Mid-Week Meal, Part III

Okay, here’s the last part.

            A favorite veggie in my family is butter beans or lima beans.  I have found a substitute that is wildly popular with today’s healthy eaters.  And with just a little bit of forbidden ingredients, I can “unhealthy” them up so they taste like old-timey homemade cooking.

            Edemame (sp) is the healthy green bean of choice these days.  Luckily, my roommate/sister and I like them.  You can get them frozen, follow the boil-in-water cooking instructions, and you’ve got a healthy veggie.  Kind of tasteless, but not bad.

            For this dinner, here’s what I do:

            I generally keep a large vat of homemade chicken soup in the fridge.  This is a great meal in itself and the uses for rich chicken broth are limitless.  I put a healthy ladle of chicken broth in a pot/pan big enough to hold the Edemame, along with, oh I’d say about ¼ of the recommended water.  Add a healthy slab of butter and the (frozen) beans.  Let this simmer on top of the oven for as long as you like.

            Don’t cover the pot.  You want the liquid to simmer down.  And you have a good long time for them to cook.  You’ve got that mac-n-cheese baking in the over, remember?  I was afraid the beans would be mushy and ruined so I took them off the heat after about 20 minutes.  But they were still much firmer than your typical lima/butter bean.  So, depending on the flavor/texture you want, let these babies gently simmer away.  Just keep testing them for softness.

Okay, we don’t usually have dessert in my family, especially in the middle of the week.  But for those people who HAVE to end the meal with something sweet, here is something that is sort of elegant.  Good for a dinner party.

            As always, proportions are up to you, depending on how many you are feeding.  In a blender, put several scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Add a healthy splash of brandy or cognac and several glugs of vodka.  For the culinarily limited people out there, the term “glug” refers to the sound made from vodka escaping an upturned bottle.  You know, glug, glug, glug, etc.  What you’re going for is a thick milkshake texture.  Finally add a good splash of chocolate liquor or even chocolate syrup.  The chocolate flavor should be just a suggestion in the background.  Turn on the blender and let it rip. 

            Taste your concoction.  Determine how sweet you like it.  You may have to add a little sugar and give it one last whir.

            Pour into tall skinny champagne glasses.  Garnish with …. heck, I never use a garnish.  These are delicious.  People may want seconds.  This dessert drink is named Brandy a la Kirk after an old boyfriend who invented it.

            And that’s your mid-week meal.  Invite your boss over.  Invite your mother-in-law.  I’m pretty sure this meal will impress.