Tangy Baked Beans

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

½ cup onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 ½ cups water
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups cooked pinto beans
2 tbsp real maple syrup
¼ cup collard greens, kale or mustard greens, stem removed and chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp hot sauce
¼ cup ketchup
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put beans in a small baking dish or divide into 2 french onion soup crocks.

In a medium sauce pan, sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, one minute.  Add 2 ½ cups water and remaining ingredients except beans and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Pour liquid over beans to cover by about ½ inch.  Cover dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil, and if necessary add more liquid to cover.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Allow to cool 10 minutes then serve.

Easiest Tomato Soup

Soup doesn't have to be complex to be delicious.  After all, it is a very humble food.  It's eaten by both rich and poor in almost every culture around the world.  Sometimes less is more, and this soup is a perfect example.  This soup uses only a few ingredients to create one of the most comforting foods I can think of.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1/2 cup onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 - 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes in tomato juice, preferably organic
2 cups water
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
14 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade or chopped
olive oil

Directions

Sweat onion in olive oil with some salt over medium-high heat until translucent, 4-6 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Add tomatoes with juice, water and red pepper flakes being sure to break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for one hour.  Puree with blender or immersion blender.  Adjust seasonings, add basil and serve with a drizzle of olive oil over each bowl.  Serve with crusty bread or grilled cheese.

Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Salad

This weeks farmers market was filled with tomatoes!  All shapes and sizes were represented with a ton of heirloom varietals.  The vast array of tomatoes inspired me to make a salad that really celebrates the season.  These tomatoes are easily twice as good as anything you could find at the supermarket and worth seeking out.  For this recipe the more colors, the more variety, the better your salad will look and taste.  My suggestion is to visit the local farmers market or even better, pick some tomatoes from your own garden.  Tomatoes from Florida ripened with ethylene gas just aren't going to cut it here.  One taste of this salad and you're sure to be making it again and again. Here are a few shots from Sunday morning at our Denver Farmers Market:

Serves 2-4

Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Salad


Ingredients


4-5 of the best tomatoes you can find
1/4 cup of your favorite pesto, homemade

Directions


Dice tomatoes with a sharp knife, doing your best not to squish them.  In a medium bowl, mix in pesto.

Serve immediately.