I haven't been blogging a lot recently.
I have been cooking a lot, and I am rather proud to feel that I can actually see some improvement in my cooking skills. But I just haven't had anything that I felt was just right to blog about.

So what have I made recently...?
A lot of beans. I'm recently in love with beans. It sounds odd, but there is really quite a lot one can do with a bean. No really, I'm serious! The key for me was learning that when properly soaked and rinsed you don't have to worry about the whole, "the more you eat the more you toot" factor of that old children's song. That's a relief!

I discovered how much I enjoy beans after I discovered a vegan version of red beans and rice about a year ago. (Here's the link in case you're curious.) I made this recipe a few times then worked up the courage to venture out into the wonderful world of beans. I've been going non-stop since then. I really enjoy red beans, and made a great turkey chilli with leftovers from Thanksgiving. Recently I had some red beans cooked in the refrigerator, and my boyfriend took them out and made re-fried beans with them. We've been cooking those a lot lately. We make them with pinto beans also, which is more traditional, but I was surprised to find that red beans work well too.

Once you have the cooked beans, re-frying them is super easy. We just head up some olive oil in a pan, add the beans, fry them around for 40 minutes or so until they are mashing up nicely with a fork, then we take a potato masher and smash them into a smooth paste. I'm not sure if that's the "right" way to make re-fried beans, but it's a tasty way. We eat them with heated tortillas rubbed in lime and salt, or sometimes just with cheese on them. They go great with any type of beef you've cooked up as well.

So I guess I've just dedicated my "Christmas Blog" to beans.... I'm not sure what that means, but we'll go with it! Happy Holidays!