Beans and Healthy Chocolate

Kate knows a lot about a lot of things, so I take notes.

She knows how to feed a houseful of people for Thanksgiving, and how to take little tiny cuttings of plants and turn her back yard into a profusion of green living things. She knows how to sit, really sit, on the porch, hosting those of us who show up to sit with her--and she lets her company have the hammock swing!

And something always smells good in the kitchen.

Last night it was beans.  I don't know how to cook beans, never have.  They are either tough or tasteless. Kate's are delicious.  We sprinkled tortilla corn chips and cheese over them, with an avocado on the side, and it was tastier than anything at the Mexican restaurants.

She also makes kumbucha, a drink of fermented tea that's supposed to have a lot of health benefits--so I brought home a new bottle to chill..

I asked for her recipe for beans and she gave me her chef's secret, which I will attempt today. If you add beer, cilantro, and jalapeño peppers to the basic bean recipe, you have borracho beans.

In return, I promised Joy's Chocolate--which it's hard not to eat all of in one sitting:

Put a jar of coconut oil out on the porch until it's liquid.
Stir in 1/3 cup of it with one teaspoon vanilla, a dash of salt, 2 T. honey, and 1/4 cup of cocoa.

That's it!
You can roll strawberries in it and leave it in the refrigerator to harden, or you can put a handful of almonds and/or coconut in it and you have yourself a healthy Almond Joy.