wauw

ingredience:

lemons/limes (this needs to make up the bulk of the fruit being used, like at least 80%)

whatever other fruits or fruit scraps you want, plus any herbs/other flavorings you want to try. by fruit scraps I mean things like cherry pits, apple peels, pineapple cores, strawberry ends, things like that.

granulated white sugar, the coarser the better, 50% by weight of total citrus rinds + 100% by weight of any additional fruit. you'll measure this after you prep the fruit.

water as needed

equipment:

a few nonmetallic mixing bowls

a mesh strainer

a chinoise, ricer or some cheesecloth

a kitchen scale

a citrus juicer or reamer (manual or electric)

a potato masher

juice the citrus through a strainer - saving all rinds -  and refrigerate the juice for the time being. dice the rinds and other fruits if any, keeping the rinds separate. make note of weights, and measure your sugar.

 Place sugar in a large nonmetallic bowl. If using non-citrus fruits and/or any other flavorings, mix them in with the sugar and mash with potato masher. add diced citrus rinds, mix thoroughly, and mash again. cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours. this allows the sugar to draw out flavors that would otherwise get discarded with the rinds, and the rinds' acids should be enough to dissolve the sugar into a syrup.

Afterward, mash one last time, then collect the syrup by pressing the macerated mixture through a strainer/chinoise or ricer, or squeeze it through cheesecloth. if you want, this can be saved as a standalone syrup at this point, for use in cocktails or desserts. if not, slowly pour the reserved juice through the solids to to help get the remaining syrup out, and squeeze/press again. do the same thing one more time with warm water (roughly the same amount of water as juice). discard solids (or try making sangria with them!).

taste the mixture and add more water if necessary. a stronger mix is totally fine if you anticipate serving over ice on a hot day, or adding booze, or if there was a lot of non-sour fruit. keep in mind that it will taste a bit less sweet once it's chilled. pour into a pitcher and refrigerate.

citrus oils will float to the top, so stir/shake before serving. love you. enjoy.

some tried and true flavor combos:

straight lemon or lime, or any combination of the two, is of course an untouchable classic

lemon & strawberries (that's pussy babe!)

lemon & orange with a hint of vanilla (creamsiclemonade...?)

lemon & apples or apple peels with cinnamon/ginger/allspice (for late summer)

some cocktail type combos, booze optional:

lemon or lime & berries with basil + gin

lime & mint + white rum

lime & ginger + dark rum

lime & cucumber + gin

lime & orange (berries optional) + tequila

look i agree that the price to nutrient ratio is terrible but have you ever, in your life, found a home recipe for mexican/spanish/red rice that's remotely comparable to cheap burrito restaurant stuff. also i have recently stopped being able to get chipotle ever and i miss it tremendously.

(yes, this is a cry for help, i do want recipe recs, i have a rice cooker.)

to the extent that you can get closer to this recipe you'll probably end up with a more restaurant-type product:

Original recipe is here: https://www.wearesovegan.com/creamy-miso-coconut-butter-beans but the modified version in this post is betterrrr:

Ingredience:

olive oil

1 onion, peeled + sliced

1 can of cannellini beans*

1 can of chickpeas*

1 can of full-fat coconut milk

2 tbsp white miso paste

salt + pepper

100g (3.5oz) baby spinach

1 handful of fresh dill or parsley (I usually use parsley; The Beans are still delicious even with dried herbs, but use less)

1/2 lemon, juice only

some tasty fresh fuckin BREAD

*When I make a double batch (and I always make a double batch, you should too at least if you're cooking for a group) I do 3 cans cannellini beans and 1 can chickpeas-- I think this is the ideal ratio but it's not very practical to do in a single batch

Steps:

Drizzle a splash of olive oil in a large pan or pot on a low-medium heat. Next add the onion and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the onion turns translucent (you don’t want to brown the onion).

Add the beans - including all the juices from the tins - into the pan. Then turn the heat up and cook for 5-8 minutes or until some of the liquid has reduced. While you're waiting, here's some prep you can do in anticipation of later steps: A. Put the miso paste into a small bowl and ladle a bit of the hot liquid in. Stir it around to dissolve. (This saves you from intractable undissolved miso clumps in the final product later) B. Chop the herbs if you got herbs that need to be chopped

Pour in the coconut milk. (You can reserve a few dollops of the cream for topping later if you want to be fancy, but I never bother).

Stir in the miso paste (dissolve it first if you haven't already!) and a generous pinch of pepper, then cook for a minute. Go a bit longer if the broth seems too runny, but it's probably fine.

Stir in the spinach and cook for another minute until it has wilted.

Chop most of the dill/parsley if you didn't already (save a few leaves for topping later if you want to be fancy) then add the chopped dill into the pan along with the lemon juice.

Give everything a good stir, then taste the sauce and season with salt and more pepper, if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat (and if you chose the Fancy Life, top with the remaining dill leaves, a splash of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and dollops of the remaining coconut cream.)

Serve with toasted bread for dunking into the creamy beans oh my god do not neglect the bread dunking bread dunking is THE POINT.

Congratulations! You are now enjoying The Beans!

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Doubled version of this recipe under the cut for my own benefit, so I can glance at it without having to remember to double everything:

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