Kathy in NZ wrote:

> I didn't realise my post sounded whiny till I read the flak. However,
> a number of posters were very kind and gave me "from scratch" recipes
> which I've saved. I was reacting to so many recipes that seemed to
> come from cans or pre-packaged frozen foods. You're right. I should
> skip them. Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for listening, and for your gracious response. My mantra is
"post what you want to read", so in that vein, I'm gonna post one of my
favorite day-to-day recipes, and if you want to, you can, too. I'm even
gonna re-name the thread.

>
> And your grandmothers idea of making dinner was to call a restaurant
> that delivered?

Yep. My grandmother died a few years ago, but she most assuredly didn't
cook, and she had the money to eat out every day. Same with my
grandfather (different side of the family -- their spouses had died
years before).

Black Bean Soup

This is something I make a lot, without a recipe, but I'll tell you what
I do, with the note that it's super-forgiving of substitutions, so if
you have different beans or veggies you want to use, go for it.

Soak 1 cup of dried black beans in water for eight hours, or quick-soak
them in the pressure-cooker (bring to high pressure, remove from heat,
let pressure release naturally). Drain the soaking water. I
pressure-cook the beans for 5-9 minutes quick-release, but if you don't
have a pressure-cooker, cover them with water, bring to a boil, and cook
until tender, usually an hour or two.

When the beans are cooked, add the following to the pot and bring to a
boil, then simmer for 30-60 minutes:

1 onion, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped (a can of diced or stewed tomatoes is fine here)
1 jalapeno pepper, minced, or some other source of heat (hot sauce, hot
salsa, etc.)
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
2-4 Tbsp. olive oil, optional
1-2 bell peppers, diced
1 cup corn, optional
[secret ingredient] 1 tsp. tahini, optional
salt to taste
enough water to cover everything

When it's done cooking, you can either leave it as is, or blend some or
all of the soup. I just stick an immersion blender in there and blend
enough to make a creamy consistency most of the time.

This soup is good with chopped avocado on top.

serene

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 11:36:47 -0800, serene >
wrote:

>Kathy in NZ wrote:
>
>> I didn't realise my post sounded whiny till I read the flak. However,
>> a number of posters were very kind and gave me "from scratch" recipes
>> which I've saved. I was reacting to so many recipes that seemed to
>> come from cans or pre-packaged frozen foods. You're right. I should
>> skip them. Thanks for the reply.
>
>Thanks for listening, and for your gracious response. My mantra is
>"post what you want to read", so in that vein, I'm gonna post one of my
>favorite day-to-day recipes, and if you want to, you can, too. I'm even
>gonna re-name the thread.
>

>Black Bean Soup
>
Thanks for the recipe, which I've saved.

Ms Leebee wrote:

> "Kathy in NZ" > wrote ...
>
> <snip flak >
>
>>Thanks Serene
>>
>>I didn't realise my post sounded whiny till I read the flak. However,
>>a number of posters were very kind and gave me "from scratch" recipes
>>which I've saved. I was reacting to so many recipes that seemed to
>>come from cans or pre-packaged frozen foods. You're right. I should
>>skip them. Thanks for the reply.
>>
>>And your grandmothers idea of making dinner was to call a restaurant
>>that delivered?
>>
>>My grandmother (last grandparent died about 1959) had never heard of a
>>restaurant. They virtually didn't exist in NZ even when I was a child,
>>unless you were staying in a hotel and had a meal (such as it was) in
>>the dining room. If you didn't want to cook yourself your choice was
>>fish and chips or fish and chips.
>
>
> ditto my experience.
> I've gotten in trouble in here for similar posts in the past, Kathy - and
> it's certainly not for the love nor want of Bisquik
>
> FWIW, I didn't find your post whiney, and share your sentiment
>
>
>
I didn't find Kathy's post whiney either. I second her desire for
scratch recipes for a few reasons. First, I'm a scratch cook by nature
preferring not to use mixes and pre-packaged foods because they are
sugar, salt, or preservative laden. Second, some brands mentioned in
recipes are not readily available in other parts of the world and quite
often there isn't even a suitable substitution. Third, I find it more
of a challenge to create from scratch. Fourth, mixes and pre-packaged
foods are generally more expensive than homemade. At one time when we
were just starting our family and money was tighter that was a concern
for me. Over the years, saving food dollars has become a habit and
while no longer a necessity, it is one habit not likely to ever be given
up. Why spend money on mixes and pre-packaged when homemade is cheaper,
tastes better, and has less of the offending ingredients?

"Ms Leebee" > wrote in message
...
> "Kathy in NZ" > wrote ...
>
> <snip flak >
>
>> Thanks Serene
>>
>> I didn't realise my post sounded whiny till I read the flak.
>> However,
>> a number of posters were very kind and gave me "from scratch" recipes
>> which I've saved. I was reacting to so many recipes that seemed to
>> come from cans or pre-packaged frozen foods. You're right. I should
>> skip them. Thanks for the reply.
>>
>> And your grandmothers idea of making dinner was to call a restaurant
>> that delivered?
>>
>> My grandmother (last grandparent died about 1959) had never heard of
>> a
>> restaurant. They virtually didn't exist in NZ even when I was a
>> child,
>> unless you were staying in a hotel and had a meal (such as it was) in
>> the dining room. If you didn't want to cook yourself your choice was
>> fish and chips or fish and chips.
>
> ditto my experience.
> I've gotten in trouble in here for similar posts in the past, Kathy -
> and it's certainly not for the love nor want of Bisquik
>
> FWIW, I didn't find your post whiney, and share your sentiment

I have to agree, nor did I and I was a bit bemused by the comments but
thought I must have been missing something.