As I shared in my post on Chat Masala (the spice mix that now graces our table at literally every meal), sometimes "mistakes" turn out to be a great thing after all.
Now, sometimes they don't -- like the time when I baked a cake with my elementary school friend and it ended up being used as a frisbee. No kidding.
The past few weeks have been a bit trying. I have been struggling with my metal detox and while some days I feel great, other days I don't.
I am finally learning to listen to my body and rest when I feel tired.
Suffice it to say that I have needed some really easy meals -- often.
What did we do when mom was wiped out and we really couldn't order a pizza or get take out?
Well, there were a few meals in a row where we had hard boiled eggs (I'll be sharing about my trials and successes in that area soon) and my Nut Buttery Popcorn with carrot slices on the side. Hmmm. Glad my family is long suffering :-).
Well, I had a bunch of white beans that I had cooked in order to try a new bean fudge recipe for my family (and for the blog) and thought I'd try to make something savory with them as well.
Well, the recipe that I tried was supposed to turn out to taste like guacamole, but believe me -- it didn't.
So I fussed with it a bit and ended up with a new favorite in our household. In fact, my youngest and my husband polished it off this morning.
And it is easy peasy! (I feel kind of silly using that phrase, but it is!) Here goes:
Tuscan Bean Dip
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
2 tomatoes, cut in half
2 Tbsp organic lemon juice (I use this brand, but bottled from Costco - Yum!) (this is the equivalent of the juice of 1 lemon)
3 1/2 cups cooked (and preferably soaked and cooked properly) white beans like Great Northern or navy
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tbsp dried)
1/2 cup fresh basil (or 2 Tbsp dried)
1 tsp salt (I use Real Salt)
1/2 tsp black pepper, optional
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
1. Put all ingredients into either a food processor or a high-powered blender (like the Vitamix).
2. If using a food processor, process until it is of desired consistency.
3. If using a high-powered blender, you can blend on medium to start and then on high for about 10 seconds if you like a smoother dip. Process for a shorter time if you like a chunkier dip.
Tips & Such
1. This tastes great with veggies or my Focaccia Flax Bread. My sons were dipping our Special Seasoning Popcorn into it last night at the dinner table. Yum!
2. We love bean dips and hummus so much that we always make at least a double batch at one time. Two cups just isn't that much!
3. If you need another fast summer meal idea, check out my other bean dip recipe, Fast and Yummy Bean Dip. It's called that just because that is what it is. It's been a success every time I've served it.
4. To save even more time, make a bunch of beans ahead of time and store them for quicker prep than you thought possible.
Do you have a culinary "botch" that turned into a success?
Got one that didn't?
My family tried this recipe and it was GREAT!!!
Thanks for sharing!