Curried Peanut and Bean Spread

I made this economical bean and peanut spread over the weekend that was well-received in my household. I was looking for something savory and lower in fat than peanut butter, but not terribly bean-y. However, I was open to using some beans as they'd provide protein and reduced fat. I then thought about the tasty combo of curry seasonings and peanuts.

So I decided to try a pinto bean, peanut butter, dried fruit, veg, and curry powder/spice mixture.

I pureed the pinto beans and peanut butter together (about a 3:1 ratio), then added curry powder, ground cloves, and ground ginger plus a bit of salt. I chopped celery and onion and sautéed in a little oil. I also chopped some raisins up (so the bits would be smaller). I stirred the veg and fruit into the seasoned spread and adjusted the taste.

We've mostly had this on bread as open-faced sandwiches and on apple wedges. I'm pleased with the end result -- a savory, reduced fat/high protein spread that goes well with bread, apples, celery sticks, and crackers.

In coming weeks, I'll be experimenting with other flavor combos to mix with pureed beans and peanut butter.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers -- End of August

Friday (Movie Night -- we watched African Queen, checked out from the local library)
sausage, mushroom and basil pizza
garden green beans
curried cabbage, sprouted lentil, and peanut slaw
blackberries
microwave brownies

I'm still out of pepperoni. But we've been very satisfied with the sausage, mushroom and basil pizzas I've been making.

My heads of cabbage are still forming. So instead of harvesting a ball of cabbage for the slaw, I cut off one or two outer leaves from a few heads, then finely sliced those leaves.

Saturday (I don't remember what we had.)

Sunday

garbanzo bean and kale soup

drop biscuits

blackberry cobbler

I had a bunch of different liquids to use up, some from steaming vegetables, some from rinsing a can of tomato puree, and pasta cooking water. These were used as the liquid in the soup.

The leftover blackberry cobbler became the next day's breakfast.

Monday

sorrel, squash blossom and sausage soup

stuffed grape leaves

Mexican baked beans with beef

tossed garden salad

fresh blackberries

The baked beans were absolutely delicious. If you're tiring of traditional baked beans and like Tex-Mex food, try a Mexican baked bean casserole. I use 4 oz of cooked ground beef, added to 2.5 to 3 cups of cooked pinto beans, a little salsa, some fresh cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt, water, vegetable oil. I baked the casserole at about 325 F until the water was mostly gone. It tasted like the filling to a good beef and bean burrito. Extras like cheddar cheese, sliced olives, chopped green onions, diced tomato as toppings after baking would make this really tasty.

Tuesday

pancakes with garden blueberries

bacon

blackberry-rhubarb sauce

Wednesday
spaghetti and meat sauce
sautéed zucchini and patty pan squash
cucumber and pickled chive blossom salad

fresh blackberries

I doubled the batch of spaghetti sauce for a quick meal next week, using 1 lb. of ground beef, a small handful of TVP dehydrated, 12 oz. can tomato paste, oregano, celery, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and water (including some of the pasta cooking water at the end). I also saved the water from cooking the spaghetti to use in Thursday's dinner as part of the liquid in the curry.

The pickled chive blossoms were added to the sliced cucumber salad. After I strained my last bottle of chive blossom vinegar, I put the jar of blossoms into the fridge. I use a tablespoon of the pickled blossoms in a salad, pulling the individual blossoms apart slightly. They provide the vinegar flavor in salads that I'd normally add some vinegar. In this salad, I added a spoonful of mayo and a pinch of salt to the sliced cucumbers and chive blossoms.

Thursday

chicken curry over rice

sautéed beet greens (we ate roasted beets with lunch on Wednesday)

leftover frozen chocolate cream pie and various ice creams

A couple of days this last week (those that 3 or more of us were at home), our lunches looked more like dinners. I've roasted and sautéed vegetables, made fried rice, baked desserts, etc. It just makes sense for our situation. I used the leafy green leaves from the carrots in a slaw and in fried rice. I used both fresh chive blossoms  (in soups and salads) and the pickled chive blossoms that are leftover from making chive blossom vinegar (in salads). I harvest the squash blossoms later in the day, using only male blossoms and only after the female blossoms have twisted themselves shut. We like the mellowness they add to sorrel soup. This was the first week that I've used our celery. And this is the first time I've grown celery. Our homegrown celery has a strong flavor compared to commercially-grown celery. I added some ribs to the fried rice and the spaghetti sauce, using both leaves and crunchy ribs. Instead of harvesting the entire plant, I cut off an outer rib here and there and am allowing the rest of the plant to continue to grow.

Our garden is producing really well, but most of what it's giving us needs someone to cook it into something. On the days that I'm cooking at least 2 full meals, I'm spending a lot of time in the kitchen. It's a season of my life. The positive part of all of this is a few more minutes with family each day. Opportunities like this will become fewer and further between shortly. 

what we've eaten from the garden this week

(I wanted to list this out just to see how much our garden is yielding right now. I feel very blessed.)

green beans

cabbage

lentil sprouts (from the kitchen "garden")

basil

oregano

garlic

thyme

rosemary

blackberries

parsley

cilantro

kale -- two kinds

sorrel

squash blossoms

grape leaves

dill weed

lettuce

spinach

nasturtium leaves and flowers

Swiss chard

blueberries

raspberries

rhubarb

summer squash

cucumber

chive blossoms

chives

apples

carrots and their greens

celery

radish leaves

beets and their greens

green onions

still waiting for potatoes, Brussel sprouts, tomatoes, fall turnips, pumpkins.winter squash, peppers, corn, and figs

Those were our meals this past week. Anything special on your menus? Do you ever have your large meal in the middle of the day and a lighter one for supper?

Have a wonderful weekend!