I’ve created a monster. I staggered up this morning to discover that kid #1 needed breakfast and there was “nothing to eat in the house”. Now if anyone has ever been in my home you will know that there is always an abundance of food flowing out of every fridge, freezer, and cupboard. But kid #1 is pretty demanding when it comes to food and because he had a major exam today, everyone was in a tizzy trying to figure out what could be prepared so that he wouldn’t fail his math finals…Kid #1 is also on a low carb diet and has been preening in the mirror and weighing himself daily for weeks. I wonder if there is a girl involved somewhere. Anyway as usual, mom had to come to the rescue, which is how and why I whipped up this 10 minute black bean stew, which ticks off the boxes for being relatively high protein and low carb enough to fill up a strapping teenager, and I can have the leftovers too.
As I was making this stew I was wondering what moms wouldn’t do for their kids. Of course, because church is doing the book of Genesis this year, the bowl of lentil stew with which Jacob wangled Esau’s birthright came immediately to mind. Rebecca was a protective mother who favored her wily (and hairless) younger son Jacob. And her machinations did win Jacob his inheritance but separated her from her favourite son as he had to run for his life after that. Yesterday in clinic, I was chatting with one of my patient’s mothers who had chosen to give up her high level executive job because the traveling would take time from looking after her child who was recovering from a major illness. And I see this time and time again where mothers willingly give up the perks and respectability of working life to do the littlest things for their kids. There are many badgeless and unsung heroes out there, protecting and providing for their children in such an unassuming way. And an equal number of moms who work and struggle with mommy guilt and even after travel or long hours, will always rush back home like homing pigeons.
Anyway, thick-skinned kid#1 pointed out that it was my fault that he was so finicky about food because I taught his tastebuds how to have standards. Good luck to whoever he marries because she would have to learn to be a Cordon Bleu chef somewhere between the engagement and the marriage. Luckily for me I married a truly easygoing man who tolerated my fledgling experiments in the kitchen and willingly washed up after me, although I was hilariously horrified when I discovered he would wash the dishes in the bathtub and bathe at the same time.
So here is the recipe for speedy black bean stew made with canned black beans and luncheon meat, proving that it pays to have a well-stocked pantry. The cauliflower mash was thrown in because I happened to have leftovers in the fridge and it helped to thicken up this stew to make it heartier. And as it would happen, after I had rushed through making the stew and serving it up to his majesty, he found a hair in it and the family was chorusing (a la Gordon Ramsay style) “send it back to the kitchen”! Sigh. What do you expect when you land me with a breakfast emergency before I have even brushed my teeth and combed my hair??? Teenagers…
10 Minute Black Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 100 g of luncheon meat, cut into small cubes
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup of cauliflower mash (optional)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
- Sauté the onions in vegetable oil in a pot over high heat until translucent and fragrant.
- Add the luncheon meat and sauté further for another 2 minutes.
- Add the beans, chicken stock, oregano and cider vinegar and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Serve hot. If not restricting carbs, this stew would be great over white rice.
Still Feeling Peckish 