Going to a Book Store

Yesterday was a fun day of Southern culinary delights and old book shopping. My sister, Joanne, and I ate a scrumptious lunch at The Irondale Cafe, famously known as The Whistle Stop Cafe in Fannie Flagg's book, "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe."



My sister ordered fried green tomatoes with her lunch, and I ordered green tomatoes parmesan, which I have to tell you, is one of the tastiest foods on earth. I need that recipe.

After finishing our delicious lunch, we walked down to Doggone Books, a treasure trove if you like browsing through thousands of old books. My sister bought a copy of Walker Percy's "Lancelot," and I bought a vintage copy of "Sunlight on the Lawn" by Beverley Nichols.

After reading "Down the Garden Path," the first book in the Merry Hall trilogy, I became a devoted  Beverley Nichols fan. "Sunlight on the Lawn" is the third book in the series; a hilarious series of books written by a "proper" British gentleman about the trials and tribulations of finding, remodelling and decorating his home and garden. These books are witty, hilarious, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. For a delightful day out, I highly recommend good southern food and a good English novel.

Some Facts About Beans

Mr. Bean is one of my favorite guys.

In his book, Navajos Wear Nikes, A Reservation Life, Jim Kristofic says Navajos eat beans every day. He was talking about school lunches, but I decided this sounded like a good idea for everybody. so I'm eating more beans. It's a good book, by the way.

                                                                   The Pinto Bean

This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Phosphorus and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Folate.

For lunch today I'm having a bean burrito from Taco Bell...

And I'm trying, with minimal success, to keep it out of my lap and off the front of my shirt.

...and some Mexican Rice from Taco Bell.

I love Taco Bell rice!

                                                    

For desert I'm having peanut butter pie from Rusty's Barbecue, a home-town epicurean extablishment serving gourmet barbecue and various scandalous desserts. I don't know for sure if the peanut is a bean...but I think so. A legume, I think.

Oh! This is sooo good!

I don't often blog about food, but because I'm extra hungry today, and haven't blogged at all for a while, and because this lunch is so tasty and delightful, well, I'm blogging about lunch!

Here's a scrumptious recipe I found on the Internet at Scarletta Bakes .

Pinto Bean Blondies

2 c. pinto beans (I used well-drained, rinsed, canned beans.)
1 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/3 c. maple syrup
1/3 c. light agave nectar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs

1 c. cashews, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place chopped cashews on a rimmed sheet pan and toast for 8-10 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Line a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the beans, melted butter, brown sugar, agave nectar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs. Process until smooth and remove to a large bowl. (Note that you should process the mixture long enough that the beans’ skins are in small pieces; you’ll still see little bits of skin in the mixture, but you want to get the pieces as small as possible. I processed for approximately 2 minutes.) Stir in the cashew pieces. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 47-50 minutes. Cooked blondies will be set and dark on top and at the edges, which should be pulling away from the pan.

Allow blondies to cool to room temperature before unmolding.

Bon Appetit, Y'all!