Black baked beans. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.

Beans are one of the foods I crave. No matter if it's black bean soup with tons of fresh lime, refried beans, chili or summer barbecues -- I make a beeline to the baked beans.

I have a passion for Moros y Cristianos, gorgeous black beans and rice cooked with green peppers, fresh cilantro, savory spices and a little ham. I treat myself to this whenever I visit the very authentic Cuban restaurant, La Isla, in Hoboken, N.J.

My version of black baked beans is a nod to some of the flavors you'll find in a plate of their moros. The recipe is after the jump.

After learning about the possible health benefits of chickpeas today, I thought I'd share one of my favorite, easy salads. This bean salad contains lots of chickpeas, is super-easy to make, and ridiculously healthy. There's no oil, but that's okay because the fresh ingredients offer all the flavor you need.

To make the salad, just combine drained cans of chickpeas, black beans, and corn nibblets in a bowl, add some diced veggies like celery and red onion, and then mix in a lot of chopped fresh dill and the juice of 3 limes and 1 lemon. Mix it together and serve. It's perfect for eating right away, and also travels well if you want to take it to a party, or on a last-minute picnic before winter.

My apologies on the blurry photo. It's the only one I have of the salad.

Walking home for lunch today, I mentally reviewed the contents of my fridge. I knew that there was a lot of lettuce in there, as well as radishes, garlic scapes, broccoli and a dozen local eggs. However, I wasn't thrilled by the idea of a salad with an egg (or a salad with half a can of tuna fish). When I walked into the apartment, I was feeling discouraged by the options but still went directly to the kitchen and took a full turn (not a long trip in my tiny galley kitchen), trying to find something that would satisfy and still be quick enough that I could prepare it and eat in my remaining 45 minutes.

Opening the refrigerator, I spotted an avocado I had balanced on top of a jar of jam a day or two ago, when it had started to get too soft. My eyes then noticed the bag of baked tortilla chips tucked on top of the radio and they inspired me to search for a can of black beans. Grabbing half an onion out of the fridge, I diced up a tiny amount and started to sauté it in a small pan with a little olive oil. I added a minced clove of garlic and the rinsed beans, smashing them with the back of a wooden spoon as they started to heat up. I mashed half the avocado with a squirt of lemon juice and some salt.

When I was done, I had a plate that had a pile of half-smashed beans (onion, garlic, salt and pepper), a small mound of fresh guacamole and a big pile of torn romaine lettuce. Grabbing the bag of chips, I settled down at the dining room table with a book and ate this quick, special, delicious lunch. It was particularly satisfying because I had initially felt like I was heading towards an apartment devoid of anything good to eat.

What are some of the treasures you've discovered when you thought your larder was bare?

The quesadilla is perhaps the sturdiest of staples in my roster of go-to meals. Lately, my favorite combination is the one you see here: flour tortillas with Monterrey Jack cheese, spinach, black beans, chicken and sweet potatoes. Really, all you need for a satisfying quesadilla is tortillas and cheese, but taking the time to get a few quality components together yields something far more satisfying. As a bonus, the following recipes for black beans, sauteed spinach and mashed sweet potatoes are all great side dishes on their own. I usually wind up using leftover roasted chicken, but grilled or sauteed shrimp are also a great substitution. The assembly is pretty simple, regardless of the fillings you choose, but we'll get back to that later. The following proportions should be enough for two large quesadillas. All of the ingredients can easily be multiplied.

It is quite untrue to say that no casserole is a good casserole. After all, they have enjoyed fairly consistent popularity over the course of the last century, though the concept has been around much longer. If all casseroles were horrible, we wouldn't still be making them. Recipes for casseroles, however, can be downright scary. A can of sauce, a frozen chunk of miscellaneous meat and less than appetizing vegetables, possibly added to conceal a look of produce past its prime.