Fried Green heart attacks, Fiber out the wahzoo, and a Chilly treat!

It's been a busy day in my kitchen thats for sure. I woke up today with the intentions of getting my closet back in order, because my bar broke over a week ago, but instead I started cooking. Next up...

closet repair!!

Anyway, I started soaking some white beans yesterday (because if you want to do it the "right"way, you need to soak your beans for 24 hours. Or so I've been told.) You can also just boil them on super high for a number of hours, but this way, soaking them actually works out better in my opinion because just dump them in a pot with 6-8 cups of water and forget about them until the next day. Then while you are doing other things, throw some ham seasoning or whatever you prefer into the pot, and let them boil for about an hour. Easy peezy, or beanzy.

What do I intend to do with these beans you might ask? Well!! Let me just tell you! I intend to stock myself full of fiber. It's important! I try to eat a lot of things with fiber. For example,broccoli, which you can prepare numerous ways. Celery, not everyones favorite, but still, chock full - o - fiba! My favorite is what my great grandmother used to call "ants on a log", which is just celery, peanut butter, and some raisins. It's a great snack for kids (and adults) and really healthy. Those are just two of my favorites for the fiber category, but yesterday I decided I wanted MORE! So... White beans and brown rice with andouille sausage! yum.

So, I boiled my beans today, while I was making Blackberry, Peach, and Basil popsicles! Which by the way, when you are boiling is the most delicious thing you will ever smell. In your life. I promise. And while I waited for the beans to boil some more... I made Fried Green Tomatoes aka a healthy heart attack. Well, heart attacks aren't so healthy, and neither are Fried Green Tomatoes, but they sure are good.

Now it's picture time!!

This is what the fruit looks like when you first start to boil it.

This is what it looks like after about ten minutes of boiling and let me tell you, it smells so good. Like, I would love for my house to smell like this all the time, can I have a candle, laundry detergent, and air freshener with this scent kind of good.

All this was is a carton of blackberries, one peach chopped, about a tablespoon of basil chopped, 1/3 cup of oj, 1 cup of water, a dash of salt (because a pinch is tooooo much) sugar to taste, if you want it a bit sweeter, add more sugar. Boil it until the berries are a reddish color and you can see that the juices are starting to flow. Then throw it all in a blender, puree until smooth, strain and put into a popsicle mold. I haven't gotten to eat one yet, as they are still freezing, but the liquid tasted good. I'll have pictures later of them frozen in all of their healthy glory. I think this is a great snack, for kids or adults, and much healthier than the stuff you can get at the store.

AAAANNNNNNDDDDDD up next....

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!!!

The tomatoes really should be completely green, these have a little bit of pink to them, but it's okay. At my grocery here in Memphis, they have packaged fried green tomato batter, but you can go here for a really good recipe. Since this was my first time, I just went with the package because I've not really ever fried anything aside from dough for navajo tacos.

It's easy enough however, if not a little messy and it hurts when the oil pops back at you. Also the box suggests veggie oil, but I use olive oil for just about everything, simply because as far as oils go, its better for you.

And success.

I like to put a little bit of ranch on mine, just adds a nice flavor. Remember though, don't eat too many. They are a fried food, and too many fried things, (eh heeee hmmm Micah eating fried candy bars at the Fair, and talking about fried krispy donut something or anothers) aren't that great for you. But at least these are tomatoes.

Finally, for the end of my kitchen adventures today....

This is probably how you eat red/white beans and rice (the photo above). I however, learned to cook from my stepmom who is from Louisiana. And for whatever reason, this is how I grew up eating red/white beans and rice....

Yeah, ketchup on red/white beans and rice is the best thing ever. You get spicy and tangy all at once. Don't doubt it before you try it. Maybe its a Louisiana thing, maybe it's a southern thing. I don't know too many other people outside of my family that do eat it this way, other than Tom Lee, one of my old teachers, and I'm not sure why I know that. We were just eating Gus's Chicken one day and I asked him how he liked his red beans and rice. His answer, "With ketchup."

You should try it. Even if it is just on a forkful. Now, as you can see, I made white beans and rice. Because I wanted some more fiber. These are Great Northern White beans, and on the package it says "High in Fiber". Here's an important note, if you don't get a lot of fiber in your diet, eating white beans and rice is A.) a great way to get more fiber in your diet and B.) also a way to KNOW that you don't get enough fiber. You might want to find a good magazine or book to spend some quality time with.

For tomorrow's adventures, Asparagus. What am I going to do with it, I don't know. What am I going to make to go with it? I don't know that either. I guess you'll just have to wait to find out.