Day 17……Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised when I paged through this Trisha Yearwood’s cookbook.  Great pictures, nice stories about each of the recipes and lovely pictures.  I don’t really know much about Trisha Yearwood except that she is a country singer who just happens to be married to Garth Brooks.  But this cookbook was full of pictures and promise of good things to eat.  You know me and pictures!  I had many things picked out to make in this cookbook, like asparagus bundles….wrapped in bacon…..or Charleston cheese dip….topped with bacon.  Can you tell I like bacon?  Well I decided to give my body a break and instead I made spicy edamame dip on page 47.

The dip was easy to make, a couple of steps and taking out my food processor.  The results were ok, it didn’t thrill us.  By the look of it you thought you were going to eat guacamole, but when you tasted it, it was much more healthy and less creamy than guacamole.  My hubby asked if I would make it again, I said I would if I was going to my trainers house for a party I would bring that.  So in the file it goes for healthy appetizers.  Let me tell you that file is thin, it will go right next to carrot sticks and cucumber slices.  But for a nice change of pace and to offer something healthy at parties, this would be what I would make.  Edamame is easy to find now.  We found it in the health food section of our grocery in the freezer (why can’t it be kept with all the other frozen vegetables to give others a chance to discover it?….if I was an edamame producer I would revolt!)

Spicy Edamame Dip, page 47

Ingredients:

• 4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 16 ounces shelled edamame beans (about 2 cups)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• pita chips for dipping

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, roast the garlic, turning frequently until softened, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat, cool, and then slip off the skins.  Set aside.
2. Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and drop in the beans.  Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking water before drained.  Drain the beans and cool.
3. Transfer the garlic into a blender and chop coarsely.  Add the beans, salt, cayenne pepper, and cumin.  Process in the blender, adding the reserved water a little at a time until smooth. (You may not need to add all of the ater.)  Add the olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro.  Pulse to combine.  Use pita chips for dipping.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity