These beans really aren’t that hot so don’t write it off yet. Just seemed like a better title than “Beans.”
I didn’t grow up eating beans prepared this way. To me beans came from a can with whatever that weird sauce is. We used them to make beans and wieners or baked beans for picnics and they weren’t half bad. But I lived in the South for several years where ham and beans with cornbread and red beans and rice are revered and I learned to love the real deal.
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Wrapping a piece of battered, fried fish in a tortilla has always seemed a little decadent to me so I’ve never actually eaten a fish taco let alone made one at home. But friends often rave about them so when Terri suggested fish tacos as I was trying to figure out what to do with the nice piece of skate I picked up on my Sunday trip to the Greenmarket, I agreed to make some. They ended up being delicious and though I still contend they are a bit decadent, I’m now a fan.
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I went to the Greenmarket that takes place every Sunday in our neighborhood and there was a lot more stuff now that summer is upon us. Lots of snap peas and squash and greens. I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired though and the only thing that really caught my eye was some blueberries and some peaches from Jersey. The peaches smelled fantastic so I bought some of both.
I don’t bake much so fruit in our house is usually just eaten as-is. But I wanted to make something out of these things so I Googled “peaches and blueberries” and was surprised to find so many recipes for this combination of fruits. There were some interesting cakes and tarts, most containing some kind of cream cheese or something like it. I wasn’t going back out for more ingredients so I figured I’d just make a plain tart… a pastry crust with fruit pilled in it sounded easy enough and I wanted to make something simple that wouldn’t compete so much with the fruits.
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You’d think it would be hot in the middle of July in New York which would mean I would be making a lot of minimally-cooked salads to avoid heating up my kitchen and racking up a big tab with ConEdison. But with highs around 80 degrees and cool nights, I could be baking a turkey every day and I still wouldn’t have to turn on my air conditioner. Not that I’m complaining. I hate the heat and it’s been gorgeous around here. Still, ’tis the season for some bean salads so I’m going for it.
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I love guacamole but I’m trying to take it easy on the chips and for some reason, it seems gluttonous to eat it with a fork. Why it is less gluttonous to eat guac’ with fried corn chips makes no sense logically but it just feels wrong to eat dip on its own. Hummus gets the same treatment… no one would fault you for eating a chickpea salad with tahini dressing but once it is mashed up, it’s off limits without some sort of hummus-holding food. We eat mashed potatoes with a fork rather than scooping them up with pieces of beef jerky so the rule doesn’t always apply, but in general, the mashing seems to be the issue.
So I started cutting up the basic ingredients of guacamole in larger chunks, going a little heavy on the tomatoes, and since you can stick it with a fork… it’s a salad!