Mexican food is a staple in our house, especially for busy evenings. It’s popular among both vegetarians and “meat-atarians,” which is the mix in our house. One of my favorite Mexican meals is a refried black beans that can be served on its own with tortilla chips or as filling for burritos. Although canned refried beans are readily available, homemade versions are healthier and more fun. Here is the recipe along with some suggested serving ideas.
Refried Black Beans
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small carrots, grated
1 (28oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chives, finely chopped
Saute onion and garlic in oil for about five minutes until it begins to soften and brown. Add in carrots, black beans and water. Cook for another five minutes on medium low heat and then gently mash with a potato masher until the beans start to break down into a paste. Continue stirring until beans and vegetable mixture achieve a smooth texture, adding more water if necessary. Remove from heat, stir in the peppers and then transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole dish. Smooth the top and sprinkle with cheese, tomato and chives. Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly on top. Remove from oven and serve as you wish – I’ve included a few suggestions below.
Straight up!
Set the warm black beans out on the table along with a plate of tortilla chips and let the hungry masses dive in.
Burritos or tacos
Serve the refried beans with flour or corn tortillas or taco shells, plus salsa, sour cream, guacamole and extra cheese. A self-serve assembly station on the kitchen counter is usually a good approach.
On rice
Refried beans are great served on rice with all the fixings, and having this for lunch is a great way to use up leftovers.
Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.
My collection of pretty antique tea cups is stored in a small corner cabinet in our bedroom. They are lovely to look at and bring a peaceful feeling to the room but I often think I should try harder to actually use them. On a recent visit to FARM Restaurant in Calgary I saw this delightful and innovative use of china cups as holders for tea lights.
Just drop a candle into the base of the tea cup and set it out. A grouping of tea cup candles on the table or one set at each individual place setting is a perfect way to add a sweet touch to a spring or summer meal. I also love them on the windowsill to enjoy during the day.
Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.
Vintage is in and has been for a long time now and my guess is that it is here to stay. Whether it’s clothing, jewelry, dishes or furniture, there is something truly lovely about beautiful vintage goods. The whiff of memory and nostalgia, the authenticity and uniqueness, the refreshing quality of something old made new again through use in a different age. Sustainability is also a factor – there are so many talented artists and designers recycling vintage into gorgeous new things and rescuing heaps of fabric, metal, woods and plastics from overflowing landfills in the process.
My personal style is quite simple and minimalist but within that I have a collection of elegant vintage jewelry, china and silverware, much of it gifts from my dear grandmothers. Jewelry is a popular topic here on Clever Nesting so I thought I would share a couple of ideas about how to wear vintage brooches.
The easiest way, of course, is to just pin them on. I love the look of a sparkly brooch on a coat or jacket and they are lovely on sweaters, especially as a substitute for buttons or clasps. Lately I’ve also been wearing several of my brooches as necklaces. This is such an easy thing to do: string a chain or ribbon through the closed clasp of the brooch, swing it over your neck and voila, a unique and creative accessory that will leave you smiling all day long.
If you already have a few prized hand-me-down brooches try looping them around your neck the next time you’re thinking of it. And if there’s nothing sitting in your jewelry box yet, ask around at the next family gathering to see what the generations before you may have stuffed away in their dresser drawers or start scouting antique shops, garage sales, consignment stores and other treasure troves. I highly recommend the latter as a fun, indulgent and inexpensive way to spend a day and spark your creativity and the former is a great way to share in stories from the past.
Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.
I love gardening. I often say to friends and family that if the lottery ever found it’s way over to my bank account I’d pack up my life and move out to the country to devote myself to puttering around in the garden all day.
Alas, until that day, I continue to look for things that are easy to grow. Cool climates, short growing seasons and all the demands of a busy life makes it a waste to spend time growing slow, finicky plants. In terms of finding success in the garden I can’t think of anything more satisfying and foolproof that growing your own salad greens. Salad mix is so easy to grow and so fast to grow! Plant seeds now and you’ll be eating tender, delicious homegrown greens in only a few weeks. Spring is the perfect time to sow a single variety of lettuce or to be more creative and plant a mixture of your favorite greens. On my list for planting this year are:
- Butter lettuce: This is your regular lettuce – leafy, green, tender and tasty.
- Red leaf lettuce: I love red leaf lettuce for the colour and contrast it adds to your garden plot and to the salad plate. It’s just as easy to grow as regular lettuce and has a bit more punch taste-wise.
- Beet greens: Beets themselves are wonderful to grow, but I enjoy baby beet greens just as much. Plant beet seeds in containers or the salad section of your garden the same as you would any leafy green and harvest the tender leaves in the first month or two of the plant’s life. After that you may want to thin them out a bit or just have the odd beet growing among your salad plants.
- Spinach: so healthy, so tasty, so versatile. In addition to clipping baby greens for salads, I also harvest spinach from the garden and freeze it in baggies for use during the winter (much better for you and your grocery bill than store bought!).
- Nasturtium: along with violets these are my favorite plants to grow if you want to add colorful edible flowers to your salad. They have a lovely peppery taste and the flowers are bright yellow, orange and red.
The planting method is very easy. Start with a clear patch of dirt in the garden or a container filled with potting soil. The size of the plot or vessel is up to you – even a small pot will work, so don’t let the lack of garden stop you. Sprinkle seeds over the dirt and then place a thin layer of dirt on top. The general rule of thumb is that the layer of dirt on top of seeds should be about the same height as the seeds themselves. If you do plant nasturtiums their seeds are bigger than the others so poke them in about an inch.
I mix all my seeds together and wait for the beautiful mishmash of color that comes up; you might also prefer a more orderly planting style like rows or patches of specific varieties. Another thing I don’t worry about is spacing. While you don’t want to be wasteful and use too many seeds, it is also really easy to thin out your salad patch if it’s getting too dense by just eating more salad!
The best way to ensure a steady supply of fresh greens all summer long is to keep harvesting the leaves as they’re ready. It’s easy for salad greens to get parched and dry in the hot sun, so definitely don’t wait for a grocery-store style head of lettuce to emerge. Baby greens and micro-greens are all the rage in fancy restaurants and for good reason: they’re delicious! Eat and enjoy!
Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.
