Cookin' & Cussin'

Oopsie Beans

cue the music

BACK AGAIN BABY – LUDA!

Helluuuuuur everyone!

AH it feels so surreal to be typing again, to be thinking of my audience (?) again, to be CREATIVE again!

Thank you for allowing me to take a much needed break this summer – I got to sleep in on Fridays, clean my house A LOT, and simply enjoy meals rather than worrying about filming them or being creative.

I was just bored.

My brain didn’t COMPLETELY shut off, but it was nice to at least chill the fuck out & pretend. Making silly reels and pivoting on my Instagram page was quite refreshing. A little bit of vaca, a little bit of experimenting, and a little bit of realism.

Honestly, this summer felt like a lot of slow, quiet, and unexpected growth. Not only for myself but for the way I SEE things, FEEL things and RESPOND to things. This blog and how I want to put it out there was definitely one of the things that I was willing to take a hard look at and reevaluate.

I mean, isn’t that the point of this LIFE? To be able to recognize when something isn’t serving you anymore and still have the wherewithal to step back and pause rather than fully abandon? I also want to take the time to point out that I literally just was EXHAUSTED by writing. By writing these entries, to try & make them fun and different. I still wanted to experiment with food and take pictures & do fun stuff – but that’s where it ended. I had no desire to upload pictures & write out an entire-ass blog entry – like nah.

Don’t get me wrong, obviously I feel like I have ALL the room for failure but I don’t have the room for it to be permanent. I’m hard enough on myself and just leaving something that I started with so much hope and love just ain’t me.

but anyway I’m back

I thought this comeback would be MOST welcome with a mistake-turned-perfection type of entry. To show how resilient we are. To show how its not the end of the world if something doesn’t go our way. To show that “fuck it” can be a beautiful & positive mindset afterall!

Of course I have the backstory ALL READY and geared up for you, dear readers. Don’t worry. I gotchuuu.

So one summer evening, I was planning on making this delicious salad that we both love : roasted garbanzo beans with grape tomatoes over a bed of crunchy romaine, juicy chicken thighs, pickled red onions, smooth avocado slices & tangy goat cheese to top everything off!

It’s one of our favorite “health” meals – I opt to make homemade honey mustard too just to round everything off – its perfect every time.

Until it wasn’t.

you did what, now?

I opened up the wrong can of beans.

FFFFFFF.

So annoyed with myself. So dumb. Why couldn’t I pay attention? This is one of the easiest meals ever – roast the beans with the tomatoes, chop the other ingredients in & throw them on the salad, all while Chris is grilling the chicken – practically no mess, its perfect!

BUT THE BEANS! What was I gonna doooo with this now-opened can of White Cannellini beans? No way in hell was I going to substitute them & no way in hell was I going to waste them. It was a Monday, I’ll put them in a Tupperware container & figure it out later.

It came to me. The idea. The brilliance. The spark. It came back all on its own. I say this as I dutifully type this…..another “pivot” moment is coming back to me.

MAYBE I shouldn’t treat this as my online journal & I should just give the people what they want : “post a recipe with pictures & a full ingredient list and then get the fuck out” – it doesn’t sound horrible. I’ll try that next week. But for now? I’m in too deep. I’ve already wrote too much.

So here it is : THE mistake WITH beans that turned out DELICIOUS.

Ingredients

• 2 cans White Cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

• 1 PKG Gilbert’s Chicken Sausage, I like the Peppers & Onions one

• 1 large Leek, cleaned well & diced

• 3 cups shredded Kale, packed

• 2 TBS Tomato Paste

• 2 Oz Vodka, your choice

• ¾ cup Fat Free Half & Half, another ¼ just in case

• ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

• S+P, Garlic Powder, Paprika & Cumin – to taste

• 1 TBS Olive Oil

Instructions, 1

I personally like to have all my shit together before starting – Mis En Place.

DUH.

Its just been awhile so I figured it was safe to revisit.

Drain & Rinse your White Cannellini Bean cans – let them chill on the side.

Soak & Rinse your leeks WELL – also only use the white & light green parts – everything else is garbage.

Slice the leeks & set aside to chill.

Tear the kale from the stems & measure – also set aside to chill.

Cut your sausages on the bias, as these will be the first ingredients to go into the pan.

Heat up a large skillet over Medium heat.

Lay your sausage pieces flat to warm thru & get some color / char – these sausages are already fully cooked so no need to kill them.

About 2 minutes on each side for some color – set aside on a plate & cover with tin foil.

Instructions, 2

Drizzle 1 TBS of Olive Oil into the same pan you just removed the chicken sausage from.

Allow the leeks to sweat & get soft – about 5 minutes.

Measure out the Tomato Paste & have the Vodka at the ready.

Stir in the Tomato Paste and try to scrape up any brown bits leftover from the leeks at the bottom of the pan.

SWOOOOOOSH in (pour) your vodka and stir well to combine with the Tomato Paste.

Allow the vodka to bubble & evaporate a bit – about 1 minute

Next, empty in BOTH cans of beans and stir well.

Season with all the aforementioned spices above & continue to stir well – about 2-3 minutes.

***These beans are naturally “Softer” than others but you still want your beans warmed thru and to taste cooked***

Then pour in your Half & Half.

Stir in the mountain of Parmesan Cheese & allow to bubble away happily for another 5 minutes.

You may now add your chicken sausage back in to the pan along with everyone else.

Everything in the pan should be at a reasonable simmer – give it a taste! We are nearly at the finish line & you want everything to be perfect!

The kale is last – it takes mere minutes to wilt & stir to combine with everything else – you should be ready to serve this meal by the time you add in the kale.

Serve immediately in your favorite cozy bowl & top with another smattering of fresh parmesan cheese!

what the wrong beans can lead to!

They can lead to a delicious “mistake” turned meal that makes it into the regular rotation!

It truly was fate that I thought this meal up because we ended up going to the Farmers Market that following weekend & they had dinosaur kale and leeks that were BEAUTIFUL and made the ultimate lightbulb go off in my head.

So the next time you open up the wrong can / box / jar of something, just give yourself a little love and patience to come up with something ELSE that’s unexpected! It might just be fun!

Catch me next week with my new format – less words & less fluff, more to the point without being robotic but then again, I feel like I write 70% of this shit for my own sanity.

Have a good weekend & enjoy the fall weather wherever you are!