Coffee Beany

so sue me for running with a theme....but give me some credit for switching up the type of bean.

i’m not one of those people who depend on my daily cup of coffee.  i don’t need it, but oddly enough i admire those addicts who get more jazzed over a fine caffeine rich brew than i get over just about anything these days (yes, im bored and jaded with nicaragua, couldn't you tell)...but I certainly do love to savor a bitter cup, black, when the mood strikes. And after living in coffee country for the past two years, i know more about the little bean than i ever thought possible.  The department of Jinotega produces some of Nicaragua’s highest quality coffee beans (if you like Peet’s Coffee, you might be familiar) and it is BIG business.  November-March is harvest time and people will literally drop everything to participate, uprooting families and transplanting from coffee farm to coffee farm across northern Nicaragua.  Money rains down from the mountains.  Coffee is a big deal.

And we all love coffee.  We all drink coffee.  And we’re all left with coffee grounds.  My mom always throws it out onto the flowers in front of our house in NY and I knew for this reason it works great as a fertilizer.  But within used coffee grounds lies a wealth of practical and valuable applications.

My favorite: I take a big scoop out of the bottom of my French press and scrub that lovely caffeine filled grime all over my face.  FACIAL SCRUB.  Smoothes, softens, and revitalized my sun-torched skin. 

Use them in brown hair too, to give it a lovely deep coffee sheen. Just be careful and try to catch the grounds before they go down the drain, large quantities of coffee grounds will clog it!

Beans, Beans, They're good for your heart...

I’ve figured out the equation for making amazing bean burgers while living here (cant get away from beans! So instead of having rice and beans all day every day, I’ve done a lot of experimenting).  They are easy and healthy and you can make them with whatever you happen to have in your pantry.  Here is the general equation and some of my favorite combinations…again, no measurements:

Mashed Beans	+	Finely Chopped (sautéed if you want) Vegetables	+	Egg	+	Carbohydrate Binder	+	Seasonings
Lentils	+	Carrots Onions Garlic	+	Egg	+	Brown Rice	+	Curry Powder Garam Masala Salt/Pepper Red Pepper Flakes
Black Beans	+	Onions Garlic Peppers	+	Egg	+	Bread Crumbs	+	Taco Seasoning Or…Cumin Red Pepper Flakes Salt/Pepper
Red Beans	+	Onions Garlic	+	Egg	+	Oats	+	Italian Seasoning Salt/Pepper

Just mash everything together (if you have a food processor, just throw everything in minus the egg…throw that in later).  Keep adding the carbohydrate of your choice until the mixture has a good dense consistency that can easily be formed into patties. I use ground oats for the most healthful option, but I’ve also used matzo meal (a lovely Passover gift from my mom!).  If you’re using brown rice, you might need to add some extra breadcrumbs or oats to soak up the excess moisture.

Form into patties and coat with a little more bread crumbs/oats/etc. and let set in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

These patties can be sautéed in a pan, but I prefer to bake them.  Put them on a lightly greased cooking sheet and bake at 350 until golden brown, turning the patties over after about 15 minutes.  Patties will take about 30 minutes to cook, but check them as they go.