Bean Me Up Scottie

Nowadays, we are always looking for better ways to eat. May it be for health reasons or just to take ourselves out boredom from eating the same thing. Let me shine the light on the mostly snubbed treat that packs a whallop of protien with fraction of the fat. By that, I am pertaining to "Beans". They are economical as well as tasty. Why do we not have them in our meals more often? My theory would be because there is a slight catch that comes along with these yummies. A sort of disclaimer that might say, eat at your own risk to your social life. Let's face it, they can give you bad gas. This can range from silent to musical and unscented to extremely scented. Nice way to determine who your real friends are though.

Why do they cause gas? Well, it's not their fault actually. It would be more on our lack a certain enzyme that would break down the sugar from beans called "oligosaccharides". That is why when these sugars pass down our digestive tract our natural bacterias that happily reside in our intestinal realty have a feast whenever they see these sugars. Of course, after their feast they loosen up their belts, slouch on their couch and have a belching contest. Well, as you are having a bleching contest without your knowledge going on, those released gases are having a time of their life meeting up with whatever sulfur you have passing through your intestinal town. The more blech that are released by these bacterias, imminent pressure builds up. Like any other party, as it gets crowded, you have to get out and have some air. That is when you get to release the pent up pressure going on in your tummy. If those gases got to pair up with some passing sulfur in your intestine, you will surely know about it.

There are some ways that can help in reducing the chances of bean induced music from happening. Soak your beans overnight and change the soaking water twice. Rinse off the beans prior to cooking and use fresh water for cooking. As foam rises up during cooking, skim off the foam from the pot. If you are not used to eating beans, it would be best if you start off with small quantities. There are those little magic pills called "beano" that you take prior to enjoying your beans. These pills would have the necessary enzymes that would be needed to chop down those big sugar molecules to smaller manageble sugar molecules.

A wonderful way to start off your bean adventure would be to try out Hummus for a snack or as an appetizer. This is best with warm pita bread or any toasted bread. I do not have a photo of this at the moment but would certainly upload it as soon as I take one.

Hummus

4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 Tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 Tablespoons water
pinch cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
pinch cayenne pepper

olive oil to drizzle
2 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1. Combine the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cumin, water and lemon juice in a food processor; process until smooth. Season with salt and cayenne.

2. Spoon the hummus onto a serving platter and smooth the surface. Drizzle the olive oil over the hummus and garnish with the chopped parsley. Serve with warm pita bread that has been cut into quarters.

*In case you can not find any tahini after you have checked halal markets and indian or any other asian markets, you can substitute it with natural peanut butter. I know that it would be a different entity altogether, but it will be good as well. I just have to think of a name for it.

Do tell me how you enjoy this recipe and its variant.

What's the Catch?

The sporadic posting in this site gives one the impression of a full schedule on the part of the blogger. Whatever the case maybe, I strive to keep things fun and informative. What better venue to experiment on my writing right? Three cheers for blogs. For this posting, I will share with you a recipe utilizing salmon. You can pretty much substitute any fish steaks to your liking. I got this recipe from eating well magazine.

As much as possible, I urge you to use fishes that had been caught through sustainable fishing practice. It just means use farmed fishes or wild caught fishes that are not in threat of extinction. We would not want these yummies disappear forever right?

This recipe is called Grilled Salmon with Chermoula. Chermoula is a North African marinade used mostly in Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian dishes. It is generally used in seafood, but hey might as well try it with meat and vegetables.

1/4 cup low-fat or nonfat plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions
1 lemon, cut into wedges

1.Stir together yogurt,

parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup for sauce; cover and refrigerate. Place salmon fillets in a large sealable plastic bag. Pour in the remaining herb mixture, seal the bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, turning the bag over once.
2. Meanwhile, preheat grill to medium-high.
3. Oil the grill rack. Remove the salmon from the marinade, blotting any excess. Grill the salmon until browned and opaque in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side. To serve, top each piece with a dollop of the reserved sauce and garnish with lemon wedges.

* Oil the grill rack by wetting a paper towel or impeccably clean cooking rag with oil. Then, with the use of tongs, rub the towel on the grill (make sure that the oil is not dripping from the towel, we do not want any sudden flare ups). Resist the urge to just spray the hot grill with oil. It will most definitely cause a flare up. Singed eyebrows is not a pretty sight, it can be quite painful I might add.

* By chance you do not have the energy to set up your grill, you can use your oven to roast these babies up. You can preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and let it cook away for about 12 to 15 minutes.

* If by an unfortunate circumstance you do not have an oven or it simply does not work, do not fret. You can do this stove top as well. Just get your sauté pan and heat it up to medium high heat and spray it with cooking oil. You can simply follow the cooking time called for in grill cooking.

I can not tell you enough, recipes are just guidelines. Do not be afraid to change things up. That is one of the benefits of cooking. You can make anything to suit your taste.

Granola Balls

Another way overdue posting. It seemed like I have neglected this place again. Well, let me tell you something about these balls. They were made with lots of estimation. Thankfully, these are flexible morsels. Just follow me through this and you will be able to start enjoying the yummy goodness soon enough.

Start off with equal parts of...
Rolled Oats
Unsweetened Coconut Shavings
Choice of Nuts (or Not)

Choice of Dried Fruit

Canola Oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
Honey (your choice of flavor),up to desired sweetness... you may want to add a tad bit more to make it stick more when forming balls
*Use just enough oil to coat items and won't stick together (don't go oil crazy)

-Preheat oven to 375 deg F
-In a sheet pan,line with wax paper or parchment paper.
Toast together Rolled Oats, Unsweetened Coconut Shavings, and nuts...Oil and Honey
-Stir every 5-10 min. for even browning.
-Once toasted, transfer to a mixing bowl and add in the dried fruits

*to make balls, shape the granola while still hot. Cool completely before transfering to an airtight container.

Enjoy it as a snack or a great breakfast cereal with milk or any other beverage of choice. Feel free to tweak it and make your own concoction. In case you don't have an oven, you can do this stove top using a saute pan for toasting. Tell me how yours turn out.