It’s an understand statement to say that the cooking class I signed up for---Cooking-For-One---isn’t what I thought it would be. The dietitian teaching the series announced at the beginning of our third session: “Beans, beans, are not the musical fruit. The more you soak the LESS you’ll toot!” Oh, my gosh! Two hours on identifying, cooking, storing and tasting beans is not something I expected to do on a fine April day in middle America. “Slow soak. Hot soak. Quick soak. Gas-free soak.” Who cares? Mashed pinto beans on pizza? Really? Who makes pizza for one? And don’t pretend a six inch tortilla is as good as pizza crust. I’m not that gullible. In fact, talking about pizza for one made me realize I miss pizza! A gooey, cheesy thick crust pizza supreme, I haven’t had any since Don passes away. Every so often we’d drop the dog off at doggie daycare, and then we’d go into town for a pizza. I’ll bet Levi misses those play dates as much as I miss the pizza.
Back on topic: The class instructor seem to think whatever
we make we can add protein packed beans to it---tuna melts, banana or zucchini
bread, brownies, salads, waffles, etc. I’m surprised she didn’t give us a
recipe for a bean facial scrub. But I must say, the bun-less black bean burgers
we had in class topped with a mixed bean salsa, avocado and sour cream was tasty. And the white bean pancakes with strawberries the dietitian also served
I would order in a restaurant. But would I make them? No. Making a big batch of
something like pancakes, then freezing part of them to pop into a toaster later
on is not the kind of cooking-for-one I envisioned learning how to do. Duh, I
can split recipes to freeze without a class and it's rubbing salt in the widow's wound when you have to cook like that---or is it just me?. Besides, I’ll bet the Iron Chefs on the Food Network never freeze a batch of pancakes or
a half a can of beans to use later on. I don’t want to be an old widow with a
freezer full of split recipes. Hey, that might make a good episode of Chopped, though. Open up a widow’s
freezer and empty it out for the mystery baskets full of ingredients for their
cook-offs contests.
I may poke fun of taking an entire cooking class about beans
or say that splitting recipes makes me sad. I may say I didn’t learn anything useful for a woman living alone but being in the class, sampling and laughing
was a fun way to spend an afternoon. Plus I got a cute little booklet of 50
ways to add beans to your diet with the advice that we each need to eat a half to a full cup
of beans a day. Who does that? Certainly not me but the class did bring back a funny
memory of Don. He once asked me to buy him a half a dozen cans of beans for an upcoming
hunting trip. It was a guy thing and something to do with a yearly farting
contest. “Beans, beans, the musical fruit. They drive your tent mates outside
while you toot.” ©
Spicy Roasted Cinnamon Chickpeas (I liked these!)
Ingredients
1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ t cumin
½ t paprika
½ t cinnamon
¼ t coriander
¼ t cloves
¼ t kosher salt
⅛ t cayenne pepper
⅛ t smoked paprika
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking
sheet with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients except parsley in a small bowl and
toss to fully coat.
Spread chickpeas out on baking sheet and roast for 30
minutes, tossing 2-3 times.
Add the parsley before serving. Experiment with various combinations
of spices and try adding nuts for variation.
