Hello September!

I love September! The scent of the air, the birds getting ready to travel and, finally (!), the weight of blankets while I sleep. September mornings are chilly but the afternoons are usually hot. Most of my apples and pears are ready to harvest. Their scent fills my kitchen with perfume that inspires favorite old recipes for pastries and pies that mom and grandmas used to bake. I just need remember to do my baking early in the morning while it is still cool.

My September garden is usually just winding down but for different reasons I was not able to get a garden planted last spring. No peppers or corn this year. I did plant some beans and cucumbers on the first of August. We might get some green beans this fall. I was out weeding them this morning and noticed random flowers growing in the garden. I did not plant them. They are Fever Few and Snapdragons growing with the beans. I am so blessed. We are also getting chard and purple peacock kale that I planted in February (the last time I still had time and energy to plant) that look lush and inspire cheesy pasta dishes. I also put in two kinds of carrots, leeks, salad onions and cilantro on August 1st. All are doing well. I’ve been clipping a lot of cilantro. Surprise! if I look carefully in the mess that is my berry garden (Ray calls it a berry big mess) I can find some Autumn Gold Raspberries! (the plums from our young tree were amazing!)

No more Box Lunches. Snohomish County in Washington State does not allow me to start a food business in my home kitchen. (I’ll keep my thoughts about that to myself, they are not as kind as I want to be). We are eating up our test recipes. I’m also trying new recipes for home. I made a big pot of Hawaiian Baked Beans in my Instant pot that are very close to what Grandpa Ray used to make. Shhhh! I did not read the directions very carefully and made a couple of mistakes that I think I will keep making with this recipe. Yum! Served the beans with left-over PNW Coleslaw with Spicy Lavender Dressing, Parmesan – herbs de Provenance bread sticks and ate up the Pumpkin Fairy Cakes. We still eat well!

 Debs in Everett, Wa, doing a word study on “In Him” for my Ephesians Study (the first of many In Him word studies on my other blog)… word study or a fun rabbit trail? Either way, YHVH speaks.

September 1, 2017

Praying for the rescue workers in Huston. 

Instant Pot Hawaiian Baked Beans

Give my Father-in-law an invite to a potluck and we would be treated to a pot of his Hawaiian Baked Beans. He has gone to the other-side of eternity and I have not had his beans since. For some reason I had a hankering for his beans yesterday. There are a lot of recipes for Hawaiian Beans but most of them include bacon, since we do not eat pork, I was a bit worried until I came across a vegan recipe that I could adjust. Hallelujah!

Hawaiian Baked Beans

Note: do yourself a favor and read this through before you start, it doesn’t go together the way most Instant Pot beans do

• 1 lb navy beans

In the morning: Rinse the beans and pick them over (removing stones, split and broken beans).  Let the beans soak for 6 hours (or overnight)

Bean soak option 2: Quick Soak (for those of us who forgot to soak the beans) Rinse and pick over beans. Put them in the Instant Pot with 6 cups of water. Set cooker to Beans/Chili for 1 minute. Allow the pressure to come down naturally for 20 minutes before releasing the steam and opening pot.

Drain the beans (into a bowl… see note below).

Note: I “accidentally” used the quick soak even though I did presoak my beans. I added the pineapple juice (drained from the can) and the can of tomato soup as part of my 6 cups of water… the beans were flavorful and wonderfully creamy. I think I’ll make this mistake from now on. I drained the cooked beans, saving the lovely orange liquid. I took my 2 cups of “hot water” from that liquid. YUM

• 1 medium onion sliced into thin rings
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups hot water or reserved bean liquid (if it was flavored with juice & soup)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt (I use about half smoked salt)
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1 lb cooked and drained crumbled hamburger (see note below)

Return the drained beans to the inner pot of the Instant pot. Add the ingredients for this section. Seal the lid on the Instant Pot. Select Beans/Chili and set the timer for 17 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, let the pressure come down naturally for 20 minutes before releasing the steam vent and opening the pot.

Note: I have good results with Trader Joe’s Vegetarian Crumbles. You can add them with the pineapple instead of cooking them with the beans.

• 20 oz can pineapple (Dad used rings, I use tidbits) (see note below)
• 15-16 oz can stewed tomatoes OR Progresso Tomato Soup (see note below)
• 1 Tablespoon molasses
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar (cider vinegar is ok)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon smoked salt to taste (or liquid smoke)
• Salt and pepper to taste

The beans should be done. You can pressure cook them for another 5 to 12 minutes (letting the pressure come down naturally for 20 minutes again) if they are not done to your taste. Stir in the pineapple and remaining ingredients (if you are using soup instead of tomatoes they will have already  been added).

Turn off the pot, then click Saute. Use the lowest heat setting. Let the beans thicken up for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, enjoy.

Note: I drain the pineapple and use the liquid as part of my water measurement. I include the Progresso soup as part of the measure of water as well (for a total of 6 cups liquid in the quick cook method of the beans)

The original recipe does not recommend using unsoaked beans.

10 generous servings (we want to can the left-overs)

Black Bean Instant Pot Chalupas

Original recipe from Martha Rose Shulman’s Vegetarian Feast.

• 1 cup rinsed and sorted Black Beans
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• veggie oil to coat bottom of inner pan
• 1/2 Tablespoon (1 and 1/2 teaspoon) ground cumin
• 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder

Set the instant pot to saute. When it has preheated add a little oil to coat the bottom. Add the onions and sweat them (fry until translucent). Then add the garlic and cilantro just to heat them.

Add the drained beans and 2 and 1/4 cups water. Set the pot to “beans” If the beans have been pre-soaked, set the the timer to 15 minutes (they should be very soft). If they were not pre-soaked they can still be used, set the timer to 20 to 25 minutes. Release the steam when the time is up to let the pressure come down.

Even in the Instant Pot I like to presoak my beans before I cook them.

• ripe avocado
• tomato
• lemon juice
• sour cream
• thinly sliced lettuce
• sliced ripe olives
• Chalupa crisps (taco shells broken in half will work
• grated cheddar cheese (about 3 ounces)

While the pressure is coming down, loosely mash your avocado with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and lemon juice. Chop your tomatoes and toss your lettuce with your favorite creamy dressing (I make a ranch style with some of the cumin and chili powder used for the beans instead of dill)

Put the Chalupa crisps into the oven to crisp up (about 275. Put them into a cold oven. When the oven comes up to temperature they are ready)

When the pressure has come down on the Instant Pot, remove the lid. carefully lift the inner pot out. Pour the beans into a sieve set over a bowl to drain and save the liquid. Return the beans to the inner pot. Sprinkle on a little salt, the cumin and chili powder. Mash and stir the beans. You may use either a potato masher or a hand blender (we like the texture of the potato masher). Taste to adjust seasoning.

Assemble:

1. Spread a layer of beans on a Chalupa crisp
2. cover that with a spoonful of mashed avocado
3. sprinkle with cheese followed by lettuce, tomatoes and olives.

Yum! This is half of the original recipe, it easily doubles.

Instant Pot Pasta

So Ray ordered an Instant Pot. So many travelers I follow on YouTube use them, many with only solar power. I’ve been very interested. Now I’m collecting Recipes to try when it gets here. The recipe featured in this video is a no meat pasta but you could easily add ground meat to it without changing the cook time. This lady (a trucker) does not add meat to carbs to prevent acid reflux… a new idea to me.

• 3/4 lb lean burger
• Olive Oil
• Small onion
• Red Pepper
• 1 lb Penna
• 16 oz jar pasta sauce
• Garlic, salt, pepper, and optional herbs