Guest Blogging- The Urbanite

It’s fair to describe me as the sort of person who can’t sit still. I cultivate chaos the way others might tend to a rose garden or a “human relationship.” Because of my life’s frenzied pace, and because I am a great believer in cooking as little as possible, I often find myself eking out an existence solely on fruit salads, beans and rice, and the occasional appetizer. So when I invited myself—perhaps foolishly—to guest blog for my dear friend Carolyn,* I panicked when I realized that I had nothing to share with you that a five year old couldn’t make. Fortunately, I was assured that other people also have frenzied lives and wish to spend as much energy cooking as they do reading Perez Hilton. So, here are my two favorite, 3-minute meals.

Black Bean Dip
If you’re like me and you’ll eat this for dinner it should feed you twice. For a party, I would double the recipe.

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ of a small white onion (about 2 tbsp., chopped)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 tsp. sour cream or plain yogurt
½ tsp. cumin
sea salt and cayenne pepper, to taste (Tabasco also works well)
4 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese (about ¼ of a cup when shredded)
squeeze lime juice
chopped scallions, red onion, cilantro, or parsley for garnish

Sweat onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the black beans, sour cream, cumin and cayenne and mix well (don’t be a baby about the cayenne—it wont hurt you and it’ the salvation of this pot of beans). Bend with an immersion blender to the consistency of chunky salsa (a potato masher works well if you’re Amish). Turn the heat to low, add the cheese and stir to melt. Taste and adjust for salt and spice.

If it’s too thin, add more cheese or a tbsp. of cream cheese. If it’s too thick, add more sour cream or yogurt, or a few spoonfuls of warm water or vegetable stock. Add the lime juice last, after you have taken the dip off the heat. It will thicken as it cools; that said, this grey-ish, chunky-ish dip is hardly a Van Gogh, so be sure to put some care in the garnishing. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Cannellini Beanie Dip

1 can cannellini or white kidney beans
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
lemon juice
sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp. herbs de Provence

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until blended. Serve with toasted ciabatta bread or on crackers.

Variation: This is also a great base for a modified white “pizza.” If you’re so inclined, spread onto already-baked thin pizza crust (I would blind bake the crust; you don’t want to cook this spread or it will dry out), add roasted eggplant, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, or maybe chicken or anchovies if you are an omnivore. Drizzle the whole thing with a bit of olive oil. Heat under a broiler for a minute or so, then top with shavings of (fresh) parmesan.

*Side bar from the editor- I had to practically beg my dear friend to contribute these recipes. Don’t let her fool you, the woman knows her way around a bean.