Jaffles?

Abbie, my youngest, was watching The Norris Nuts on YouTube a few months back. One of the kids on that show, I think "Sockie", likes to cook all the time. She made up a recipe she called "jaffles", and Abbie came upstairs to make it. I couldn't believe she was making this, as it's completely out of character for her to like this kind of concoction, but it turned out to be pretty darn good. It has become a real standard in my household, as Abbie or Jenny make it every time we run out, and we eat it primarily for breakfast.

The basic recipe is below. I cannot seem to find the right video, or I'd link to it, but you can find the Norris Nuts on YouTube if you can handle their insanity and cuteness.

"Jaffles"

1 bell pepper, diced

1/2 of an onion, diced

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/4 cup sugar 

2 cans cannellini beans

1 can crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

In a little oil, saute the pepper and onion until soft.  Add in the spices, stir for about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes until everything is hot through.

Serve on toast or, even better, on some heavy crusty bread.

Cooking Shows

I don't think it's a secret, but I love cooking: grilling and barbecue, in particular. I could spend every evening sitting on my back patio with my Weber grill going and a beer in my hand. 

There's another related thing I love: cooking shows. I think it started when I was a kid.  I remember watching Justin Wilson, the "I Gaarr-un-tee" guy, who cooked Creole stuff. Food Network engrained it even more with Alton Brown and Emeril. I even put flame stickers on my Kitchen-Aid mixer when I finally could afford one, and I was like 30 years old by then.

Nowadays, I can basically watch CreateTV all day every day. I put the link below. It's all the PBS how-to shows, including cooking shows, craft shows, and "This Old House" kind of stuff. The only time I really don't care for the station is when they have the yoga lady or the "Sit and Be Fit" lady on with their exercise classes, but it's great that they give people some way to work off the weight they gain cooking with Julia Child's recipes.

If you want to learn how to cook, I'd totally suggest looking for Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, or, my favorite, Steven Raichlen. Julia and Jacques should need no introduction, but they really do cook everyday stuff you can do at home, but the results are Lord Have Mercy Good.  Raichlen is a grillmaster/smoker guy who makes EVERYTHING on open fires. 

There are SO MANY other great shows on there, but for the most basic recipes, those three are hard to beat.

Public Television's top shows in Cooking, Travel, Home Improvement, Gardening and Arts & Crafts | Create TV