. After having it a few times at her house I begged for the recipe and haven’t gotten sick of it yet.

Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese
Serves 6-8

1 1/2 cups green lentils
6 cups chicken stock
1 garlic clove, pierced with a toothpick
1 tsp. herbes de Provence
1 small bay leaf
1 tomato, peeled, seeded, chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp. minced parsley
1 tbsp. capers, drained

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz.) crumbled goat cheese
French bread

Rinse and pick over lentils. Put lentils in 4-quart saucepan and add stock, garlic, herbs, and bay leaf. Bring to gentle simmer and cook, uncovered for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Do not overcook. Drain and let cool. Remove garlic and bay leaf.
Put lentils in bowl and add tomato, onions, parsley, and capers. Whisk together vinaigrette, add to lentils, and toss. Sprinkle with goat cheese. Serve with French bread.

Black Bean Cakes

In a past life, I lived much more of a flexitarian lifestyle. Now, meat seems to dominate our meal planning, but I still try to slip in a few vegetarian meals here and there, at least for myself. This salad, for example. Of course, arranging the toppings in lines like that bumped up the looks factor, but that was not the original purpose. It was designed to keep the chicken on one side (for Jeff) and the corn on the other side (for me).

So when it comes to planning a vegetarian meal, I frequently look to legumes. Black beans are a superfood – cheap and nutritious, full of fiber, protein, and antioxidants –  an excellent base for a vegetarian meal. And who doesn’t love them when they’re all smashed up, mixed with goodies, and sauteed?