Meat as a Side Dish Recipe#1: White Bean Soup

This recipe is adapted (by me) from a White Bean Soup Puree that I clipped from a newspaper (probably the AJC) ages ago but never tried.  It’s really easy to make, with minimal prep time (although you do have to remember to soak the beans overnight).  

Although we love purees, we gobbled this soup up before we got around to puree-ing it!  We’ll definitely make this again, and when we do, I’ll add a photo.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups dried white beans
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil (or Extra Virgin, whatever you have around)
• 3-4 slices of bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 chopped onion
• 1-2 chopped leeks (white part only–save the green for stock)
• 2-4 chopped carrots
• 2 chopped celery ribs
• 8 minced garlic cloves
• enough chicken broth (I used homemade) to cover beans and veggies in pot–about 8-10 cups
• 1 tbsp thyme and rosemary (fresh or dried, whatever you have on hand)
• 1 cup whole milk (can use heavy cream, but I never have that.  I used Victor’s milk instead 🙂 )
• pinch of salt, pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Soak the beans overnight.  The white beans soak up a ton of water, so be sure to cover them with a few inches of water before heading to bed.

Here’s a hint from my mother-in-law when soaking beans.  This was my big ah-ha! moment as to why her beans were always so soft and yummy and mine failed to open.  SOAK BEANS IN THE HOTTEST WATER YOU CAN GET!  Now, I know that they say not to use hot tap water for cooking, so what I do is nuke some Brita water for a few minutes and use that.  It has made a huge difference!

2.  In a pressure cooker (or in a stock pot, crock pot, whatever you have) add olive oil.

3.  Add bacon and cook until it renders it’s fat.

4.  Add onion, garlic and the rest of the veggies and saute until tender (about 15-20 min)

5.  Drain beans and add to veggies.  Add chicken broth and spices.

6.  Here’s where it will differ depending on what type of cooking pot you use:

• I love love love my pressure cooker.  If you have one, at this point you will just cover and cook on high until you the little tab comes up showing that the pressure is high.  Turn heat down low, but high enough to keep the pressure high for about 15-20 min.  Then turn off heat and either release pressure or do as I do and let it slowly cool down and release the pressure itself.  
• On stovetop, the recipe says to bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for about 2 hours (until beans are tender).
• If you have a crockpot I would put the mixture on low and cook overnight.  However, you may have to experiment as it’s been a while since I’ve used one.  (anyone have any ideas?)

7.  Either use an immersion blender, food processor, etc. to puree (if desired).

8.  Enjoy!

Yield:  about 8-10 servings

Re-thinking our Grocery Shopping Habits

After spending most of this cold, cold winter either sick or lethargic, my husband and I decided to take a second look at how we were fueling our bodies.

Granted, having a newborn and an 18 month old can run anyone ragged. Piling on top of that the stress of Grad School, looking for a job, and not seeing the sun for days on end can make anyone want to spend the day in bed. Unfortunately, our sons do not give us the choice.

We found that most days we were eating meat twice a day. Good, lean meat, like chicken or pork, but still meat. And many times we were so hungry from all of the day’s activity, we would eat several portions at one sitting.

We also did a lot of “impulse” grocery shopping.  Mostly by being unprepared for a recipe, or just “craving” a certain dish.

This was taking a toll on our bodies and our pocketbook. We were spending upwards of $20-$25/day on groceries! (Now, this does include wine, diapers, our weekly take-out pizza, etc).

Oscar had been fantastic at taking care of me while I was pregnant and doing much of the cooking and grocery shopping. However, now that our youngest was 3 months old and I had recovered from the birth, it was time for me to take it back over.

I decided that I would try to get our grocery spending down from $600-750/month down to $450/month. Here’s the catch–We actually had to eat more healthy foods, and I didn’t want us to feel as if we were sacrificing.

The approach:

• coupons (I don’t have much time to dedicate to this, but I figured if I saved a couple of dollars/week, I would at least pay for the newspaper)
• buy what’s on sale
• spend one day/week cooking 2-3 meals to freeze and nuke for the following week(s) for when Oscar gets home late and we are both exhausted
• increase our intake of fresh (or frozen) fruits and veggies
• still have our evening glass of wine with dinner
• still have take out once/week (if we would like)

Will this work?  I’ll keep posting what is working and what is not.  

I will give you a hint….I started this 3 weeks ago and we’ve already decreased our spending 15% (or $17/day).  We’ll see if I can keep it up!

“The Eater’s Manifesto”

Speaking of food being a priority for our family, I just finished reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.   

This book was an interesting take on eating:  according to Pollan, much of what Americans eat is not, in fact, food. And when we do consume food and non-food products, we  tend to eat too much of it.

The last portion of the book includes suggestions on how to–and not to–eat.  Here are the ones that struck a chord with me:

1.  While (culturally) the Japanese stop eating when the are 80% full and the French when they are full, Americans know to stop eating when their plates are empty.

• Make sure your portions are of the correct size.
• Eat at a table (not at a desk, not in front of the TV, …) and with others.  Make your meals a social experience.  This will also make it easier to eat slowly so your brain will register when you are full!

2.  Get to know your food:  

• Cook (as much as you can).  Try to get “hands on” and minimize the use of the microwave.
• Plant a garden (if you can).  If you live in a city apartment like me, try to go to farmers markets and participate in your area’s CSA.

3.  Eat quality food–you will appreciate it more and need less of it.

• (my favorite!)  Don’t buy your groceries where you get your gasoline!
• Avoid processed food products when you can (keep an eye out for unpronounceable ingredients, health claims on the packaging, a long list of ingredients,….)
• Shop around the supermarket instead of through the aisles.  Other then frozen veggies and dried legumes, most of the aisles are full of processed non-food items.
• You can eat meat (hurrah!), but it should be more of a side dish than an entree.

While fresh fruit and veggies are not always the least expensive options at the store, eating more “food” and less processed “non-food” has actually cut our grocery bill.  But even if it hadn’t, the benefits (more energy, better moods, improved health, …) are worth the investment.