touche beans, touche

ever heard the expression "not worth beans?" as in, not worth much? well. i have, so there. to bean de-valuers and naysayers i say: bah. beans are super good for you, and also very tasty, and also CHEAP which, right now, means a LOT to me. i've even been making them in my dutch oven on my wood stove, a double whammy for my husband because he doesn't have to pay for any extra energy for the cooking of them. actually, i've been cooking quite a bit on the ol' wood stove, but that's another blog. the basic recipe that i've been working with is two cups beans, one heaping teaspoon each sugar and salt, one dried ancho chili, torn up, two slices of bacon and half an onion, diced. top it off with about 6 cups of water and plunk it on the wood stove once the morning fire stops roaring and leave it there all day, stirring occasionally. i'm betting this would work in a low crock pot too, but i've not done it that way. you could leave out the bacon, if you wanted to go meatless, but in that case i'd add some olive oil. maybe even as much as 1/4 cup. on the bacon front another cool idea is to cut an inch or so from the fattiest ends of your bacon and toss those in. then the bacon you fry up for breakfast will be that much leaner (less messy) and your beans will be that much tastier! a couple of months ago i made a pot that i added maple syrup to, and that was also very tasty. the point, as usual, is this: try it. it's cheap, healthy, and tasty, so that's all my bases covered, with the added bonus once again of you knowing exactly what you're eating.

ortega burgers

let's cut to the chase and just say: voted best burgers ever. not a new idea, i know, but i believe i do one or two things not done by other people. so, start with 1.5 pounds ground beef, set it out to get to room temperature. the meat mixes with everything else more easily if it's not just from the frige cold. in a mixing bowl combine 1/2 small red onion, 1 small pasilla pepper, two cloves of garlic, and one slice of wheat bread, all finely diced. pour in the juice from one 7 ounce can of ortega whole green chiles. set the chiles aside to top the finished burgers with. stir the juice in so that the bread soaks it up, then add the meat. season to taste with black pepper, garlic salt, and a sprinkle of cumin and mix thoroughly. at this point i like to let the meat mixture sit for just a bit, to let the flavors blend. it may or may not actually help, but i do it anyway. form into patties about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and 5 inches round. many years ago a neighbor gave me sound advice regarding the grilling of burgers. don't fuss them. i find this advice applies to many aspects of life, but in this case it means that you shouldn't have to flip a good burger more than once. wait until juices are collecting on the top of the patty, and probably running off a bit, and the meat is starting to turn brownish on top, then flip. once. don't muck around moving them from one part of the grill to another and tell yourself that doesn't count either, because it does. be brave, pick a spot and leave them there! when they are done, put them on a foil lined baking sheet and top with slices of pepper jack cheese. slide them into a warm oven to melt. while the cheese is getting happy, mix chipotle flavor cholula sauce with mayonnaise, about 1 1/2 table spoons of sauce to four table spoons of mayo. to assemble, smear the chipotle mayo on the top and bottom of the bun, pop a patty on, then one or two chiles, and close it up with the top bun then chow down. you can add tomatoes and lettuce if you want, or sliced avocado, but really i find that the chiles add enough all on their own.