Black Bean Brownies (No..this is not a joke!)

For those who don't know us very well, Awesome Sauce and I are quite enamored with the perfect food known as the Black Bean. Awesome Sauce may take credit for my introduction to this wonderful food. The Black Bean has significant amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fiber. I love Black Beans and will put them into almost everything. We have put Black Beans in pasta, in couscous, on pizza, as the "meat" in quesadillas and burgers and have made several versions of Black Bean salsa. Without a doubt, the Black Bean is one of my favorite foods.

It is no wonder that when a friend introduced me to a recipe for Black Bean Brownies, I was absolutely obligated to give them a try. I originally saw the recipe posted at www.101cookbooks.com and can be found here:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html

(A quick note on 101cookbooks.com...this is one of the best recipe journals I have ever seen. I have made many recipes from here and have almost always been highly impressed with this site. I strongly recommend that everyone peruse this wonderful resource!!) This particular recipe originally came from a cookbook by Ania Catalano titled "Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener" (I believe that 101 Cookbooks and Ania Catalano call these "Amazing Black Bean Brownies."). Trying this recipe (especially because I love Agave Nectar) has made me wish to try out this cookbook. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for a copy sometime soon.

Awesome Sauce and I made these brownies for a movie night. They were a hit! We had fun making everyone try to guess the "special ingredient" (we knew there would be no allergies...these folks have eaten our Black Bean creations before). It was a little odd to serve cold brownies, but they still definitely worked.

I was very impressed with these brownies, but I don't think I would make them again. First, there was a LOT of butter in them. Second, agave nectar is expensive...this was a bit too much to use on one recipe. Finally, as good as they are, when I want a brownie, I want a Real Brownie. I would rather have the real think then a bunch of ones that just don't quite hit the spot. Still, this recipe was inventive and lots of fun to try.

As usual, here are your photos:

Black Bean Brownies are being eaten!

Up Close and Personal View!

Ratings:
The Clumsy Gourmet: 5
Awesome Sauce: 5

So, we made the recipe. On our friend's recommendation, we did cut down a bit on the

White Bean Salad

Awesome Sauce and I visited a friend for dinner one night and he served a very delicious meal. His wonderful meal included an Eggplant Pilaf served with and Herbed Yogurt sauce and Bean Salad. Four our contribution, Awesome Sauce and I brought Baklava for dessert. At the end of the evening, I knew I must have his recipes and so we engineered a trade...his dinner recipes for my dessert recipe. Since then, I have made this recipe multiple times with several variations.

Here is the original recipe I was sent:

• 2 small cans of northern beans (butter beans are ok too)
• 1 medium size onion (red onion suggested)
• 4-5 green onions
• Parsley (amount depends on how much you like it), leaves only
• 2-3 medium tomatoes (4-5 roma)
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice (one whole lemon)
• Salt

I have since made it with great northern beans, small white beans, and cannellini (my personal favorite). I also usually use two red onions rather than one. I don't always use green onions (for some reason...I like it better without even though I am typically a HUGE green onion fan). I tend to use a little extra lemon juice and balsamic vinegar than most might like...what can I say...I like sour and vinegary tastes. I also enjoy substituting cilantro for vinegar. This salad is incredibly healthy and very tasty. It is perfect as a picnic or BBQ side dish or delightful on its own as a light summer lunch.

Here are some pictures:

Top view.

Side view.

Junky Monkey really enjoyed this recipe but both she and Awesome Sauce prefer when I make it less vinegary. Awesome Sauce finds it a bit rough in the amount of onion (okay...this is definitely my fault). Guest tasters (my mom and sister) were thrilled with this dish and both wanted the recipe!! Whoo-hoo!!

Ratings:
The Clumsy Gourmet: 9
Awesome Sauce: 7.5 (he would like it much more if I laid off the onion a bit...oops.)

Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing

Hello Everyone! I'm sorry it has been so long since I have added to this blog, but as with everything, life got in the way on this one. I just finished my round of finals ever! Now I am ready to play catch-up with this blog.

One of my favorite things to eat is Caesar Salad. I have been making my own croutons for years and have spent quite a bit of time trying different creamy Caesar salad dressings. My two favorite bottled Salad Dressings are definitely Kraft Creamy Caesar (not the "Free," supposedly healthier version) and Cardini's Caesar Salad Dressing. Both of these dressings are excellent and have made many delicious salads that I have served in my home. However, as my close friends and family know. something happened to my taste buds recently. I have become sensitive to lots of preservatives in my foods. Foods that I used to love and enjoy such as canned black bean soup, certain bottled salad dressings and boxed brownie mix are now very irritating and "chemically" tasting. This may be a result of my generally eating healthier. It may just be a change in my taste buds for a variety of other reasons. Whatever the cause, I decided this is definitely for the best. I have been working hard and making my own butter, my own bread, my own soups and now my own salad dressing. It is a slow process, but an enjoyable one.

This recipe is from cooks.com and was posted by Shannon. You can find the recipe here:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1615,142189-245199,00.html

Now, this caesar dressing uses mayo. One time when I made the dressing, I did use my own homemade mayo. I found that it wasn't amazingly different than when I used the regular, full-fat may I found in the store. (Yes, the mayo in the store has more preservatives, but for some reason, this hasn't quite bothered my taste buds yet.) I did also decide to attempt this recipe with a healthier, low fat mayo. After attempts with generic "light" mayo and with Smart Balance mayo, I have decided that this recipe does not lend itself to "lighter" mayonnaise (but perhaps this is my preservative-sensitivies kicking in again...). One great thing about this recipe is that you need VERY little to make a nice big caesar salad. When I would make caesar salad for Awesome Sauce, Junky Monkey and me, I would usually need between 4 and 6 TBSP of bottled dressing in order to caot the leaves. With this recipe, I only need between 2 and 3 TBSP. With this dressing, the total caloric load of my Caesar Salad has significantly lessened.

So, for this recipe I once again use my beautiful Magic Bullet knock-off blender. I start with a garlic clove, lemon, Worcestershire, cracked black pepper, and salt. Once this is blended, I add mayo and shredded parmesean cheese. Once this is done, your ceasar salad dressing will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Reviews from friends and family have been outstanding. I strongly recommend this recipe.

Here are a few pictures:

Dressing in the Blender.

Making a beautiful Caesar Salad!

Ratings:
The Clumsy Gourmet: 10
Awesome Sauce: 9
Junky Monkey: 9 (she found it a bit garlicky)

Guest Taster K thought that this was the best caesar dressing she had ever tasted. (I made sure to send her home with one). Guest Taster S wanted the recipe before leaving my home. I would say that this one is a winner.