Tapioca Black Bean Pudding

1/2	cup	dried black beans
1	tsp	salt, divided use
3/4	cup	granulated sugar, to taste, divided use
1/2	cup	small tapioca pearls (see Note)
2	cup	, or 1 (14-ounce) can, coconut milk
1	tsp	sea salt, to taste

• Pick through and discard any shriveled beans. Cover with water; soak for 2 or more hours.
• Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add beans and return to a boil. Simmer covered over low heat until beans are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more boiling water if beans are drying up. When tender, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup sugar and simmer a while longer for beans to absorb flavorings. (To save on time, substitute canned cooked black beans.)
• When beans are almost done, heat 2 cups of water in another saucepan. Rinse tapioca pearls in a fine-mesh strainer under running cool tap water until thoroughly wet. Drain and let sit a minute or two for pearls to absorb surface water, then add to boiling water. Reduce heat and stir frequently until pearls clear (8 to 10 minutes). If mixture becomes too thick, add a little more water to help cook tapioca until all pearls are cooked through.
• Make a coconut sauce by combining coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Heat and simmer about 5 minutes to thicken slightly.
• When beans and tapioca are cooked, mix together and add coconut sauce. Stir to blend. Serve warm.
• Note: For a chewier texture, try larger tapioca pearls.

I haven't tried this yet. But I have a bunch of tapioca on hand that needs to be used. And I wanted to do something other than plain old tapioca pudding.

It looks like a good high-protein, cheap recipe.

Black Bean Brownies

CHOCOLATE BEAN BROWNIES

1 CAN RINSED & DRAINED BLACK BEANS
3 EGGS
3 TBS. OIL
4 TBS COCOA POWDER
A PINCH OF SALT
1 TSP. VANILLA
3/4 CUP SUGAR

MIX INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN A BLENDER/ FOOD PROCESSOR UNTIL PUREE. POUR INTO A GREASED 8x8 CAKE PAN.
STIR IN SOME CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND NUTS
BAKE 350 APPX. 30 MIN
VERY DENSE CHOCOLATELY BROWNIE…

Currently they are still in the oven, so I'll post a review of the brownies later. If they are tasty I will be delighted, sense they are so easy to make and really cheap compared to most gluten free brownie mixes.

Secret Family Recipe

So I haven't had any interesting recipes to post for awhile. So I thought I would share with you about my baking experience this morning. We made Blueberry muffins according to our "secret family recipe". Here it is:

1 box Duncan Hines Bakery Style Blueberry muffin mix
3/4 cup milk (approximately)
3-4 spoons
2 chairs

Throw box into trash. Retrieve box from trash. Preheat oven to 400. Dump mix into large bowl. Help screaming children to pull chairs over to counter to stand on. Give middle child a time-out for knocking over baby brother. Add milk. Distribute spoons. Add egg. Help children stir. Put muffin cups in muffin pan. Realize that there are only four muffin cups, and grease rest of pan. Stop children from eating batter. Search for can opener. Drain and rinse blueberries. Add berries. Let each child eat batter on spoon. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Place muffin pan in oven. Remove muffin pan immediately. Sprinkle topping mix over muffins. Place pan back in oven. Set timer for eighteen seconds. When it beeps, reset for eighteen minutes. Remove all clothing and scrub self and children to remove muffin batter. Wipe down counters. When muffins are done baking, remove pan and set out of reach of children. No not there, they can reach it there. When muffins are barely cool enough not to burn children, let them have muffins. Realize it is time to leave to pick oldest child up from day camp, and hope she isn't to upset to learn that there are no Abigail muffins.

Oh yes, and apologize to husband when he gets home from work that the muffins are all gone. I think that Sammy ate at least six of them.

Fresh Tomatoes

My parents have given me a bunch of tomatoes from their garden. They are absolutely scrumptious. However, I was wondering if anyone had any recipes that incorporate fresh tomatoes, since there are more than we will possibly eat plain.

Jello Slush

Recipe from my mom:
boil 1 cup water
stir in Jello (according to the package, it takes about 2 minutes for the Jello to dissolve)
Remove from heat
Allow liquid time to cool, but make sure it remains liquid
(if the liquid is too hot it will melt the ice)
Put ice into blender
Add liquid Jello -- for one tray of ice cubes we put in half of the liquid Jello.
Blend until mixture resembles a smoothie more than a bunch of ice cubes (figuring out when the ice cubes are broken up enough is the hardest part in my opinion)

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Take peppers, clean and slice in half long ways. Remove stems, seeds etc.
Chop a variety of vegetables in very small pieces (e.g onions, carrots, celery, zuchini)
Mix together: grated mozzerella, grated cheddar, crumbled feta, and ricotta cheeses, and one egg.
Select a variety of spices (e.g. garlic, chili powder, basil, oregano, black pepper)
Nuke veggies for about one minute.
Mix cheese, veggies and spices.
Fill pepper halves with mixture.
Place peppers on heated grill.
Cook until soft (should take about the same amount of time it takes to grill chicken).

Cake Suggestions?

Abigail's Birthday (4) is Sunday. I need to decide what kind of cake (shape/decorations) to make. It will probably be chocolate, because that is what kind of mix I have. Any ideas?