Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Baked bean loaf with salad and baked potatoes


Hi there :) Today I am sharing with you a very easy recipe for a bean loaf. You can combine it with really any veggies on the side. This time I made some baked sweet potatoes (everyone's favorite :P), some lettuce, kohlrabi, sprouts, dried tomatoes and caramelized onions...or well, sort of ;-).
These onions were a bi-product of a coughing syrup made out of onions. This method is super effective against coughing and it is all natural :) The onions are well known for their antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties. The syrup tastes better than it sounds, so give it a try next time someone gets ill in your family. I describe how to make the syrup in the Method section below. 

What will you need:

For the bean loaf:
- 2 cans of any type of beans (use fresh beans whenever you can)
- 1 zucchini
- 4 carrots
- 1/2 white onion
- spice mix
- a bit of chili
- salt, pepper
- 2 tbsp ground flax-seed with 6 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup of finely cur oats 
- a bit of water, if needed
- a small amount of coconut oil to coat the baking pan 






For the salad:
- 1 head of lettuce of your choice
- 2-3 sweet potatoes
- 1 kohlrabi
- sprouts of any kind
- 2-3 dried tomatoes in olive oil

For the caramelized onion
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 tbsp raw cane sugar
- tiny bit of oil

Method:
Bean loaf:
  1. Rinse and drain the beans from the can. I normally cook my own beans, but when I forget to pre-soak them, or I am under time pressure, I use canned beans. Please make sure, that you wash the beans under running water, as the cans contain BPA, which you don't want to eat..
  2. Prepare the egg replacer: mix 2 tbsp of ground flax-seed with 6 tbsp water and set aside for a couple of minutes, until the flax-seed soaks up the water.
  3. Wash the zucchini, peal and wash the carrots, peal the onion and put everything  into a food processor with an S-blade. Start to mix using the "Pulse" functionality. If the dough gets too dry, add some water. If it gets over sticky, add some more oats.
  4. Place the dough into an ovenproof pan, coated with a bit of coconut oil. 
  5. Bake on 200° for about 25-30 minutes, or until the bean loaf starts separating from the side of the pan and it becomes golden brown.
 Salad: 
  1. Wash the lettuce, divide the leaves and make smaller pieces using your hands.
  2. Peel and slice the kohlrabi. Cut the dried tomatoes into smaller pieces. 
  3. Bake the sweet potatoes at the same time as the bean loaf on a separate tray :) I describe how to make the sweet potatoes in this recipe     
  4. Add some sprouts of any kind :)
 Caramelized onion
  1. Peel and slice one yellow onion (it can as well be red). Place it into a small bowl and add the sugar on top. Wait until the next day (6-8 hours). The onion will release a sweet nectar, which is amazing against coughing! You can leave the onion for 1-2 days.
  2. Instead of throwing the onion out, take a bit of oil and saute the onion in a pan until it gets translucent. voila.. you have caramelized onions :-) At least a version of them:) 

Place everything on a plate, arranging the ingredients like a rainbow with many different colors :) The more attractive your food looks, the better it will taste :) 
 

Enjoy <3