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Green Bean Fries

Hello, everyone!

Wow. It feels like I have posted anything in ages. Oh, wait, I think that might be because I actually haven’t posted in a while. Whoops, sorry. But, I do have an amazing recipe for you today to make up for it. How does that sound?

I love, love, love fries! I love their crispiness, their saltiness, their overall deliciousness. To be honest, I think this ridiculous obsession I have with fries stems from not being allowed to eat a single fry growing up. So now, I spend my days devouring all those fries I couldn’t as a kid. Haha!

A few months ago I came across a very interesting concept: green bean fries. I love fries and I love green beans. But, I still have mixed feeling about these green bean fries. They are absolutely delicious and I simply can’t stop eating them. However, do we really need to turn perfectly tasty, healthy food (a.k.a. green beans) into not-so-healthy food by deep frying it? Argh. Green bean fries, stop playing with my feelings.

Green Bean Fries

I’ve tried a few different versions of these green bean fries. Baked, parmesan, roasted garlic, etc. I enjoyed every single one of them but the version I have here for you today is by far my favourite. Instead of coating the green beans with bread crumbs or panko, I dip them in beer batter and deep fry them. I find that this way the green beans do not get overcooked and you still get a very crispy crust. Yum!

These go very well with any type of aioli, too. If you’re feeling adventurous in the kitchen, feel free to whip up some chipotle or roasted garlic mayo. Careful, though. It will not be easy to stop eating these fries – especially if there’s any type of dipping sauce involved. You’ve been warned.

Green Bean Fries
Crispy and delicious alternative to regular fries.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lb green beans, blanched
  2. 1 cup all-purpose flour
  3. 1 egg
  4. ½ cup beer
  5. 1 tablespoon paprika
  6. 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  7. 1 teaspoon onion powder
  8. ½ teaspoon salt
  9. Pinch of white pepper
  10. Flour for coating
  11. Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
  1. Mix 1 cup of flour, egg, beer and spices in a medium bowl. You will get a thick batter.
  2. In a pan, heat a sufficient amount of oil for frying over medium heat.
  3. Lightly coat every green bean with flour.
  4. Dip the flour-coated green beans in the beer batter. Fry.
  5. Once they are golden brown, remove from oil and place on tray lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
  6. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. These fries will get soggy with time. It is better to eat them right away. What's better than fresh fries, anyway?
  2. If you like salty fries, feel free to sprinkle some coarse salt after frying.
  3. To make a simple chipotle aioli, add 1 can of chipotle in adobo sauce, 2 tablespoons of honey, ½ teaspoon of frank's red hot sauce and about 3 cups of mayo to the food processor and process until you get a smooth sauce.
  4. For blanching tips, feel free to check out my post "Cooking Like a Pro: Blanching".
One Prickly Pear http://www.onepricklypear.com/

Tomato & Bocconcini Mini Loaves

Today I want you to meet 9 lovely ladies who make happiness happen, literally.

They are known as the 9 nanas. Let me tell you a bit about them. These 9 wonderful ladies bake delightful, organic goods to sell as a way to raise funds for their on-going project which is to help those in need. They will pay utility bills or get school supplies for complete strangers in need to simply make their day seem brighter – to make happiness happen.

Reading the article on the 9 nanas a few days ago made my heart smile. It is a very noble thing what these ladies are doing, if you ask me. Baking always makes people all happy and fuzzy inside. There’s no denying that. I don’t know too many people who can’t help but smile at the smell of freshly-baked cookies. But, these ladies are definitely taking the power of baking to the next level in a simple and creative way. Good for them! 

T & B Bread

Now that you’ve met them, let’s get baking. Let’s put some smiles on people’s faces. To do just that, I have here for you these tomato & bocconcini mini loaves. Aren’t they cute?

These mini loaves were inspired by some wonderful, fresh ingredients summer has to offer: sweet tomatoes, fresh basil and silky bocconcini. Yes, you guessed it! It is a caprese salad turned into a mini loaf. 

They are very moist due to the tomatoes and the cheese, but have a beautiful golden and crisp crust. They complement salads – especially summer salads – perfectly. You can also slice them in half horizontally, spread some garlic butter on each half, pop them in the toaster oven for a few minutes and brace yourself for pure deliciousness.  

Hope you enjoy this recipe and don’t forget to spread some joy with your baking/cooking. That’s what baking/cooking is all about!    

Tomato & Bocconcini Mini Loaves
Serves 4
Caprese salad turned into mini loaves.
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups flour
  2. 1 tablespoon baking powder
  3. ½ teaspoon salt
  4. ½ cup butter
  5. ½ cup plain yogurt, 2%
  6. 2 eggs
  7. 16 cherry tomatoes
  8. 12 bocconcini balls
  9. 10 basil leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Melt butter. Allow it to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine butter, yogurt, eggs and basil.
  5. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine well.
  6. Fill each mini loaf pan with 2 tablespoon of dough to simply cover the bottom of the pan.
  7. Arrange tomatoes and bocconcini on top of the layer of dough.
  8. Cover the tomatoes and bocconcini with a couple of tablespoons of dough per loaf. The tomatoes and bocconcini should basically be sandwiched between the two layers of dough.
  9. Bake for 45 to 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Allow it to cool before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. These freeze extremely well. Don't be afraid to bake a large batch!
  2. The dough for these is very sticky and sometime hard to work with. Just be patient. They are worth the effort.
  3. Fell free to use regular tomatoes or even sun-dried tomatoes as opposed to cherry tomatoes for these cute loaves.
One Prickly Pear http://www.onepricklypear.com/