Black Bean "Meatballs"

Black Bean Balls! Alliteration makes all food delicious!

Today, I had a rather odd and off topic conversation at work about cheating in school verses "cheating" in the workplace.  The biggest hurdle that many of us had to overcome in joining the workforce from our education is that cheating is not only fine, its encouraged.  Meaning, you should never write code from scratch if there's already code existing.  You should never do a project that's been done before because its a waste of time.


And it struck me, that is why I've started this blog. Because I love to learn and discover and grow, and  I want to let my project lead me instead of my deadlines.  But there's not time for that at work, because...work.
Upon further reflection, I've realized this blog isn't totally original.  In every post I have several links to other blogs or recipes, and I'm not totally sure that I'm making something better.  I'm okay with this, but it does mean I am not a genius yet, at least not by the talent borrows, genius steals paradox proposed by T.S. Eliot.

T.S. Eliot wrote, "One of the surest tests is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn; the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion. A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest."

Nobody except Picasso ever claimed that they were great from the beginning, and the 10,000 hour rule proposed by Malcolm Gladwell seems to be pretty well accepted as pop-sociology fact, so I hope that someday I will no longer be a blogger who defaces what I borrow, but who steals content only to make it better.  

In the meantime, I would like to thank all the recipe bloggers and other sources of inspiration for giving me free access to your work and your life.  I am really thankful that you enable me to crowdsource my dinner.

Thank you all for allowing me to philosophize over this triviality of a blog.  And onto the recipe.
These black bean "meatballs" are incredibly delicious, I got this inspiration from Foxes Love Lemons.  I definitely like them better than any real meatballs that I've ever had.  I would compare the texture favorably to falafel, but the flavor is distinctly Italian.  Within one bite, the Mad Scientist told me that these were on the keeper list, and Littlest screeched with delight every time I gave him a bite.  Its so fun for me be able to feed Littlest the same food as the Mad Scientist and I eat.

Black Bean "Meatballs"

by Hannah Rounds

This meatless main dish is hearty and delicious, and better than any real meatballs that I've ever eaten.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins  Cook time: 4 hour  Total time: 4 hour 30 mins < span class="value-title" title="PT4H30M">

Yield: 10 golf ball sized pieces

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Dried Black Beans- Soaked overnight and rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 White Onion Chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic Minced or Pressed
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Flavored Bread Crumbs
• 1-2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Cook beans with 2 cups of water, garlic powder, salt, and italian seasoning in a crockpot for four hours (low heat) 2. Drain beans and set 2 cups in a large bowl (this should be most of the beans, but I always manage to have some leftover) 3. Combine beans, onion, bread crumbs and egg and mix thoroughly using your hands. 4. For balls about the size of a golf ball and set onto a plate.  5. Heat oil, and in small batches of about 3-5 pieces fry the meatballs. Be sure that each side of the meatball gets a nice crisp crust (should be a very dark brown) 6. Serve with marinara sauce over pasta.