Monday, October 18, 2010

a pot of beans on a fallish monday night

We've been having some fallish (drizzly) weather here, which is always so exciting. On the menu for tonight (Monday, bean night) was the Cannellini beans in Tomato Sauce from Apples for Jam. These turned out so nice! It is a long-cooking recipe, which made such a difference compared to a lot of my quick bean recipes. I did pre-cook the white beans (I used navy) so it would be a bit faster for a weeknight. In this picture Faith is sauteing a mixture of red onions, olive oil, chopped celery leaves, chopped fresh parsley, which we still have in the garden, garlic, and tomatoes (also from the garden, frozen and thawed). After that delicious mixture is combined, you add the (cooked) beans and some water, boil a bit on the stovetop, then bake in the oven for an hour. The slow cooking really adds a delicious flavor.
Here are the finished beans with a plate of sausages on the side. The sausages look like breakfast sausages but they are actually little bratwurst I found at Trader Joe's.
I also served toast, as suggested in the book.

Rainer's birthday is coming up on Saturday and I asked him what kind of cake he wants. "Chocolate" he said in a deep voice . . . "a big one." It was really funny--he was all deadpan about it. We all were laughing--he is so darn cute. So a big chocolate cake it will be!

PS--sorry about the photos!! With the fall weather and it being dark, and with the Nikon D-40 not working again (I swear, mine is a lemon!) this is how the pictures are going to be for a while!

12 comments:

Hoosier at Heart said...

Feel free to send the leftovers to me! Looks wonderful!

Laura said...

yum! looks like a perfect chilly fall weather meal!

Andrea said...

Yummy! Looks so good. I'll have to try that recipe out (it'd be a good one for the solar oven). Is that the back of your patchwork table runner or a different runner altogether?

Toby E. said...

Yay for Chocolate cakes! My birthday is Saturday too and I have been planning for a while now on making myself a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and covered in mini m-m's. Headed out today to make sure I have the supplies for it.

Anonymous said...

That pot of beans looks yummy! I just made a casserole from a back issue of Everyday Food that had the same beans with sausage and tomato paste and red wine (and a few other things) that you baked topped with homemade breadcrumbs that was delicious also.
Happy Birthday to Rainer!

nicole said...

you have an inspired a meal for my family this week. There is a kids book called beans on toast that we used to read our kids all the time, check your library!

Laura said...

The beans look delicious! I am constantly having problems with my Nikon D40 also.....so frustrating. I wish I had gone with a Canon.

I always like to check in and see what your cute family is up to :)

cagio said...

I made this cake and it was amazing - super rich so that everyone only needed a sliver. Not sure if it is for kids who seem to love quantity when it comes to chocolate but my little guy licked his plate.

I put big chocolate chips around the edge. It is the best cake I have ever had but it is a lot of chocolate. Thought that I would pass it along although I figure that you already have a cake in mind. Happy birthday to the little - big guy.

http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2009/06/ideal.html

Dayna said...

We have the same tea pot..great for the "fallish" weather! I love the Apples For Jam cookbook - have you tried the risotto? Yum!

Michelle said...

That looks yummy, warm, and filling... perfect for a fall evening! I'll bet the house smelled wonderful while it was simmering:-)

Maiz Connolly said...

Maybe it's the weather, but I'm right there with you and your fall cravings. I was just looking up a recipe for baked beans a few days ago, but I went for your pintos recipe instead. It was so delicious. I'll probably make the baked beans next week. Perfect for this drizzly weather!

Happy birthday, Rainer! Ruben's not turning four until January, but he's already told me what kind of cake he wants!

Adrie said...

Yum yum!