Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • Leaderboard
    • The CBR Team
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Cooking/Food > Canned Refried Beans DO Need Seasoning

Canned Refried Beans DO Need Seasoning

Bare Minimum Dinners: Recipes and Strategies for Doing Less in the Kitchen by Jena Helwig

February 2, 2021 by Emmalita 11 Comments

I got so excited when I saw this title on NetGalley. A cookbook that advocates for less effort in the kitchen? I am in favor of it! I was still really excited when I looked through the cookbook – great organization and lots of different kinds of recipes. The more I looked at it and the more recipes I tried (I tried a lot of recipes), I came to the conclusion that this cookbook is not for me, but it might be fine for someone else.

Most of the recipes I tried are some version of fine. There is one egregiously bad recipe in the advance reader copy I received and I hope it gets taken out before publication. Of the recipes I tried, the best was the Saucy Chicken in the Bare Minimum Hands on Time: Recipes for the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker section. It’s a formula with several different variations of store bought sauce and skinless boneless chicken thighs. It’s great and exactly the kind of thing I would want to see in a bare minimum cookbook – you pick a sauce you like with chicken, cook them together in the InstantPot, and pair with the carb of your choice (or not). I cooked chicken thighs with a fire roasted tomatillo salsa and had tacos for a couple of dinners.

I was disappointed that a lot of the recipes were bland or dominated by one flavor. I am all for quick food that doesn’t have to be worthy of Instagram or a restaurant. But, it can’t just be fuel. I want to enjoy my food. I love onions, but the Any Onion Frittata was a lot of bland egg (I did add the onion powder to the egg) on top of a thin layer of tasty onions. My issue with a lot of her egg recipes was there wasn’t enough seasoning for the amount of egg. The Ginger-Scallion Turkey Burgers were all ginger, no scallion, and nothing to balance the ginger. I was going to talk about how I’ve been making the Spicy Oven Fries a lot, but I realized that I abandoned Helwig’s seasoning for the fries a couple of weeks ago. The idea and the methodology are great and I love the nutritional yeast on the fries.

The truly reprehensible recipe is the Black Bean Burger in the Bare Minimum Time section. I made this knowing it was going to be awful because Helwig says “no more seasoning required” about using canned refried black beans. I don’t know what canned refried beans she has access to, but in my experience, canned refried beans are bland. They don’t need more salt, but they do need more flavor. Or they should be applied in a thin layer, with other things with flavor and texture. My other issue with the recipe was texture – soft bread, soft refried bean “burger”, soft mashed avocado topping for the burger. The reality was much worse. The patties were fairly think and the panko didn’t give them any texture. Biting into the burger was an unpleasant mouth experience. This recipe made me angry. I tried it because I wanted to give Helwig a chance to prove me wrong. In the end, I mashed the patties up with some salsa and made molettes (an open face bean and cheese sandwich), which would have been a much better 30 minutes or less use of canned black refried beans.

I still like the concept ofย Bare Minimum Dinners, and I know we all have different palates. What I found bland and one note, someone else will enjoy. It’s a very usable rather than aspirational cookbook. I’ve rounded this up to a three star from a 2.5 because I support the concept if not the execution.

I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Filed Under: Cooking/Food, Non-Fiction Tagged With: advance reader copy, Bare Minimum Dinners, Jena Helwig, NetGalley

Emmalita's CBR13 Review No:13 · Genres: Cooking/Food, Non-Fiction · Tags: advance reader copy, Bare Minimum Dinners, Jena Helwig, NetGalley ·
Rating:
· 11 Comments

About Emmalita

CBR13 participantCBR13 CommentsCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7CBR 6CBR 5

Lives in Austin, Texas. She/her. Loves reading books, writing about books and talking about books. Formerly a monster to the world's greatest dog. Aspiring mini-dinosaur wrangler. Book bingo enthusiast. View Emmalita's reviews»

Comments

  1. kfishgirl says

    February 2, 2021 at 2:26 pm

    I’m really sorry you had an “unpleasant mouth experience”. I’m going to use that in a sentence this week ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Emmalita says

      February 2, 2021 at 2:37 pm

      Feel free! I rewrote that section so many times trying to convey the unpleasantness of the experience without being gross. I appreciate my hard work getting use out in the world.

      Reply
      • andtheIToldYouSos says

        February 2, 2021 at 4:18 pm

        you painted a horrifying and accurate portrait. well done- and I am very sorry that you had to go through that mouthfeel minefield!

        Reply
  2. LittlePlat says

    February 2, 2021 at 2:56 pm

    I like the sound of the concept as well, but one flavour really isn’t enough, is it?
    Unless you happen to be the kind of person that drowns things in hot sauce (I do this to things I don’t find very palatable)

    Reply
    • Emmalita says

      February 2, 2021 at 2:58 pm

      Hot sauce is good for that. It has salvaged many a dining experience.

      Reply
  3. llamareadsbooks says

    February 3, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    Oof, “unpleasant mouth experience” – I know exactly what you’re talking about with bean burgers. I still haven’t found a homemade one that works well for me.

    Thank you for the review – it’s very clear about what the possible pitfalls are!

    Reply
    • Emmalita says

      February 3, 2021 at 2:09 pm

      I generally prefer to eat bean burgers out, because making them is a pain, but I don’t go out anymore and the only place that delivers out here is Domino’s. I actually do have a preferred black bean burger recipe and I would be happy to share it with you if you want it.

      Reply
      • llamareadsbooks says

        February 4, 2021 at 11:34 pm

        I’d love that, please, if you don’t mind!

        Reply
        • Emmalita says

          February 4, 2021 at 11:49 pm

          I never mind talking about food. This recipe is some work, but it is, as it claims, the best homemade black bean burger I’ve ever had. I’ve made it with bbq sauce, and I’ve made it with gochujang. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-black-bean-burgers/

          Reply
  4. narfna says

    February 3, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    FYI Amy’s refried beans are heavily seasoned and they are delicious.

    Reply
    • Emmalita says

      February 3, 2021 at 3:32 pm

      Interesting. I don’t remember seeing them at my grocery store, but if I see them I will try them.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • MsWas on Holy MolyCongratulations on your first review! Love the review and the Waterhouse painting you included, just perfect. Well done!
  • postcardsandbooks on Do your favourites hold up on re-reads?I also have that problem (or maybe it's a solution?)... I remembered the plot of the first movie, but the second and third I completely...
  • postcardsandbooks on Do your favourites hold up on re-reads?Oh! I can't remember how it ends at all. I'm in for a fun re-read of book 3 :)
  • postcardsandbooks on Do your favourites hold up on re-reads?Oh I just finished my re-read of book 2 and I think it gets 4 stars too. Technically 3.5, but I will probably round it...
  • postcardsandbooks on I need to read more queer YA contemporariesOh, have you read any yet? I have a couple more of her novels in my TBR for this year. :)
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
  3. Google Pay
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in