Welcome back!

After a crazy month of being out of town 20 out of 30 days (Tucson, LA, Philadelphia, DC), I'm finally back in the sweet hot dry heat of Puh-hoe-nix (as my non-AZ friends say). After 7 super-damp hot (but fun) days in DC, I'm actually ready for some dry heat (emphasis on the dry). This is a post I've been meaning to write for about 3 weeks, and now I finally have time and energy.

A small habit that Ben's parents and we have developed is to have a meal ready on the table if either of us returns from the airport in the general time frame of dinner. This is fantastic for me, because when I get home from a trip at supper time, the last things I want to do are cook from my empty fridge or go out for yet another meal. This is a fun thing to be on the receiving end of, and it's also a nice way to get fresh stories from the returning travelers.

Hence, when Jay and Marilyn returned from Indiana last month, I took up the cause and had supper ready at their house when the Super Shuttle dropped them off. Since I had just received a 10 bottle shipment of Salsa Lizano (a tangy, non-spicy sauce that Jay discovered on SST in Costa Rica), I had a hankering to make our favorite food to go with it: the super-simple Cuban Black Beans from the Extending the Table international cookbook. They are ultra-simple and can be made with less effort than it takes to read this post.

Cuban Black Beans
from Extending the Table


1 c. green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 16 oz. cans black beans, undrained
1/2 t. dried oregano
3 T. vinegar

Saute green peppers & garlic in 2 T. oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Serve over white or brown rice and a splash of Salsa Lizano if you have it. (I have 5 extra bottles if you want some!!)

To go with this, I made my favorite cold green bean salad from the More With Less cookbook, which is basically an egg salad with green beans and the best part: dill pickles.

Green Bean Salad
from More With Less


3 c. steamed green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 large dill pickle, chopped
2 T. vinegar
1 t. salt
2/3 c. mayonnaise

Combine beans, eggs, onion, and pickle in medium bowl. Mix vinegar, salt and mayo together and pour over salad. Stir gently to combine. Chill and serve. Serves 6.
[Note: I don't like raw onions, so I steamed the onions along with the beans to take some of the bite out.]

We also had some yummy hummus and garlic toasts they had sitting around, which rounded the meal out. For dessert, we had my favorite easy, "healthy" dessert: Peanut Butter Banana Tortillas. (Hey, it's got fruit, that makes it healthy, right?!)

Peanut Butter Banana Tortillas


4 tortillas
2 bananas
peanut butter
2 T. chocolate chips

Follow this process for each tortilla: lightly brown tortilla on one side. Take it out of the pan, and spread peanut butter on half of the browned side. Slice half a banana and lay them on top of peanut butter. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the bananas. (Careful: Put a few less than you think, because it's easy for the chocolate to take over the whole thing.) Fold tortilla over and brown both sides of the tortilla. Serves 4.

Happy summer eating!