Category: Salads and Stuff

Lori’s Bean Dip

Okay, we made it through Christmas with quite a few entries on the plus side of the ledger.  We shared a Christmas Eve worship service, celebrated the holiday with friends and family, gave and received some neat gifts, enjoyed a lot of holiday music, and ate well.  But for me at least the plus side also included a noticeable plus in the poundage category.

Even though I limit myself to half portions on the second round of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and bread; and even if my wife serves me an inadequate piece of lemon pie to start with and a really skimpy piece of apple pie I try only to be polite; and even though I confine myself to just one martini before and two glasses of wine with dinner, the bathroom scale is not my friend the morning after.

Vigorous walks and a tedious diet of leftovers are just starting to take effect when suddenly it’s time to welcome the new year with more food and drink.  And there’s the Rose Bowl, an event designed to put pounds on any loyal Wisconsin fan.  We all could benefit from a low calorie dip that tastes good.

Here’s a delicious bean dip recipe that’s relatively low in calories that I learned from Jerri’s niece Lori.  She makes it during the college football season when husband Dan cheers on the Auburn Tigers, but it will go well on New Year’s Day when the Badgers wow fans at the Rose Bowl.

If you think bean dip is something that looks like milk chocolate paste, you need to try this recipe.  It’s a simple but delicious dip that looks great and is a perfect complement to tortilla chips.

INGREDIENTS

1 can (12-16 oz.) black beans
1 8 oz. can of whole kernel corn
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 small  red or yellow onion (about 2 1/2  inches in diameter)
1 medium sized firm tomato
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 small can of chopped green chilies
Salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE

Drain and rinse the black beans and corn and put them in a mixing bowl along with the can of chopped green chilies.  Remove the stem scar,  seeds and pulp from the tomatoes and peel the onion.   Chop these fairly finely and add them to the beans and corn.  Chop the cilantro fine and add it along with the cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Mix well and serve with tortilla chips.

NOTES:  For a hotter dip, add some vinegar-type hot sauce or substitute chopped jalapeños for the chilies.   For a milder taste, omit the chilies.  And of course, you can always vary the proportions of the spices to suit your taste.

I think that the flavor of this dip improves if it is made a couple of hours before being served.  Store it in the refrigerator until your guests arrive.

Garnished with sprigs of cilantro and slices of cheddar cheese, this dip will make a great addition to your Super Bowl snack table.

Esther’s Warmer Salat

When Jerri’s Mennonite ancestors came to the the United States, they brought with them recipes that reflect the history of their search for religious freedom as they moved from the coast of the North Sea to the steppes of Russia.  “Warmer Salat” most likely originated when the followers of Menno Simons were still living in Friesland, an ideal place for growing beautiful lettuce.

When Jerri was a little girl she thought that her mother was saying that the family would have “vatima salat” because W’s are pronounced as V’s and Esther rolled her R’s so decisively, but however you pronounce the words, Esther’s Warmer Salat is delicious.

Esther taught her how to make this version of “warm salad” which we both like a lot.  It makes a good lunch accompanied with bread and butter, or you can serve it with boiled potatoes as the main dish for dinner.  It is quick and easy to make.  The only downside of this recipe is that it has more calories and fat than plain lettuce.  On the upside, it tastes a lot better than plain lettuce.  If you always eat your lettuce without dressing, you might want to skip this recipe, but if you occasionally drizzle oil and vinegar over it, be sure to try it.

INGREDIENTS:

5 or 6 cups leaf lettuce (not iceberg lettuce)
3 or 4 strips bacon
3 or 4 T flour
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
2 T cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water

PROCEDURE:

Wash the lettuce, separate the leaves from the stem and tear large leaves in half.  Slice the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and fry it until done but not crisp.  Drain the bacon fat, leaving about 3 tablespoons in the pan.  Add the flour and salt and cook for 2 or 3 minutes to make a roux.  Add the vinegar and 1 1/2 cups of water and cook until you have a thick gravy.  Add the lettuce and cook one or two minutes until the lettuce is warm and wilted.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve immediately accompanied by vinegar and salt, so guests can add more if they wish.

NOTES:  If you would like the correct pronunciation, it is “VARmuh zaLAHT.”  Julia Child has a recipe for braised lettuce, so it is not only the Mennonites who cook lettuce until it wilts.  This recipe is a lot simpler than Julia’s.