Red beans and rice

Ever had a moment that you suddenly wanted to eat better? Add different foods to your diet and expand away from the usual menu? Well T and I decided to try and add more thigns like beans to our diet. The boy seems to really like beans and it is easy for him to pick up and eat, so here I sit with the interweb at my fingertips and foodtv, allrecipes and many more calling to me again.

I am improvising the recipe to suit our family and our tastes. Though T and I would love to have a super spicy rich andouille sausage filled recipe, the boy might have issues with too much spice.

We will see how this works out.




YUM!
This is what I went with and it was awesome! Both T and the boy loved it!

1 can drained and rinsed kidney beans
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
5 cups chicken stock
1 coil of farmers sausage
2 mild italian sausages
1/2 spanish onion chopped
1 handful of chopped green peppers (the frozen ones I had in my freezer, probably about 1/2 a pepper)
1/2 cube of garlic (I get the big bag of peeled garlic from the grocery store, throw it in the food processor to mince it, and freeze it with a little olive oil into icecube trays and pull them out when needed)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cumin

I chopped the sausage into chunks and browned the outside in a little olive oil. I left the oil in the pan and put the sausage into a crockpot with the beans. I put the onion and peppers into the pan and cooked them for about 4 minutes. I put the cube of garlic in and mixed it around until melted. I put the whole mess into the crockpot and added the stock and the spices.
I turned the pot on high and left it for about 3 hours. It didn't thicken up as much as I wanted it to, so I put the beans into a pot on the stove. I mashed some of the beans up to release the starch and cooked on medium high for about 20 minutes and it thickened up nicely. Either I can try to leave the beans in the crockpot longer or just make this a stovetop recipe, but slowcookers are just so wonderful!
I made a pot of rice, maybe 2 servings.
Put the rice on the bottom and the beans on top. It was good. It filled me up but I didn't feel sick full. It is something I will add to my list of crappy winter day recipes. With the tomato free zone, winter recipes are a pain, but this is good stuff!

It's spring, who needs a new dress?

I have been as busy as a sweatshop making dresses!
I have added a few new designs to my repitoire. I bought some patterns, but didn't LOVE them. I essentially used the basics to figure out my own patterns.
I have a a reversible pinafore dress, an apron dress, pillowcase dress among others I am currently working out.
LOVING it! Mum is here next week, must go find new fabric... T will not like that trip.

Thrummed Mitts

I know what thrummed mitts are. They are the mitts I had growing up, I hated them. All I wanted was a pair of sleek Park City Mitts with their neon colours and waterproof abilities. Nope, it was the wool thrummed mitts from the store. I admit, not even the good homemade ones. These aparently are a Newfoundland tradition, it seems that everytime I find something I REALLY like it is from Nfld or Ireland, my roots.
Well I thought for a friends birthday I would knit her a pair of good old fashioned thrummed mitts. I saw a pair at the market for $50.00 and thought, "hell I can do that!" So I tried.
It took me the better part of a month, I hand dyed the roving and used a supersoft merino. If they weren't a present that I had already told the recipient she was getting, I would SO be keeping these.
I will have to make a few more for Christmas next year, even though T has an order in.