Healthy & delicious white bean spread

Back when we lived in Austin our favourite restaurant used to bring freshly baked bread and a delicious hummus-like spread made from cannellini beans to the table for us to enjoy while we waited for our meal to be prepared. It was always a welcome change from the bread and butter that you so often get at restaurants, not only because it's a healthier alternative, but also because they had different versions of this deliciously simple spread. For a while they served a roasted red pepper version, and later they switched to serving it with olive pieces mixed in, and a few olives on the side. Since moving to Toronto, we can't go to Sagra any more, so today I decided to try making this yummy spread at home. 


If you've made hummus before, you'll find that the process of making white bean spread is quite similar, although I find that the finished product is a bit lighter and smoother in texture. White beans are also a little less expensive than chick peas, and this recipe calls for less tahini (which can be almost as expensive as hummus itself) than most hummus recipes. For me, the biggest challenge was figuring out exactly which "white beans" were the right ones for this recipe, since several different varieties of beans at the grocery store seem to go by that name, and none of them said "cannellini beans" on the package. After a little online research I was able to determine that the beans I was looking for are also called white kidney beans. For my first attempt at the recipe, I decided to go with a can of beans instead of committing to a whole bag of dry beans (although this would be a less expensive way to go, if you plan to make the recipe more than once and have the patience and foresight to soak the beans overnight).


I started with a recipe from FoodNetwork.com, which you can find here. I'll share the original recipe along with my adjustments, substitutions and things I will do differently next time below. The instructions are very simple; just combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

The recipe calls for:

• 1/4c chopped green onions 

I used fresh chives from the garden, and put in 1/3c because I harvested too many and didn't want to waste them. I would use chives again, but next time I'll stick with just 1/4c.

• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 T tahini
• 1/2 t dried oregano

I used fresh oregano from the garden, but next time I would use dried instead, since the final version ended up tasting a bit leafy, even though it was well blended.

• 1/4 ground cumin
• 1/8 t salt
• 1/8 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (19 oz.) can cannellini (aka white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained

I drained the cannellini beans, and set aside the bean liquid, which I used about 3 T of to thin out the spread at the end, since it ended up a bit too thick. I didn't rinse them, but I probably will next time.

• 1 garlic clove, peeled

I used 2 cloves, and I'm glad I did (but then again, we like garlic!) I cut them in thirds before adding them to the food processor.

This spread is delicious on bread, but it's also great as a healthy veggie dip, and a fresh new alternative any time you would use hummus. It should last for a week or so in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Why is Breakfast Cereal so Expensive? or How to Make Granola

Today's blog post is brought to you by Rocky and Bullwinkle. Well, not really, but The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show inspired this post's disjunctive title. Do you remember the show's great episode titles like "Lion in the Bedroom or The Cat’s Pajamas"? I sure do! And now on to the real post!

Although most of my blog posts so far have been about home improvement, One Canadian Home is intended to be a do-it-yourself blog in the fullest way possible. James and I are very interested in doing and making whatever things we can around our home for a couple of reasons. Saving money is a big part of our motivation, but we're also interested in learning how to do a wide variety of different things, like our grandparents did. We also strive to be eco-friendly, and this is often easier to do if you buy ingredients instead of finished products. Since this is a post about granola, not about why we want to do as much as we can ourselves, and I've already gone off on a tangent about Rocky and Bullwinkle, I won't digress further, but hopefully you get what we're after, and maybe you'll read along and join the conversation in the comments.

Breakfast cereal is incredibly expensive, especially for what it is. Mostly wheat or oats or corn, all of which are very cheap. It's easy to pay on the order of $5 for a box of cereal, depending on the size of the box, and even the generic brands (which I find don't usually taste as good) are pretty pricey. So, I've been looking for alternatives to breakfast cereal.

My first attempt at making breakfast cereal will be making granola, although in researching the topic I also came across a recipe for home made bran flakes that I really want to try. When I do, I will post about it. I found a couple of granola recipes online, but I also remembered that my friend Kate used to make granola, so I got in touch and asked her for her recipe. In the end, I decided to try Kate's recipe first since it didn't have any ingredients that seemed too hard to find (and some which can be substituted), and wasn't full of coconut, which I don't really like. I also know that she's been making granola this way for years, so I figure it's probably good!

Here it is:

5 cups oats (or 4 cups oats and 1 cup rice puffs)
1 cup cashews or almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2/3 cup tahini
2/3 cup concentrated apple (or other) juice (from frozen)
chopped dried fruit: papaya, apricot, cranberries, raisins, etc.

Mix everything except fruit in a large baking pan such as a lasagna pan. Bake 60 minutes at about 275F, stirring every 20 minutes. Add fruit 20 minutes from end (ie at the second stir). Stir immediately upon removal from oven to make clean-up easier.

We usually use two baking pans and make double this recipe which also makes the amount of juice more closely match a standard frozen can. You can substitute other sugars for the fruit juice. Oil can replace some or all of the tahini.

Thanks, Kate!

For my first batch I used oats (no rice puffs), almonds, dried mangos and dried apples. Instead of the juice I used apple sauce, since that's what I had on hand. Since apple sauce is less liquid than apple juice, I added a little canola oil too.

After trying it, I decided that I wanted raisins in it as well, for a little extra sweetness, so I added them after the fact which seems to work just fine. This delicious granola is now stored in a canister on my counter, and I serve myself two handfuls with milk for breakfast almost every morning. Since there are so many variations, I'm sure each batch will be different and interesting, too.

Next up, how to make my own chai tea to go with it. Let me know if you have a recipe!