Giant beans with tomato, onion, and dill

This is an adapted recipe for Gigantes Plaki, a greek dish of baked beans stewed in a delicious and flavorful tomato-dill sauce.

Ingredients

2 cans (400g) cooked butter beans, drained
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
2 T olive oil
3 T tomato paste
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped finely
1 pinch dried thyme
1 large handful dill, chopped finely
2 T parsley, chopped finely
1 bay leaf
feta for garnish

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 200C.  Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, and cook onions for 5-10 minutes, until translucent and soft.
2) Add garlic, carrot, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the carrots start to soften.
3) Add chopped tomatoes, 1 T olive oil, and tomato paste, and cook for another 10 minutes.  If the mixture begins to dry out, add a few T of water.
4) Stir parsley and dill into tomato-onion mixture, cook for 2 minutes, and remove from heat.
5) In a medium oven-proof casserole dish, combine tomato mixture with beans.  Remove bay leaf and cook in oven for 45-60 minutes, until the tomato sauce has thickened and the beans are still firm but soft.
6) Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.  Garnish with feta.

Cold rice noodles with peanut sauce

This is a relatively simple and delicious cold noodle salad with bright asian flavors, courtesy of the lime juice and herbs. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

Dipping sauce

6 T fish sauce
6 T brown sugar
10 T lime juice (use fresh limes if possible)
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Peanut sauce

3 T fish sauce
1 T rice vinegar
6 T lime juice
1" chunk of ginger, grated finely (using frozen ginger is easiest)
6 T chunky peanut butter
1 T sesame oil
1 T soy sauce

Noodle salad

8 oz dried rice noodles (vermicelli works best)
2 small cucumbers, cut into thin half circles
2 medium carrots, cut into thin strips (julienne)
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips (julienne)
Handful of your favorite fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, mint)
4 scallions, sliced thinly
lime wedges for garnish

Instructions

1) To make the dipping sauce, combine ingredients in a small bowl, and stir well to dissolve sugar.
2) To make the peanut dressing, combine ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 20-30 seconds to heat mixture.  Mix ingredients until the texture is smooth (heating the mixture should help with this, and if necessary you can heat it a bit more.)
3) Bring a large pot of water to boil, turn off heat, and add noodles.  Let sit for 7-8 minutes (timing may vary with brand), until noodles are al dente.  Drain, run under cold water, and set aside.
4) To serve, place noodles in a large bowl, cover with vegetables and herbs, and add dip and dressing to taste.