Greetings!

Soon, I will post recipes, thoughts on food, perhaps even photos of food, on this page.  Right now I just wanted to kick things off by adding this page to my repertoire & putting a link to it on the 'Very Concerning' page.  Trying to use my very limited knowledge of HTML to add this blog as a 'sub-blog'...so far, not going so great.
While I am creating the greatness, here is a delightful recipe that I make frequently for my little vegetarian girl, Grace.  Non-vegetarians also give it rave reviews!  As with most of my recipes, measurements for most of the ingredients will be estimates.  Some people are bothered by this...if you are one of those people, you probably should not attempt this at home.  Just a thought...


BAMF Cannellini Beans With Manchego

2 15-oz cans white beans
1 smallish onion, chopped
about 3 cloves of garlic, also chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup or vegetable stock (I use chicken stock when making it for the non-vegetarians
1 teaspoon each chopped fresh rosemary and thyme
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (I like the fire-roasted variety)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (I like the kind in the squeezy tube, y'all)
grated  Manchego cheese (I use alot, probably about 3/4 of a cup)
smoked paprika (probably about 1/2 tsp)
cayenne pepper (just a pinch)
Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper (just a bit, unless you want it quite spicy)
salt and freshly ground black pepper  (to taste)
1 tablespoon chopped  fresh parsley (only if you have it, if you don't skip it)  (and, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you use dried parsley in this dish, or any other, for that matter.  vile, taste-free stuff that!)
If I have any I will also throw in a few pieces of roasted pepper (red or yellow) that I've chopped up.  I also will use about a teaspoon of Penzey's 'Tuscan Sunset' seasoning blend if I have some on hand.

Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Oil up a baking dish of some sort (I go with olive oil)...I use my Pampered Chef  baking dish thingy, which probably holds 4 or 5 cupfuls of stuff.  You can use any kind of dish you would normally use to bake a casserole in, but it shouldn't be too deep.  The sides of my PC stoneware thingy are about an inch, inch and a half high.
Add butter & olive oil to a skillet.  Saute the onion till it's soft but not browned, add the garlic toward the end.  After you've sauteed the garlic about a minute add your spices & herbs (except the parsley),the roasted red peppers, and your tomato products.  Saute for another couple minutes, then add the beans & simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, uncovered.  Check it to make sure it doesn't dry out; add more broth if it looks like this is happening.
Put roughly half the bean/tomato mixture in a bowl & immersion blender it all to hell.  Well, okay, maybe you don't have to be quite so harsh, but you want it to have a creamy texture.  If it's too dry add a bit more broth while you are blendering it, but not too much.  It shouldn't have a soupy quality, should be more like the consistency of hummus but a bit more chunky.  I know, I'm being very vague here...get over it y'all,sheesh.
Stir the two bean & tomato mixtures together & spread them into your oiled baking dish of choice (if the skillet you used is oven-safe to 475 degrees you can use that for both the sauteing & the baking, to save yourself a dish).  Sprinkle the cheese on top (you could use any hard or semi-hard cheese, we prefer manchego.  it is a delightful cheese...you should get to know it!), pop that joker in the oven & bake it for 15 or 20 minutes, until the cheese just starts to brown.  Oh, and if you went with the fresh parsley, sprinkle that on now.
Take it out of the oven, let it cool off a bit & viola!  you got you a delicious, nutritious vegetarian meal.
I like to serve it with some crusty french-style bread or rolls & a salad or some nice fresh veg, like steamed broccoli or sauteed fresh green beans.
If any of you make it, leave me a comment & let me know how it turned out for you.  It really is verra, verra good.