August 3, 2010
The first time I came across the entry in her food log – “Texas caviar” – I didn’t think too much of it. After all, as a Northerner transplanted to the South I’m used to coming across things in my clients’ food logs that I’m not entirely familiar with. Succotash? Butter beans? Banana pudding, fried okra, and even barbecue – all culinary creations I didn’t know existed until I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line.
Then I saw it everyday on her log for a week. ”Is she eating caviar EVERY DAY?” I finally asked and she turned over the recipe.
Turns out the very same recipe is one of my best friend’s “go to” dishes for potlucks as well, only she calls it by the slightly less PC-term “Redneck Caviar.” Whatever you want to call it, it’s easy, it’s delicious and best of all, it’s healthy.
The fixins:
- 1 can of black-eyed peas (15 oz)
- 1 can of black beans (15 oz)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 jalapenos, chopped
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- salt + pepper
- 1/2 cup light Italian dressing or Lime dressing
Everything gathered!
Chop the Toms
And the Onions
Give it a stir....
Add dressing, salt + pepper... and chill!
In case you’re not a visual learner:
- Chop tomatoes, onions, green onions, jalapenos and green pepper. Combine.
- Add rinsed black-eyed peas and black beans.
- Toss lightly.
- Add 1/2 cup salad dressing, a pinch of salt and pepper and the minced garlic.
- Allow it to chill at least 2 hours, up to overnight, to blend flavors together.
I like this just as “as is” as a side dish and with the beans in it, you could almost have it be a light meal by itself. You can also use this a dip, which is how it’s mostly common served. Of course, best served on a patio on a warm summer night with good friends and cold beers!
(When you look up the calorie count for this, you’ll find a range of 20 cals-200 calories per serving. This depends mainly on two things: how many servings you make out of it and how much dressing you use. Play around with it to figure out what works for you. If I’m eating it as a side dish, I get about 20 servings out of my batch at 140 calories, 10 g of protein and 9 g of fiber.)
Enjoy, ya’ll.
I’ve been on a baking kick lately, which is highly unusual for me as I much prefer the less-precision-required art of cooking to the scientific act of baking. However, I had a container of blueberries that were getting just past their grab n’ eat stage, and I thought scones were the perfect way to use them.
This is a recipe from my go-to cookbook, The All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book. It’s not a fancy cookbook or specific to any type of cuisine or diet or chef, but it’s got all the basics in there as well as good pictures. I also like that since it was my mom’s copy, it has notes from her written in the margins and inside cover.
If you buy it, yours won’t have these lovely notes until you lend it to my mom for a year or so.
So, where were we? Scones! I didn’t take pictures of the how-to process, because it was a spur of the moment decision to make them. And in fact, it wasn’t until the FINAL piece was left that I remembered to grab my camera.
This is the basic scone recipe, you can add whatever fruits or nuts you might desire after you’ve mixed all the other ingredients together.
2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg, separated
1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 T of sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Note: I don’t own a pastry blender and have never been very successful at the two knives thing. I usually use my hands here, and try not to over mix.)
2. In one-cup measuring cup, mix milk and egg yolk until blended with a fork. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in milk mixture. Stir until combined.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 5-6 times, until smooth. With lightly floured hands, pat into a round cake. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheet.
4. With a lightly floured knife, cut dough into 8 wedges (do not separate wedges). In a small cup, lightly beat egg white. Brush scones with egg white and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake until golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Separate wedges, serve warm or cool on a wire rack.
Stats: 260 cals, 5g protein, 30g carb, 13g fat, 1g fiber, 360mg sodium.
I feel slightly bad that my Mom just emailed me for this recipe….because she would have it if I hadn’t stolen her book. Sorry, Mom. Next time I see you… I’ll make you some scones. xoxo
