Sadly, my father suffered from lung cancer most of 2010 and passed away at the end of the year.  2011 has been about adjusting to this new reality, rethinking, and prioritizing.  I don’t claim to have life figured out – but I do know that my beloved blog Striving Bean has to be set  aside as I readjust to life as it is now.  Hopefully you understand – I think you probably do.

With my Pa and My Brothers a Long Long Time Ago

My Pa had Quite the Sense of Humor!

Despite this new reality, my life lately hasn’t been solely about difficulty.  One bright spot is I’ve been fortunate enough to travel in 2011. Travel is a great love of mine that went by the wayside after our kids were born (see old French vacation photos here)!  So far this year we’ve been to Disney World, I went to Maui with my mother-in-law, and my husband and I plan on going to Chicago for a weekend getaway.  I’ve always loved to travel and have really savored my recent adventures!

Disney World was a Blast!

Walking by Myself one Morning on a Maui Beach

I’ll be adjusting Striving Bean to make it a permanent web resource. And someday I’ll return to blogging – I like it too darn much.  Who knows what the new subject could be? When I return I’ll be sure to keep it interesting (hopefully!) and I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m back.

In the mean time, you can find me tweeting at @micaelavega on Twitter.  And thank you for reading – your support has meant so much to me.  Let’s keep in touch!

– Micaela –

Tortilla Española

Eggs are a great way to get dinner on the table quickly. They’re fast to cook, inexpensive, and a great way to feed a hungry bunch.

Tortilla Española is the Spanish version of an egg and potato omelette. The Spaniards took this simple recipe to Mexico where it was named “tortilla española” since it was round like the Mexican tortilla. Then the name stuck in Spain. This tortilla can be eaten as a dinner, or smaller pieces can be served as “tapas” (snacks).

My grandmother Francisca from Spain cooked this dish often. My mother remembers:

My mom used a chunk of ‘unto’ with a fork stuck in to grease the pan . There were 7  to feed and not mucho dinero, but we always ate till we were full–no one ever went hungry. My mother must have been a good money manager.  I remember grandpa making $25 a week forever!

My mom, one of the hungry 7, learned how to cook this and passed down the recipe down to me.  This recipe is relatively fast, but you’ll need some cooking time for the potatoes.  Some modern tips to speed things up – chop the onions and potatoes the night before – keep the potatoes submerged in cold water in the fridge, then drain before cooking.  You can also cook the entire tortilla ahead of time and it will heat up nicely in the microwave.

Francisca’s Tortilla Española

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly chopped
• 3 potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced, and halved
• 4 to 6 eggs

Directions

• Use a good pan that won’t stick
• Heat  olive oil
• Add 1 large onion chopped. Cook on medium/high until translucent.
• Add sliced/halved potatoes
• Cook potatoes until tender but not falling apart
• Beat 4-6 eggs and pour over cooked potatoes
• Cover and cook slowly for 5-10 minutes until set
• Flip over with spatula or….flip by covering pan with a large dish. Turn pan over so eggs are on plate.  Slide eggs back into pan. Try to not break the omelette
• Brown other side

This Tortilla Española recipe was originally posted on ModernMami.com

Blogadera Interview - Micaela Vega

Just a quick note to let you know about my interview on the website Blogadera.  We chat about beans, blogging, and being Latina/Hispanic. I hope you enjoy!

Maple Pie

Here’s a sneak peek at the Maple Pie made with navy beans that I baked this weekend.  This pie is
“hyper” local food.  Merely a few blocks from my house, my co-worker Wendy raises urban hens. She also taps her neighbors’ maple trees, then boils down the sap in her backyard.

Somehow I lucked out. Wendy generously gave me some maple syrup and hen’s eggs for this pie. To top it off, she’ll teach us how to tap a maple tree in my next post.

This pie is absolutely mouthwateringly delicious. We’re in for a treat!

My Life In France

My husband observed the other day, “You read a lot about food.”  It’s true. Food politics and cookbooks are  fascinating to me.  I love to fill my brain with little nuggets of food wisdom (and also “ooh” and “ah” over photos of dishes I will never make).

A lovely way to spend a Sunday is to browse a bookstore or a library to your heart’s content.  Here’s my Saturday night list to prepare you for Sunday morning. These are my personal recommendations for Food and Cooking books that are worth your time. Although 2 young children tend to take much of my attention, by some strange miracle I’ve managed to read them all.

What to Eat – Marion Nestle
Marion Nestle (no relationship to the Nestle food company) has a litany of higher education degrees that will make your head spin.  But despite all of her book smarts, she really knows how to explain food to the masses. Learn about meat irradiation, if organic means more nutritious, country-of-origin labels.  A great resource to answer many of your questions about food.

My Life in France – by Julia Child
The Julia portion movie “Julie and Julia” is based on this book. The chapter on Julia Child’s research on how to make an authentic French “Bouillabaisse” hits home how tenacious a researcher Julia was.  The kinds of questions she researches: What kind of fish is this?  And why does it go by several names in French?  Which is the right name? How would that be translated into English?  What’s a good substitute for the American cook since this fish is available only in this part of the world?
This is one of those “read it, then see the movie” books.

Jaime’s Food Revolution – By Jamie Oliver
The companion recipe book to my television obsession as of late, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution“.  I can’t say enough good things about his TV show.  Advanced foodies won’t need this book, but it’s pretty, I like his show, so it’s in my collection.  Be sure to sign Jamie Oliver’s Petition to save cooking skills and improve school food.

Fast Food Nation (The Dark Side of the All-American Meal) – By Eric Schlosser
The chapter “Why the Fries Taste So Good” is worth the price of admission.  Did you know that most of the flavor and aroma for fast food comes from factories off of the New Jersey turnpike?  Journalist Eric Schlosser will teach you things that will make you want to cover your eyes and mouth.  If you like fast food – be brave and read this.

Mindless Eating (Why We Eat More than We Think) - By Brian Wansink
Brian Wansink has been called the “Sherlock Holmes of Food”. I love the way he picks apart “eat this” persuasion tactics like flowery language on a menu, wine labels, or “free” popcorn.  You’ll feel like a real smarty when you can rattle off why that chain restaurant gave its cheapest ingredients dish the extra-special-graphic-design-treatment on its menu.

What are your favorite food and cooking books?

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Lovely book photo is courtesy of Emiline220

Snappy Apple Cookies

You’ll feel good about serving your family these healthy and flavorful Butter Bean Cookies! They also contain flaxseed and apples. Wow – super healthy!

These cookies are soft and chewy. The flavor and texture is similar to gingerbread with a little kick from the ginger and other spices.

ALWAYS store these cookies in the refrigerator since they contain beans and fresh fruit. You can warm them in the microwave for 5 seconds on high for a room temperature taste.

Snappy Apple Cookies

Yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (1.5 cups) all-purpose flour
• 8 small ginger snap cookies, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups (1.5 cups) diced apples (about 1 to 2 apples)
• One 15 oz. can butter beans (if canned, rinsed and drained)
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (try ground cloves if you don’t have garam masala)
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup (0.5 cup) milk
• 1/4 cup (0.25 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (0.5 cup) sugar
• Additional sugar for flattening cookies (optional)
• 1/4 cup (0.5 cup) molasses
• 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) sea salt
• 1/4 cup (0.25 cup) milled flax seed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave.
3. Puree butter beans, molasses, and melted butter.
4. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
5. Add crushed ginger snaps to dry ingredients.
6. Mix wet & dry ingredients gently.
7. Gently fold in apples.
8. Drop a large spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet.
9. Flatten cookies – press cookies with cup dipped in additional sugar.
10. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
11. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to cooking racks.

Store in refrigerator (since these contain beans and fresh fruit) in an air tight container up to 3 days.

You can freeze these cookies.  To reheat frozen cookies, heat individually in microwave for 10 seconds.

Butter Bean Cookies Cooling

Like chocolate?  Check out my Dark Chocolate Cookies made with black beans!

Recipe originally posted at PracticalMum.com (Thanks Shelagh!)

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Chipotle Bean Enchiladas - Adult and Kid Versions

A major purchase of “tomatoes on the vine” were the inspiration for these Chipotle Bean Enchiladas. Such a purchase calls for homemade enchilada sauce.

The issues:
* My kids don’t like tomato sauce (yep – I don’t get it either)
* I don’t have a lot of time for homemade enchilada sauce, but I’m motivated.

My  solution:
* Made homemade tomato sauce one evening, based on this recipe, but left out the basil. Easily made while multi-tasking on email, Facebook, and Twitter.
* The next day, after sauce was cooled down, I blended sauce in a food processor
* Divided it for kid and adult  versions

To accommodate my children’s *developing* tastebuds, I made 2 small batches of enchiladas. Kids enchiladas were made with plain homemade tomato sauce, tucked away inside the bean mixture to give it a savory tomato taste without freaking them out.

The adults was made with cumin and adobo sauce.  I cooked enchiladas in two seperate pans, so the cumin and sauce wouldn’t cross contaminate the kids version (they would take note, believe me).

Here are the recipes for Tomato Sauce, Enchilada Sauce, and Chipotle Bean Enchiladas

Lots of Tomatoes

Tomato Sauce
Yields about 2 1/4 cup (2.25 cup) tomato sauce

No need to remove tomato skins/peels from the tomatoes.  Also use the seeds and any tomato liquid when making this easy tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

• 5 cloves garlic, sliced finely, then roughly chopped.
• lots of tomatoes (see photo – forgot to measure! It might be 5 lbs.)
• 4 oz. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Dash or 2 of oregano (optional)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste (optional)
• Sea salt to taste

Tomato Sauce Directions

1. Slice then roughly chop  5 medium sized cloves of garlic.
2. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Use seeds and pulp.
3. Pour 4 fluid ounces of EVOO into the sauce pan.
4. Heat the oil on a gentle flame or low-med burner setting until it just begins to shimmer.
5. Add the garlic. Sautee for 2-3 minutes. Do not brown garlic.
6. Add the tomatoes and gently mash them with wooden spoon.
7. Turn the flame or burner setting to high and cook 15 (or so) minutes. Can reduce heat and cover if needed.  Continue to gently mash as tomatoes cook
8. Add oregano and sea salt.
9. Turn off the heat, and allow to cool.
10. The next day, I Pureed in food processor (I suspect a blender would also work.)

Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce Directions

The next day, after tomato sauce is pureed:

• Reserve 1 to 3 tablespoons tomato sauce for Kids Version

Then, whisk in for Adult Version:

• 3 Tablespoons Adobo Sauce (sauce from a can of Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce – often found in Mexican food aisle)
• 1 teaspoon cumin

Chipotle Bean Enchiladas (Kid & Adult Versions)

Recipe By Striving Bean (inspired by Cheesy Bean Enchiladas)

Makes 8 enchiladas

Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees

Chipotle Bean Enchilada Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed  (or 1 2/3 cup [1.66 cup] cooked beans)
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 2/3 cup [1.66 cup] cooked beans)
• 8 tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I only had 1 cup, so I substituted 2.5 slices of Muenster Cheese for topping)
• 1 or 1 1/2 cups (1 or 1.5 cups) frozen corn (prepared and drained)
• Enchilada Sauce (recipe above)
• 1 adobe chile pepper (for adult version)
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese (for kid’s version)

Chipotle Bean Enchilada Directions:

Kids: 

1. Puree 2/3 cup (.66 cup) each of black beans and pinto beans together, along with cream cheese and reserved 1-3 tablespoons tomato sauce, in a food processor (for kids)
2. Remove from food processor and set aside.

Adults:

1. Puree 1/2 cup (.5 cup) each black beans and pinto beans together, along with 1 adobe chili pepper, in  a food processor (for adults)
2. Remove from food processor and set aside.

Kids:

1. Spread kid’s pureed bean mixture into center of tortilla (3 or 4 tortillas)
   

   Kids Bean Puree with Cream Cheese and Tomato Sauce

2. Top with shredded cheese and roll up into a tube shape. Put tortilla tubes seam side down in greased baking dish
3. Top rolled up tortillas with cheese in baking dish
4. 

   Top with Shredded Cheese

   Adults:

5. Coat remaining tortillas with sauce (this can be done by dipping tortilla into mixture and turning tortilla, or done with a basting brush) Messy but worth it.
6. Spred adult’s pureed bean mixture into center of tortilla
7. Add remaining beans sprinkled on top of center of tortilla
8. Add corn in center of tortilla.
9. Add shredded cheese in center of tortilla
10. Roll up in tube shape.
11. Pour some sauce on bottom of greased baking dish
12. Put tortilla tubes seam side down in greased baking dish
13. Pour some sauce on top of tortilla tubes
14. Top rolled up tortillas with cheese in baking dish.

Bake both kid and adult versions at same time, 15 – 20 minutes in oven at 350 F. degrees.

Our family weighs in:

• Son liked it.
• Daughter liked it.
• Husband loved it.
• I loved it.

Chef’s notes:

• I had leftover enchilada sauce, so I froze it for next time.  Probably due to not using sauce on kid’s recipe.
• I ran out of cheddar cheese – use whatever cheese you like!

This was my first time for homemade enchilada sauce from fresh tomatoes. Have you ever made enchilada sauce?

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Turns out we didn’t have tuna fish, but had packaged salmon (Alaska Wild Caught – better for the kids). So our daughter agreed this was acceptable (it’s “pink” – a major selling point), our son goes along with practically anything, and dinner was served.

• Homemade Hummus
• Crackers
• Garden Tomatoes
• Garden Cucumbers
• Salmon

Not 100% perfect, but we’re trying!