Amy’s Recalls 184,000 Cans of Top-Selling Vegan Lentil Soup
Yum.
Black Bean and Corn Salad
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- Jalapeño pepper chopped (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 15 oz canned Low Sodium Black Beans, rinsed and drained
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1-1.5 T light brown sugar
- dash salt
- dash of ground black pepper
- dash dried cilantro
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, lime juice, spices, sugar, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
- Place everything else in a bowl. Dump the dressing in. Mix well.
- Put the bowl on the kitchen countertop and allow the corn to fully defrost
- If you have time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to marry. If not a good hour or two at room temperature should allow the flavors to marry.
- Before serving, toss, taste and adjust seasonings.
I seriously wonder if there are any original recipes out there. You think to yourself “Let’s make a black bean and corn thing tonight”. So you do what everyone else does and hop on the internet to find numerous recipes that are pretty much the same. Full Disclosure: This recipe is a copycat and my inspiration was here. I don’t want to be accused of stealing a recipe that everyone makes in some form or another. (I found this post in my list of unpublished drafts from years ago and just published so the link may not work).
Tips and Things Most Cooks Don’t Tell You.
I used garlic powder, not fresh garlic. Use fresh if you like BIG garlic flavor. Powder is more subtle. Instead of red onion I used sweet onion and only about a quarter cup. No jalepeno. Too spicy. Watch the size of your lime. I used the juice from a half of a lime but it was a huge lime.
2025 Badass Black Eyed Peas
Thinking about making black eyed peas for good luck? Me too. As 2025 comes to a close I once again searched my blog for the number of Badass versions I have.
Black Eyed Peas – Pandemic Version 2021
Vegetarian Badass Black Eyed Peas – 2022
(don’t ask what happened in 2023)
and 2024 Badass Black Eyed Peas
The beans needs to simmer for several hours. Give the beans an overnight soak in filtered water and change the water several times. Drain. Everyone in the pool. I don’t cook the beans separately for this dish.
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
1/2 cup white wine
1 qt low sodium chicken broth
2 T tomato paste and one 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb black eyed peas (dried, see soaking instructions)
1 lb ground turkey
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
- Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
- In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice. Drain the beans again and set aside. Take the pot to the stove.
- Olive oil medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
- Add the turkey and brown, breaking up the clumps as you go.
- Add about 1/2 cup white wine. Simmer for a few minutes.
- Toss everything else into the pool. Spices, tomato paste, broth, and beans.
- The black eyed peas (drained) with all ingredients needs enough chicken broth to barely cover everything. You may need more or less broth than one quart.
- Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
- Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
- Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
- Yum. Makes about 6-8 servings.
Odd Notes
This dish will taste better on day two. The chicken broth is a substitution for beef broth and results in a lighter dish.
Texas Corn Bread of course.
Happy New Year! I hope this dish brings you much good luck in 2026
Sharp eyes and longtime readers will notice there’s not much of a difference between 2024 and 2025’s Badass recipes.
Eat More Beans, Peas and Lentils
The scientific report has some positive recommendations. It recommends that Americans eat more beans, peas, and lentils and eat less red and processed meat. It recommends that Beans, Peas, and Lentils move from a subgroup of the Vegetables Food Group to a subgroup of the Protein Food Group. When listing foods in the Protein Food Group, Beans/Peas/Lentils should be listed first, followed by Nuts/Seeds/Soy products, then Seafood, and lastly Meats/Poultry/Eggs. – 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report Recommends Eating More Beans, Peas, and Lentils and Eating Less Red and Processed Meat – http://www.vrg.org/blog/2025/01/31/2025-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committees-scientific-report-recommends-eating-more-beans-peas-and-lentils-and-eating-less-red-and-processed-meat/
If you want to geek out on the full report here’s the download link – https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/2025-advisory-committee-report
U.S. rates of nutrition-related chronic health conditions are high, and data show significant differences in prevalence across socio-demographic groups. For example, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian children compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, and the prevalence is lower in non-Hispanic White children compared to non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic and/or Latino children. Obesity is significantly lower among children with higher family income compared to those with lower family income. Among adults, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults and higher in non-Hispanic Black adults. Prevalence of hypertension is higher in non-Hispanic Black adults than adults of all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined. Diabetes is lower in non-Hispanic White adults compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, while gestational diabetes is highest among non-Hispanic Asian adults and lowest among non-Hispanic Black adults. Income data show that among adults, the prevalence of obesity, of hypertension, and of diabetes are higher among families with lower incomes compared to higher incomes.
I’ve not read the entire report but judging from what I’ve read so far it is definitely Geek Paradise.
2024 Badass Black Eyed Peas
Is there anyone else out there besides me waking up on a Saturday morning thinking about making black eyed peas for good luck? I didn’t think so. When I searched my own blog I was a bit surprised on how many versions of Badass I have.
Black Eyed Peas – Pandemic Version 2021
and Vegetarian Badass Black Eyed Peas – 2022
I decided to make a no bacon version. Ground chicken because I found a source for good ground chicken at a reasonable price (hint, Aldi).
The beans needs to simmer for several hours. Give the beans an overnight soak in filtered water and change the water several times. Drain. Everyone in the pool. I don’t cook the beans separately for this dish.
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, chili powder
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
1 qt low sodium chicken broth
2 T tomato paste and one 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb black eyed peas (dried, see soaking instructions)
1 lb ground chicken
Salt & pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
- Place the dried beans into a stock pot large enough to hold the beans when fully plumped up. Rinse the beans with water several times. Fill the pot with fresh water and soak overnight.
- In the morning drain then add fresh water to the beans. Change the soaking water at least twice. Drain the beans again and set aside. Take the pot to the stove.
- Olive oil medium heat. Saute the onion, celery, and green pepper until softened about five minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute.
- Add the chicken and brown, breaking up the clumps as you go.
- Toss everything else into the pool. Spices, tomato paste, broth, and beans.
- The black eyed peas (drained) with all ingredients needs enough chicken broth to barely cover everything. You may need more or less broth than one quart.
- Bring to a boil then simmer for several hours with the pot partially covered.
- Check the pot and stir occasionally. Add more broth as the peas cook and the dish thickens.
- Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and your favorite hot sauce.
- Yum. Makes about 6-8 servings.
Odd Notes
This dish will taste better on day two. The chicken broth is a substitution for beef broth and results in a lighter dish.
The quantity of dried beans is no longer one pound because someone in the family (not me) claimed I put too much beans in my chili. This version has a ratio of beans to meat that hopefully meats her approval. Get it? Meats.
Texas Corn Bread of course.
Happy New Year! I hope this dish brings you much good luck in 2025 (and some tasty leftovers.
I Almost Went an Entire Year Without a Post About Lentils
I said “almost”.
Why You Need This Thousand-Year-Old Legume in Your Life (Spoiler: It’s Lentils) – https://vegnews.com/why-you-need-to-eat-lentils
And for the faithful, yes this is another Electronic Sticky Note.
The Best Replacements for Meat and Milk (no, it’s not plant milks, veggie burgers or tofu)
Beans and peas are the best meat and milk replacement from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives.
Our findings suggest that suitable alternatives to meat and milk exist and are available and affordable without necessarily requiring new technologies or product development. This contrasts with discussions in high-income countries on the needs to develop novel replacement foods, especially those that would completely mimic meat and dairy (18). Our nutritional, health, environmental, and cost analyses suggest that if one is prepared to consider foods for their properties instead of whether they are completely mimicking meat or dairy—and surveys suggest that consumers are (49)—then unprocessed legumes are, for the most part, superior to processed alternatives. This is also relevant for low and middle-income countries where legumes are readily available, but discussions on processed meat and milk alternatives are at an earlier stage, despite diets rapidly becoming similarly imbalanced as in high-income countries (1, 50). M. Springmann, A multicriteria analysis of meat and milk alternatives from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121 (50) e2319010121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319010121 (2024).
Keep it simple.
Who Needs Shark Tank When You Have the USDA
Imagine a small business that makes hummus like these guys https://www.eatlittlesesame.com/pages/our-story
Now imagine the government tossing money at them.
The United States Department of Agriculture awarded Little Sesame $2.2 million to develop its business and support organic chickpea farmers. https://www.fastcompany.com/91090694/usda-little-sesame-organic-farming-grant-hummus-chickpea-biden-administration
This makes me want to become an organic chickpea farmer but I’m too old to switch careers now.
I also know nothing about farming.
There’s Another Blue Zone in the US
“It’s really what they’re not doing. They’re not doing anything consciously, and there’s where we get it wrong,” Buettner said. “We think we can resolve to get on the right diet, the right exercise program, supplement plan, superfoods, and get healthier. But it never works.”
Buettner said that the “superagers” are often walking outside, having spontaneous conversations with the people they bump into, having a smaller dinner, and eating mostly a whole food, plant-centric diet.
A look inside the United States’ first-ever certified “Blue Zone” located in Minnesota — https://foodfactsandfads.com/2024/02/04/6306/
Remember, Eat More Plants.
Also Research Reveals One Simple Habit That Promotes Longevity AND Provides Extra Income in Retirement
More Coffee Please
People have been drinking coffee since 15th century, but the past few years have seen a flood of new studies suggesting that drinking coffee (copious amounts of coffee in many cases) improves longevity and brain function, while also combating some of the most common and feared adult health issues.
Neuroscience Says Drinking Coffee Like This Boosts Brain Function and Makes You Live Longer – https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/neuroscience-says-drinking-coffee-like-this-boosts-brain-function-makes-you-live-longer.html
The article contains links to several studies on the benefits of drinking coffee.
garyskitchen.net 