Corn Tortillas Layered with Garlicky Wilted Cabbage & Chard, Black Beans & Eggs

Dear Readers,
My friends Sherrie & Mindy gave me these adorable little eggs from their backyard flock of hens. I wanted to create a recipe to feature these delicious cute tiny eggs. What I came up with is this recipe that features soft corn tortillas layered with garlicky wilted cabbage & swiss chard, black beans, fried eggs, and I used some roasted green tomato chipotle sauce I preserved in the Autumn. You could use any salsa, enchilada sauce, or hot sauce for this dish. The flavors stand on their own. Whatever sauce you choose, don't use a lot. A little goes a long way to mingle with the other flavors of this recipe. And, this is a VERY improvisational recipe so there aren't exacts. Play with it. Play with your food. Just play as much as possible. Create beautiful food and follow your bliss. Life is short. Enjoy!

In Health & Joy,
Miss Jolie Ann

Corn Tortillas Layered with Garlicky Wilted Greens, Black Beans & Fried Eggs
Serves 2

2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced swiss chard
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
Butter (less than one tablespoon)--or more olive oil to keep it vegan
4 corn tortillas
14oz can black beans
2 eggs
1/2c cup salsa, enchilada sauce, or hot sauce--your choice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cabbage and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for 3-5 minutes. You want the cabbage to be slightly wilted, but still firm and retaining it's color. Add the swiss chard and garlic. Saute for 1 minute, no longer. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add a very thin slice of butter to the pan. Add one tortilla and cook on each side approximately 1 minute. Set aside. Continue to cook all 4 tortillas individually. If the pan gets dry, add it more butter. (If you don't do dairy you can easily substitute olive oil)
3. While the tortillas are cooking, drain and rinse the black beans. Set aside.
4. Once the tortillas are cooked, use the same pan for the eggs. Add a tiny bit of butter if the pan is dry. Fry the eggs over medium heat until the yokes are firm but not hard.
5. Put 2 tortillas on each plate and begin layering. First tortillas, then sauce, then cabbage & chard, then black beans, then 1 egg, and garnish with cilantro.

Black Bean Soup with Kale Ribbons

Hello everyone & thanks for reading! I appreciate your support. Black bean soup recipes are a dime a dozen in vegetarian cookbooks, right? Well, what I love about this black bean soup recipe is it's economical for the budget conscious shopper, it's packed with nutrients & fiber, and it tastes divinely delicious. You get a lot of meals out of one batch. It's simple whole foods at it's best. Plus, I put it in the crockpot in the morning and when I come home it smells so delicious in my apartment! Mmm yummy! Pre-soak your dried beans over night or you can do it in the morning for evening cooking. As long as they can soak for a good 8 hours. Always get rid of the soaking water. This cuts down on the sugars in dried beans that cause you so much gas. And who wouldn't enjoy less gas? Ha! :) I like to use my crockpot, but you could easily adapt this recipe to the stove top and cut the cooking time down to about 1 hour over medium heat simmer. I've added some cooked quinoa to the soup to give it a little more texture. You could easily substitute another grain of your choice such as barley, millet, brown rice, or couscous. This week I am serving this soup with a side of curry roasted yams. It would also be delicious with corn tortillas, cornbread, or a salad. I use this recipe to take lunch to work for 5 days and I freeze the remaining soup for another time.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Black Bean Soup with Kale Ribbons
6-7 servings

2 cups dried black beans (presoaked)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled & diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
1 tbsp each--dried cumin, oregano & sage
1/2 tsp each--cayenne pepper & black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 carrots, cleaned & diced
2 celery stalks, cleaned & diced
2 bay leaves
Water
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tsp olive oil
1 bunch kale, sliced into thin ribbons
1 bunch cilantro, washed & chopped
Optional: sour cream or plain yogurt

1.) Place pre-soaked black beans in the crockpot and turn on heat to high. Set aside.
2.) Place olive oil in a skillet and warm over medium heat.
3.) Add the onions and saute for 8 minutes until starting to turn translucent.
4.) Add the garlic & the cumin, oregano, sage, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt. Continue to saute for about 5 minutes more until the spices are fragrant. Turn off heat and remove the pan.
Add the onion spice mixture to the crockpot.
5.) Add the tomatoes, carrots, celery and bay leaves to the crockpot. Add enough water to cover the beans and vegetables. In my crockpot it's about 4 cups. Put the lid on and let cook for approximately 8 hours. I like the texture of this soup to be very creamy. So I either run it through the food processor or use my immersion blender once it's cooled slightly.
6.) Add the cooked quinoa and stir. Taste and adjust spices as needed.
7.) Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and cover. Let saute for about 5 minutes until the kale is slightly wilted but still bright green.
8.) Top each bowl of soup with kale ribbons and a pinch of fresh cilantro.
9.) Top with optional sour cream or yogurt.

3 Bean Chipotle Chili for the Crockpot

3 Bean Chipotle Chili
for the Crockpot
Original Recipe by
Miss Jolie

Happy Spring Dear Friends!


I'm writing you on this lovely beginning of Spring...it's a dreamy evening...7pm still light outside with plenty of blue sky and still above 50 degrees. This recipe is "hot off the presses" for you. It's a very inexpensive, simple, satisfying and nutritious recipe for your crockpot. It took me 20 minutes to assemble & throw in the crockpot this morning before leaving for school. And when I returned home this afternoon my house smelled delicious and my dinner for several nights was ready! Here's a photo of the dried beans soaking overnight. Such beautiful colors! I love the smokey, sweet and spicy flavor of roasted chipotle peppers. I like to eat my chili served with a dollop of sour cream. It has to be organic and whole fat, no light sour cream here. And the organic makes all the difference in both the thickness and taste. Other times I serve this chili over a bowl of brown rice or with corn tortillas or with a slice of hot fresh baked cornbread. It's up to you. Anyway you serve it-love it!



In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

3 Bean Chipotle Chili for the Crockpot

5-6 servings

3 cups dry beans-any combo of kidney, black & pinto beans

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced
15 oz can tomato sauce
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup textured vegetable protein "TVP"
3 cups water
1 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
sea salt
optional: sour cream

1. The night before cooking chili-rinse and drain the beans. Then place in a large bowl or pot, and cover with water. Let sit uncovered overnight. In the morning drain and rinse the beans.
2. Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add the onions and let saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the onions are soft and slightly brown. Add the garlic, chipotle, chili powder, oregano and cumin to the onions and let cook another 2-3 minutes.
3. While the onions are sauteing combine the beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and TVP in the crockpot. Add about 3 cups of water.
4. When the onion mixture is done, add it to the crockpot.
5. Turn crockpot to high and let cook for 6-8 hours. At this time check the flavor and add sea salt to your taste. You may also add more chipotle and/or mild chili powder to your liking.
6. Optional: serve each portion with a spoonful of sour cream.

Black Beans with Fresh Plums & Bell Peppers

Recipe from The Vegetarian Times Cookbook

This is a great way to use summer plums in a recipe, in addition to fresh eating and canning jam/jelly. We have a plum tree in the yard so fresh plums are only a short walk from the kitchen. Use this recipe at the height of plum season when they are fresh and ripe. I serve this dish with warm steamed corn tortillas, or you could also serve it over brown rice. Simple Delicious Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Black Beans with Fresh Plums & Bell Peppers

Serves 3

4 medium purple plums

1.5 tbsp unsalted butter (I used olive oil)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

2 whole cloves

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp light honey

2 cups cooked black beans (I used 2-14 oz cans)

Fill a deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the plums and boil for 30 seconds to loosen their skins. Remove the plums with a slotted spoon and let cool.

Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, cloves, cumin and cilantro. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the plums, remove the pits and chop the pulp. Add the pulp, lemon juice and honey to the onion-pepper mixture. Add the beans, cover and cook over low heat until the peppers are soft, about 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Serve hot or chilled.