Are you serious about eating smart? Are you watching your wallet? Are you crazy for great food?

One of our favorite bean dishes covers all the bases. It is super healthy, easy on the budget and yummy.

While we’d like to say we’re organized enough to buy dried beans and cook them up — well, we’re not.  Instead we usually make this with cans of organic White Northern or Cannellini beans, which we stock up on whenever we find them on sale. The rest of the ingredients are always on hand and we can whip this dish up at the drop of a hat. It’s great as part of a healthy dinner or as a simple appetizer served with pita chips.

Simple Beans and Olive Oil

1 can white beans

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 finely minced garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)

kosher salt

pepper

fresh herbs

vinegar

Open the beans and throw them in a colander to rinse and dry. Place in a serving bowl and toss with the garlic, red pepper flakes, a generous toss of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Right before serving tear a few basil leaves (or thyme or oregano) into the mixture and serve. Finish with a splash of Sherry or balsamic vinegar.

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We love tofu. We love curry. We love coconut milk. It doesn’t get better.

This recipe is simple to prepare, forgiving, and full of flavor. Tofu is a great choice for ‘meatless’ Monday: protein packed, easy to prepare, and a wonderful cypher for picking up the flavor of any great sauce or interesting seasoning. This dish served over coconut scented jasmine rice and accompanied by a flavor packed dark green leafy vegetable is addicting.

As far as the curry goes, we’re fans of Maesri brand, and have had good luck finding this at local Asian markets and on occasion at Whole Foods (you do remember the section in the book about the price savings and joys of shopping at Asian markets, right?). Coconut milk, again, we’re Whole Food fanatics and love their store brand organic, but are equally happy with Thai Kitchens or other high quality brands.

Start with the basic ingredients and add/subtract to please your palate. We’re spicy gals and love the heat the curry brings and are heavy handed. You may just want a hint of flavor. You may have a bit of a sweet tooth and want to jack up the brown sugar, your teeth may chatter just hearing the word cilantro, or you may be an addict. If you can find Thai basil, great, if not any garden variety basil will do. Skip the peanuts or double the amount. If you don’t have salted peanuts, crush the unsalted ones. Try carrots instead of sweet potatoes or add them to the sweet potatoes. If you can’t find brown jasmine rice, use white. …etc.etc.etc.

Our point? Cooking is a creative art. Have fun.

Tofu in Massaman Curry. Brown Jasmine Rice. Chinese Broccoli

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Last week, we found ourselves home alone, hungry and dying for a salad.  We opened the veggie bin and found only two things: celery and radishes. In the fridge was a mustard tarragon vinaigrette made a few days earlier. Hm. We rummaged the cupboard and pulled out homemade whole wheat bread crumbs and a tin of anchovies. We got to work.

Using the mandoline we turned out thin slices of radishes and thicker slices of celery. Several anchovy fillets got mashed into the leftover vinaigrette. In a serving bowl, we layered radishes onto celery and sprinkled on a generous handful of bread crumbs.

The cool crunchy ingredients topped by the slightly thick, warm to the senses, anchovy tarragon vinaigrette was divine. Whenever we create a new dish we ask this question: Is it good enough for the menu in our fantasy restaurant?

This one makes the cut.

Mustard Tarragon Vinaigrette

3 tblsp high quality extra virgin olive oil

1 tblsp aged sherry wine vinegar

1 tbsp minced tarragon

1 tsp dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste