Three-Bean Cassoulet and Kale

I'm starting to realize something that's both good and bad. The good news is, the new camera I had to buy in Costa Rica did a pretty good job of taking pictures in Costa Rica. With all of the beautiful, bright sunshine, the outdoor pictures couldn't help but come out well. The bad news? Well, it turns out that the camera takes pretty lousy pictures indoors. I definitely need to read the manual and see if there is anything I can do to improve the picture quality. In the meantime, you and I will have to put up with some pretty unappealing food pictures :)

A couple of nights ago, I was in the mood for beans. This may or may not have something to do with the copious amounts of gallo pinto I consumed while in Costa Rica :) However, I've been decidedly lacking in motivation to cook again after being on vacation. What, no one is going to provide me with freshly sliced papaya, pineapple, and banana for breakfast? Or a beautifully arranged salad of avocado, hearts of palm, and tomato? Whaaat? Yeah, I haven't been feelin' it in the kitchen. So I decided to make a super-easy bean dish I'd made and enjoyed before - Three-Bean Cassoulet from 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

A base of carrots, onions, garlic, and celery is sauteed together, then mixed with tomatoes, spices, cannellini beans, navy beans, and great northern beans. After sprinkling with some panko bread crumbs, the whole skillet goes right in the oven to bake.

I also threw some kale in a pot to steam until tender. My hubby and I were both shocked when our son ate ALL his kale...and then asked for MORE! I guess all my talk about how it is so "kale-licious" is paying off :)

We were also in the mood for a little vino with our beans, so we opened up a bottle of Riesling we've had lurking in the downstairs fridge for almost a year. It must have been pretty doggone delicious, because we drank the entire bottle that night! 

In the morning, I was feeling a little guilty about my wine overconsumption, so I decided to atone with a simple tropical smoothie. I threw some frozen mango, frozen banana, and frozen pineapple in the Vita, along with some water and a dash of coconut milk. It was creamy, fruity, and refreshing, and most importantly, very hydrating :)

I've finished going through my Costa Rica pictures, so I hope to get that post done in the next couple of days. Stay tuned!