Two Bean and Sausage Cassoulet

I’ve mentioned before all those beans I received from Marx Foods, right? So many beans, so little time … I put these beauties to great use again in this amazing Cassoulet.

Three Bean Chipotle Dip

This summer, back in July, I submitted a recipe to Marx Foods that used some petite golden lentils they’d sent me to test-drive for a friendly blogger contest and well, I won! As my reward, the very kind proprietors of Marx Foods sent me 7 large containers of heirloom beans, in my opinion “exotic” beans, six of which I have never even cooked with before. I was in Greece at the time and my husband was the one who received the package … needless to say I was MUCH more excited to hear what I’d won than he was … he just called me in

Sausage over Creamy Golden Lentils

A couple of weeks ago I received some samples of heirloom beans from Marx Foods. The company had gotten some new stock and quickly posted an announcement on its site, that a cup of any two of the varieties would be sent out to bloggers willing to test drive the pulses. I opted in and was sent a cup each of the Petite Golden Lentils and Marrow Beans.

Ρεβίθια στο Φούρνο (της Καλύμνου) — Baked Chickpeas (from Kalymnos)

Traditionally a dish enjoyed on Sundays throughout Lent, Ρεβίθια στο Φούρνο (Baked Chickpeas) are a staple on the island of Kalymnos (I’m sure I’ve said before that’s the island from which my family is from?!). In the past, women would layer the chickpeas, onions, rosemary and olive oil in a clay pot (πήλινο in Greek), seal it and place the clay pot in an outdoor stone oven to slowly cook from Saturday night. By the time they returned from church services Sunday morning, the meal was ready to be shared with the family.

Black Eyed Pea Salad — Σαλάτα με Mαυρομάτικα

This simple, flavorful salad is another Lenten dish we enjoyed this week. Low in fat and high in quality protein and fiber, black eyed peas also contain several types of phytochemicals–i.e. they are rich in lignans, which can play a role in preventing osteoporosis, heart disease and certain cancers. Moreover, the flavonoids in beans may help reduce heart disease and cancer risk while phytosterols, also in legumes, help reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Kathara Deutera (Clean Monday)

Kathara Deutera (Clean Monday) symbolizes the start of Lent for Orthodox Christians and is an important day in the Greek Orthodox faith. A day that prompts us all to eat simple, very traditional Greek fare, Kathara Deutera is meant to cleanse the body and spirit in preparation for Easter and is one of the many celebrations leading up to this important holiday that help us carry on precious customs and traditions passed down from generation to generation of Greeks found all around the world. On this day, my family–as most Greek families–begins the Great