RECIPE | Homemade Refried Beans... in the Instant Pot

A couple weeks ago I shared in this post and on episode 25 of our podcast, that I was testing out batch of homemade refried beans (vegan & gluten free) in our new favorite kitchen addition, the Instant Pot. I was *almost* successful that night, but wanted another run through before sharing with you. 

The first time around, they tasted great, they were a bit dense because I underestimated how much they would thicken up. The second run though was much better and I'm happy to report that we have a nice stash of these delicious homemade refried beans in our freezer. The recipe is for the Instant Pot (an electric pressure cooker), but you could adjust for the stove top or slow cooker - the great thing with the Instant Pot is cooking time is dramatically reduced and in an hour, we went from dried to delicious refried beans. 

 
 

RAPID REFRIES IN THE iNSTANT POT

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds dried pinto beans - sorted and rinsed
  • 3 tablespoons + 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 large onion - chopped
  • 6-8 cloves garlic (more or less to taste)
  • 1 jalapeno - seeded and diced
  • 1 bunch cilantro - stems and leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more or less to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 9 cups of water
  • juice of 1 lime
  • salt to taste

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Rinse and sort beans and set aside. 
  2. Set Instant Pot on the saute setting. When hot, add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, add onions and sautee for 5-10 minutes until softened.
  3. Add garlic, jalapeno and roughly chopped cilantro stems. Saute another 3-5 minutes until aromatic. Mix in cayenne, chili powder, cumin, beans and water. 
  4. Cover and set Instant Pot on Bean/Chili Setting for 35 minutes - unplug when time is up. After 10 minutes, release remaining pressure. Check beans to make sure they're tender at this point - if they're not, close it back up and set for another 5-10 minutes. 
  5. Heat a large pan over medium/high heat and add remaining 1/4 cup coconut oil. 
  6. Strain beans (reserving liquid - you'll need this later), add to hot pan with oil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring as needed to keep from sticking to the pan. 
  7. Begin alternating adding liquid (more to begin with) and mashing beans (I use an immersion blender, but a potato masher will work, too) until you reach the desired consistency - we like ours to have just a bit of texture, so we don't blend completely smooth. 
  8. Add salt to taste and mix in lime juice (you can microwave a the lime for 30 seconds and get a lot more juice with little effort). 

Garnish as you like (queso fresco and cilantro is a favorite at our house) and enjoy! 

Cheers!

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SIMPLY HANDMADE-along | Baa-ble Love!

Are you ready for a new Simply Handmade-along project? Do you like sheep? I hope the answer is an enthusiastic "YES" to both!

Since February is the month of love with Valentine's Day, it seems fitting to knit a project that I think everyone will love - say "hello" to Baa-ble!

FEBRUARY | BAA-BLE HAT BY DONNA SMITH | THROUGH MARCH 7TH

© Donna Smith

© Donna Smith

It seems that everyone fell in love with these wee sheep hats last year and they're still going strong. Donna's original version is knit in an aran (heavy worsted) weight yarn at a dense gauge of 23 sts/4", so a slightly lighter weight yarn can easily be substituted. I previously shared that I fell head-over-heels in love with this version Courtney Kelley of Kelbourne Woolens knit up in Cumbria and that had me not only casting on in October...

but, it also had me assembling Baa-ble Hat Kits for the shop. Have you ever made kits? They're a lot of work. Like, A LOT. But these are very much worth the effort and they've been getting gobbled up. Maybe you have a kit from the shop and haven't knit it yet... here's the perfect incentive!

Are you new to colorwork? Colorwork is a lot of fun and very addictive, but it can be intimidating. This project would definitely be easier if you're familiar with colorwork, but if you're feeling courageous, just dive on in - after all, it's only yarn. Also, there is time, so if you want to baby-step into this, we use (and love) the Clayoquot Toque for our beginning colorwork class at the shop and the Tin Can Knits ladies have a great blog post here with some helpful colorwork tips.

Baa-ble Hat Kit.png

After knitting the first version above for our shop sample and kit model, I was anxious to try a different, and less traditional, color combination. So, this last weekend, I cast on with some new colors... 

Again, this is Cumbria and the new combo uses Cowberry and Buttermere - I'm loving knitting this one! This is another for Firefly Fibers (I'm still on the fence about adding the pom this time around) and I'll share FO pics when it's off the needles and had a good bath. 

So, what do you think? Is this a project that you'd like to knit? Like I said, I love the worsted weight yarn for a slightly less dense hat - no matter what yarn you choose, just check your gauge.

What do you need? The pattern is available for free via Shetland Wool Week right here, and you'll need 4 colors of yarn... if you want to stash dive, a safe estimate is 50gr of each main color, 30gr for the sheep body and about 10gr for the sheep legs/faces (this includes the pom and allows for plenty of wiggle room). 

I hope you'll join the fun this month and if you have questions about or haven't signed up for the Simply Handmade-along, you can do that right here!

Cheers!

SEWING | Washi Dress... finally!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I got my sewing machine and nearly as long since I purchased the Washi Dress Sewing Pattern.  

Washi Dress Sewing Pattern by Made by Rae

Washi Dress Sewing Pattern by Made by Rae

I promptly printed the pattern pages and assembled them, so the pattern has been all ready to go (along with some gorgeous fabric), but for some reason, I just haven't been able to get motivated for the sewing part. So, imagine my excitement when Libby of Truly Myrtle announced a Washi Dress sew-along! 

Washi Along.jpg

Do you want to join the fun and sew yourself a new Washi Dress? Libby will be posting daily on Instagram and Facebook to walk us through the pattern to sew a new dress in "baby steps" over the course of 13 days (February 12-24) - it's going to be SO much fun! Full details are in the current issue of the Truly Myrtle Mini-Mag (you can subscribe right here), along with some tips for actually getting yourself to sit down and sew. 

Getting myself in front of my machine to sew is often no easy feat. Sometimes, even when I really want to sew, need to sew, I just can't manage to sit down and get started. It feels like I don't have the time. So, how can we get started? How can we get sewing done? ~Libby

Yup, I can relate to each and every hurdle listed. So, after realizing that I'm not alone in my struggle and getting some great tips from Libby for sewing success, I'm all in and ready to go! I'll be quickly tidying up my sewing workspace (and resisting the overwhelming urge to actually clean and organize) so I can start start sewing myself a new dress on February 12th!

I'll be sharing my fabric selection and progress along the way on Instagram and Facebook. If there's anyone that can get me excited and motivate me make time to finally sew this dress, it's Libby! I hope you'll join the fun and sew yourself a Washi Dress, too!

Cheers!