Cooking

Smoked Paprika Dressing

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Saw this recipe at All Recipes and wanted to give it a try – with a few tweaks to my taste.  So here’s my one serving version.  I left out the sugar as I saw no reason, somewhat upped the garlic because hey garlic, and dropped the onions since it was a bit too complex a prep and I wasn’t sure what they’d add.

  • 2 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/4 tsp honey
  • 1/4 tsp ground mustard
  • 1/4 tsp lime juice
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/8 tsp crushed garlic (about 1/8 a clove or so)
  • 1/8 tsp oregano
  • 2 tsp olive oil.

Pretty much just mixed it up and blended it then served it over baby spinach.  And the result . . .

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Recipe: Refried Beans

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I had tried this recipe awhile ago and am still tweaking it.  Here’s what I have so far:

a bit over 3 cups beans (2 15 oz cans drained, washed) – currently using black beans.
2 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

1) saute garlic in oil.  I use lower heat and a pan, about medium.  Brown it.
2) Add everything else, mash good, keep stirring.
3) Increase heat and stir until “well fried” (about 10-15 minutes).  You’ll start getting a little browning and that’s a good sign.  Keep mashing throughout.

Results?  Well still kinda “eh.”  The flavor is there, but subtle – and subtle enough even white corn tortillas mute it.  I need to “jack it up” some more.

As  a rule I don’t use salt but this could probably use a little – I’m also debating soy sauce and/or some red pepper powder.  Suggestions welcome.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili is a recipe that caught my attention online and as it has a lot of things I liked, I tried it.  My first result was pretty haphazard and didn’t hold the flavor well when frozen – it had a hint of good taste that quickly quashed.  So after a bit of reading up I tweaked it – adding red wine vinegar and oregano based on my research (which consisted of “what other recipes are like this that have stuff I didn’t use”).  So here’s what I tried tonight:

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp crushed garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2 med sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar.
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained (about 1 1/2, 1 3/4 cups)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 15 oz can black beans, drained, washed (about 1 1/2, 1 3/4 cups ea)

1) Sauté oil, onions, garlic for two minutes
2) Add sweet potatoes, sauté until onion is soft and transparent, – about 5-6 minutes.
3) Reduce heat, add all other ingredients in order listed, stir to combine
4) Simmer, covered with slightly open lid, 20-25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until everything is cooked and flavors are blended.

And the results?

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