Beans, Beans

Ah the smell of garlic and herbs. Lots of garlic. Any recipe that calls for an entire head of garlic has to be wonderful, doesn't it?


Today was my cooking and writing day. It has been so relaxing and fun.  There is nothing like singing, chopping and smiling all at the same time.  My gift to you is to share the recipes!


Following a chilly morning dog walk, I set everything else aside, donned my 1960's-era June Cleaver apron, started a blazing fire in the fireplace, washed my hands and got to work.


The only sound was the occasional grunt from the sleeping dog in the other room until I turned on the tunes and Moody Blues, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and other wonders from my growing-up days filled the house. Perfect energy music for cooking.


My goal was to get Nikos beans in the oven, and make a new dish using kidney beans. I had soaked both bowls of beans overnight in preparation. 


What are Nikos beans? Using Gigante beans from Greece, this recipe was told to me by Nikos, then-owner of Nikos' Taverna in Athens, Greece, where my friends and I joined my cousin, Mary, and her husband, Dimitris, for a wonderful dinner a few years ago. It's a neighborhood favorite of theirs. Then, Nikos was the owner and his wife, Eleni, did much of the cooking. Now, he has retired and goes there sometimes; Eleni is still in the kitchen, and Mary and Demetris remain loyal customers. 


After our delicious dinner, Nikos told me the recipe, in Greek, while Mary translated. He is such a nice man and was very willing to share.  We also met Eleni who was very nice but busy preparing food.  


I have made the beans many times since. Gigantes are similar to limas, but richer, fatter and worth the price and extra trouble to acquire. Give the local Greek store some business if you have one; if not, you can get them on Amazon for about $7 per pound.

Both dishes require a lot of chopping but have some crossover ingredients (onions, carrots and garlic).  I sauté my carrots, onions and garlic separately, because I think it preserves the individual flavors.  There is something wonderful and invigorating about the smell of lots of chopped fresh parsley, an important ingredient in the dish.  It's also worth the effort to grate the tomatoes, as the recipe calls for, if you can find good ones.  This time of year they are anemic and I prefer to use canned chopped organic tomatoes.


I bake the beans for 7 hours, at a low temperature. During that time, the house fills with the aroma; right now I am thinking about how delicious my dinner will be.  I have included the recipe below. Remember what Nikos told me "Cook them until they are just right!"

Georgian Kidney Bean Stew

Once I got Nikos' dish in the oven, I began chopping the ingredients for the second bean dish, Georgian Kidney Bean Stew With Herbs and Walnuts (Lobio Nigvzit). The main seasonings are coriander and fenugreek, with a variety of fresh herbs, walnuts, and some garlic (not as much as the Nikos beans). This recipe only takes about an hour to make, including cooking and chopping time, so I was rewarded with a yummy bowl full for a late lunch.

As I write this, I am sitting by a lovely fire, little brown dog asleep at my feet, and the smell of Nikos' beans is making my mouth water. 


These recipes are perfect for vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. It's hard not to fall in love with both dishes. Enjoy!


Nikos' Taverna's Athenian Baked Beans
from Nikos and Eleni
• 1 package dried large white beans (16 ounces or more)
• Large white or yellow onion
• 5 firm, ripe tomatoes
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 5 carrots
• Olive oil (2/3 cup or less total)
• Head of garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
Soak beans in water for 8 hours, changing water once or twice
Preheat oven 225-degrees


1. Pour off water; place beans in large sauce pan; add water to the top of the beans
2. Simmer until soft for about one hour
3. Sautee chopped onion, parsley, carrot and garlic in 1/4 C olive oil until onions are transparent. Note: I sauté separately to preserve the individual flavors.
4. Mix sautéed vegetables with the beans.
5. Grate 2-5 tomatoes (skins and all) and add to the bean mixture.
6. Add a small amount of water and salt and pepper to taste
7. Place the mixture in a large baking dish (or multiple baking dishes) that has been wiped inside with olive oil.
8. Mix thoroughly. Drizzle half of the remaining olive oil over the beans.
9. Cook 6-7 hours, until the water cooks off and the liquid is thick. It may be necessary to add water, in small quantities, throughout the cooking and small amounts of the remaining olive oil.
Note from Nikos, "cook until just right!"

"S" is for Snow

Whoa we have had a lot of that S-word this Season and more Slammed us last night and all day today.  Multiple  S-words have been uttered over this overactive atmospheric phenomenon.  What about global warming?  Let's hear it for the W-words...wild, warm, welcoming...or weird as long as it does not involve frozen water.

I am thinking of starting a radio station called WSNO, with updates from all of the friends and relatives who are calling in.  It is amazing.

My Student visiting from Japan has not been able to go to School in Washington, DC all week.  She has been Sleeping and Sighing a bit, Sitting in front of the television, Seeing lots of SNOW and is a bit disappointed that her Washington adventure, which was to have begun five days ago (they were Stopped in Minneapolis and unable to travel to Washington for Several days), has Started So Slowly.  Arriving in Washington, DC after three days in Minnesota (where She Says She had too much Steak), she actually saw my Sidewalk before the latest Snowfall began.

She is SO SWEET.  She is polite and helpful, very Studious and Smart.  She amazed me with her SCRABBLE Skills and Scored well for a non-native English speaker.  Today she is reading The Great Gatsby in English.  She is also Spunky.  She ventured out on a walk in this blizzard this morning, to give the dog a chance to Sniff out a Suitable Spot for, well, you know...

SNOWY WEATHER S-WORDS

SUN.  This is the Sun at noon before the Snowstorm began.  

Hmph.  Not exactly what we would call Sunny!

Slick and Slushy

Shoveling

Stark

Silly Snowman

Sad (headless) Snowman

Silence.  The morning of the blizzard.

Sparrow.  This poor little thing couldn't fly off the feeder because the wind was So Strong.

Shovels.  My son refers to both of ours as "POS".  

You probably know what that means and it is not nice.

Squirrel in Snow

Swirling Squirrel in Snow

Sighing dog.  "Where is the grass??"

Snowy Weather "S" Foods

Seafood Soup/Stew.  Filled with Shrimp, Squid, Scallops, cod and clams.  This is the most delicious seafood stew I have ever made (with skim milk, not cream) and there is enough for a crowd. Send me an email if you want the recipe (I created it).  It really is fantastic.

Strawberries.  Strawberries on hot oatmeal make a great breakfast.

Salad.  This is a fantastic accompaniment to Seafood Soup or most anything else.

More S-Words

Swan (copenhagen)

Sunset in Southern California

Spring blossoms (washington, dc)

Seashells

Sea grass (massachusetts)

Sea and Surf (maine)

Snake at the Smithsonian

Sandhill cranes (florida)

Sale (new york)

Statue (Copenhagen)

Sunset in Southern california

Swing (peterhof palace, russia)

Scenic (potomac river, great falls)

Signing off now.  I must go Slurp some Soup and watch the SNOWSTORM unfold.

Cucumber News

As we have done most mornings since his arrival, my guest from The Netherlands and I discussed the news over coffee before he departed for his commute on the Metro and a full day of classes.  This morning, I noted that the major front page photo and story in The Washington Post featured the farmer and his wife who grew the 2009 official White House Christmas Tree (not to be confused with the National Christmas Tree or about 24 other trees in the White House during the holidays). 

I felt rather embarrassed that, with all that is going on in the world, such emphasis was given to this story in the largest newspaper of the capital city of our powerhouse country. 

“We call that ‘cucumber news’,” he said with a grin.  “When there is nothing going on,” he clarified.  “I would hardly say there is nothing going on right now,” I replied, sheepishly, feeling even more ashamed.  Our conversation turned to other topics but I couldn’t stop thinking of this funny expression and what must be its origin. 

Cucumber news is similar to another expression called the “silly season”, which is the couple of months in the Northern Hemisphere, starting mid to late summer, when exaggerated news stories appear in the media because there is nothing going on; in Washington, DC this is certainly the case because our newsmakers on Capitol Hill have all gone home or on fact finding trips to interesting places. In the Southern Hemisphere, this period occurs in the Christmas/New Year period, which is their summer.

In the Dutch, Norwegian, Czech, Polish, Hungarian and Hebrew languages, the “silly season” alludes to cucumbers (according to Wikipedia, specifically to gherkins or pickled cucumbers).  Their cucumber references translate to “cucumber time” or “cucumber season” or “pickled cucumber season”.  In England, cucumber season was a term for the slow business time for tailors.

Having grown cucumbers, zucchini and other squash relatives in my backyard vegetable garden, I can attest to the fact that it does become the silly season in late summer when they you cannot pick them fast enough and they grow to mammoth size very quickly.  Neighbors shutter their windows when they see you coming with yet another bag of vegetables to share.  Back in the 80’s zucchini bread, super-sweet and buttery cake-like “bread”, was all the rage; some of us are still trying to get the weight off from that effort to dispose of lots of zucchinis.

Perhaps over dinner tonight, my guest and I  will discuss my research into the meaning of “cucumber news” and have a little laugh about it.  What will be more difficult to explain is why, in a time with much real, dramatic news, an article about the selection of the White House Christmas Tree was the main feature of the front page.  I will tell him that sometimes the reporters decide to give us a break from the bad news of the economy, the circus on Capitol Hill,  deaths from the unending conflicts here and afar, and the local elections, to focus on something everyone can feel good about and be drawn to.  It feeds an old fashioned sort of longing for a human interest story with no blood and guts that makes you feel good all over.  That is what it did for me.

On reflection, I rather like the feature of the day being something positive.  Maybe we’ll be so lucky as to continue to have the false appearance of “cucumber season,” when in fact green leafy vegetables are more prolific and our beautiful, colorful fall will soon be winter and the problems of the world will still be very much alive.