Spring Into Dinner

coconut and lime team up for a perfect one pot meal

Moving is the best and the worst. I love a new adventure but as a certified homebody, I feel unmoored until everything is where it should be. My kitchen is in flux right now as I settle into Seattle which means I naturally want to cook and bake elaborate meals that I can’t possibly pull off without all my stuff. It’s funny how it always works out like that. I have been busy scouting out all the amazing local farmer’s markets, co-ops, and grocery stores and I can barely handle all the things I want to try. It’s overwhelming. My friend Lauren and her family went up to a cabin in the woods last weekend and returned with some morels they foraged, and I folded them into creamy bechamel pasta with fresh asparagus that we all gobbled down. In LA, I was drowning in free citrus, and here there are just mushrooms and berries as far as the eye can see. I could really get used to this. I just want to cook and bake every single thing that pops into my brain but alas, most of my kitchen is still in route.

So instead of setting all of us up to fail, I am focusing all my culinary energy on making easy, one pot meals that taste way more complicated and fancier than they have any right being. We have some hearty, entrée summer salads coming down the line too but right now, it’s all about warm, brothy beans. They are affordable, full of protein, and filling in the very best way. As we all continue to stretch our budgets thinner and thinner, my love of beans only grows stronger. Let’s get cooking.

they’re what’s for dinner

In the spring and summer, I still want hearty, brothy beans but without all the heaviness of the baked beans dishes I love during the colder months. This recipe is the perfect balance. It’s bright and buttery thanks to the lime and coconut, has spring and summer veggies like zucchini snuck in there, and you and mix around the herbs to suit your taste. Want to mix up the flavors? Add a tablespoon of your favorite curry paste, toss in some lemon grass and/or some makrut lime leaves for more Thai-inspired dish. Want more veggies? Add in some corn, greens like spinach, bell peppers, or tomatoes to make this your own. This recipe is a base for you to play with based on what you have available to you and what you like to eat. I like to serve this alongside some steamed jasmine rice but it’s also fun to serve it like a stew and give everyone crusty bread or corn tortillas to rip and dip right in. There’s no wrong way to do. This freezes like a dream, stick your leftovers away for a future dinner when you are way too tired to cook.

the amount of herbs I actually like on top. you can’t see the food soooooo

Spring Coconut and Lime White Beans

Makes enough for 4-6 servings