Skip to main content

Smokey Maple Beans

It's Valentine's Day, the day celebrating love.  Is there anything better than true love?  What is TRUE LOVE, you ask?

Forget what you learned in The Princess Bride.

True love is about finding someone with whom you feel like you can really be yourself.  You know, like you can pass gas around and not have to ruffle the bed sheets or blame it on the dog, but instead, take pride in your bodily functions.  Apparently I am part of a very close-knit, loving family!

Hey, we all do it!  According to Dr. Oz, we all do it at least 14 times a day!

So instead of paper hearts or chocolate hearts this February 14th, why not make your sweetie something that's good for the one beating in his/her chest?  You know, a dish that includes that wonderous musical fruit?

This recipe is easy, inexpensive, delicious and versatile.  You can use it as a filling for wraps, like I did, or serve it sloppy joe-style on a whole grain bun, as a nutritious vegan meal, along with a salad and whole grain rolls or corn bread, or as a tasty side-dish.

I used truRoots sprouted beans - which are easier to digest, meaning they may produce less music than other forms of beans, but you can easily use 1 cup of dry, regular beans that you have cooked, or 1 can of beans.

Smokey Maple Beans

1/2 cup sprouted beans (or 1.5 cups cooked navy beans or 1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained)*
1.5 cups water

1/2 tsp olive oil
1 cooking onion, minced (I did it in food processor)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp smoked paprika or a few drops liquid smoke
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 tbls cider vinegar
1 tbls maple syrup
1 can tomato paste

If using sprouted beans, combine beans and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Cover pot, remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.  Drain remaining liquid.

Meanwhile, in a skillet or frying pan, saute onion, garlic, peppers and spices in oil over medium heat (be careful not to let garlic burn!).  Add beans and once peppers have started to soften, add vinegar and syrup.  Cook for another few minutes and then reduce heat to low.  Stir in tomato paste.  Cook for another few minutes and adjust seasonings to taste.

*Feel free to sub whatever kind of bean you prefer or have on hand.  My sprouted bean mix is actually a combo of mung beans, lentils and adzukis, but navy is what you would typically use.

Have a healthy, musical Valentine's Day!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available.  My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic.  I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch.  I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat!  I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes.  You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Blackfly Coolers: Product Review

Summer is over! Well, at least if you're a student. Officially it doesn't end for a few weeks, and it certainly still feels like summer. Yeah, I hate it. This f*cking hot, humid weather needs to end NOW! We made the most of our last weekend of the summer with our annual trip to the CNE on Friday, with a crowd of friends. It wasn't unbearably lot, thank goodness, and the girls and their friends had a blast on the rides.  Saturday I had to work, and Sunday was errand day. Monday we took the girls berry/apple/pear picking but didn't last long due to the heat. I organized the house to prepare for the construction workers starting back up yesterday, while Adam took the girls for a swim in our neighbourhood pool. Yesterday was the first day of school. Grade 2 and Grade 5. Yep, the girls are growing up.  We are fortunate that the girls don't have much anxiety about school, they are so much more confident than I ever was as a kid! But now, in the midst of our reno ch

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies.  Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!!  I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance.  Not to improve their health or athletic performance.  To look their best.  He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste