Advent

Waiting

QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS AND APRICOTS

QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS AND APRICOTS

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small onion chopped
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
1 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

(1) Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in quinoa, apricots, and cinnamon stick, return to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender. 12 minutes.

(2) Stir in black beans. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in parsley.

Per serving (3/4 cup): 197 g, 248 Cal., 4 g Total Fat, 0 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 0 mg Chol, 240 mg Sod, 43 g Total Carb, 6 g Total Sugar, 7 g Fib, 10 g Prot, 56 mg Calc.

6 PointsPlus per serving

Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook



....just a note....

I just made this from the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook, which just came out in the last couple weeks - along with Weight Watchers revamp of their weight management system. New PointsPlus are different from the points system they had been using for the last decade or so.

ALSO - I doubled the recipe (if I am going to go to the trouble of cooking - I want some for the week)

While this is listed as a side-dish, I'll eat this as an entrée. It is a bit different from what I gravitate to flavor-wise. This is warm/sweet/savory. I tend to go for spicy-zesty - but this is good. I look forward to trying other recipes.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Advent / Quietness

To keep silence, in thought, word and deed is a manifestation of humility in the presence of God and his existence within his Creation. Our presence, as testimony to God's love, should always be subdued, in deference to his goodness and mercy towards us. We accept quietness, not merely as a reflection of our humility, but in acknowledgment of the fact that we really know very little at all. It is an expression of our awe at the Presence of he who is far greater than ourselves, and a deference in the face of the Love that surpasses our capacity to reason.

Br. Karekin Madteos Yarian, BSG
The Skillfulness of Shepherds

Apple Pie

I was reticent to have a blog entry called Apple Pie. To me, there seems to be a lot of cultural baggage around the words “Apple Pie” at least for Americans. I am reticent since the current political climate is contentious to say the least, whereby, how “American” one is or isn’t seems constantly called into question. Personally, I find such confrontations annoying; keeping people from focusing on deeper or more important issues such as working for economic justice, or just plain feeding the poor. “Apple Pie” is often found in sentences that also contain the adjective American. American or not, I’ll carry on.

As a sometime cook, and sometime baker (I am better than some things than others), one thing I happen to be better at is baking pies. I have not been making as much pie as I used to as of late for a number of unrelated reasons. I live alone; pie tends not to aid my weight management; my work is stressful, especially the last few weeks (months?) and time off is often just used resting doing as little as possible including NOT making pies.

Given that perfect storm of NOT making pies – I missed two of my favorite pie ‘seasons’ earlier this year, so because of that, I was bound and determined NOT to miss the current pie season that I enjoy. I missed rhubarb season in the spring – I even have my own patch of rhubarb right here in The City of Chicago. I missed tart Michigan cherry season in July. I did NOT make a blueberry pie this year, even though, really blueberry pies are secretly the easiest to make; and, through advancements in hybrids and transportation, blueberry season seems now to last all summer long.

The thing that is available now that is not available other times of year is locally grown heirloom apples. Sure, apples are available in our brightly lit, highly packaged supermarkets all year round. I can have an apple any time of year – whether from New Zealand, or somewhere in the U.S. All this feeds our need for instant gratification – our “instant” culture.

When I was young I remember when fruits had very particular and short seasons. I remember my parents or my grandmother buying a crate of Colorado peaches when they were shipped to the store. You couldn’t buy one peach.

So, basically today, I have been all about Apple Pie, particularly Heirloom Apple Pie.

The apples I get – I discovered a number of years ago at The Chicago Farmer’s Market in the loop. I use the vendor Nichols Farm & Orchard who bring their produce into Chicago from Marengo, IL.

The varieties of apples I purchase are:

Cox Orange Pippin – English Variety identified in 1830

Cox Orange Pippen

Golden Russet – American Variety (New York) identified in 1845

Golden Russet

Just to LOOK at these apples, unwaxed, not uniform, heterogeneous, and mottled; they are most gorgeous things. To use them in cooking is even more glorious.

A number of you who know me personally, know that I use the Apple Pie recipe from the 1975 Copyright of The Joy of Cooking.





My piecrust recipe – while simple and elegant is more than just the recipe – there is an art to it that can’t be explained in just words. When I have time, I can show you how to do it. If you plan on making a pie – use whatever piecrust makes you the least stressed-out; and if that means buying a pre-packaged one, so be it.


I mix these heirloom apple varieties together – the result with the sugar and the spice is a warm appley – winey flavor. I have made plenty of apple pies from supermarket apples (and if I have to make an apple pie from supermarket apples, I use Granny Smith). I sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the outside of my crusts.


Since I went to the trouble to get the apples, and I was going to fire up the oven and all – I thought what I would do is not make one apple pie, but two. One for myself, and one to give away. Even though it takes more time to prepare, and twice the amount of ingredient - it takes about the same amount of preparation dishes and the same amount of cooking energy whether you are baking one or two pies. So really, it is more economical to bake more than one.

As a middle aged person living alone in the City – my friends tend to be middle aged persons living alone in the City. Generally no one cooks for me, except me. I try to foster an attitude of cooking more and giving away, because, when you least expect it food seems to come back to you. A brother in my religious community – The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory gave me two muffins he saved for me that he baked just that morning. So, I gave one of my pies away to a neighbor, in a pie plate I purchased just for that purpose. It doesn’t matter if I don’t get the pie plate back. (actually it was kind of a GIANT pie plate). The pie I kept was baked in a vintage FIRE-KING pie plate I found a number of years ago.


Go out there and cook for someone else and don’t expect anything back.


SOLI DEO GLORIA

The Rich The Few

TODAY

Joseph Basil (myself), Mark Andrew, Emmanuel

Seven years ago today, August 23, I took my first vows (fundamentally Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience) with The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory. It seems like a short time ago. It seems like a long time ago. This is a photo from that day.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Jalapeño Hummus

Jalapeño Hummus



My sister sent this recipe which is easy to whip up in moments.

(you can find her blog HERE; I recommend it!)

She made it for my niece who doesn't even like Hummus - and my niece LOVES IT! I am not going to even type it out.....

You can find the recipe HERE

First picture is my batch

Second picture was my sister's batch - I lifted that pic from her Facebook page

I couldn't find a 1/3 cup can of jalapeños at my terrible large grocery store full of things I DO NOT WANT! So I purchased the ONLY sliced jalapeños they had and measured out 1/3 cup. Everything turned out fine.

I find it very tasty myself - an interesting intersection of Middle Eastern and Mexican/American flavors and textures.





SOLI DEO GLORIA