Black Bean Croquettes

I have a love affair with croquettes. Lentil croquettes, salmon croquettes, and my all-time favorite - potato croquettes. When I was growing up, my mom would make potato croquettes for dinner or to take along on picnics. She used a ricer to make mashed potatoes and would add ground beef and diced vegetables. She shaped each croquette into a perfect oval, dipped it in a beaten egg and coated it with fine breadcrumbs before frying it in a pan of hot vegetable oil. The kids - there are 5 of us - ate the croquettes dipped in ketchup. Now, whenever I come across a new recipe for croquettes, I never pass up the opportunity to recreate my childhood memories of eating the delicious, palm-sized patties of whatever the filling may be. Tonight, I made black bean croquettes and served them with rice, salsa, and shredded lettuce (and flour tortillas for those who wanted to make a black bean croquette burrito). The croquettes were easy to make and I found the recipe in How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite cookbooks). Think mashed beans, minced onions, minced parsley, eggs, breadcrumbs, and oil for frying. I made small nugget-sized croquettes for Caroline and she loved them! Another croquette keeper.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, January 23: Breakfast - ten grain hot cereal, prunes; Lunch - black bean croquettes, flour tortilla, carrots; Snacks - hummus, whole wheat pita bread

Childcare Center Menu, January 23: Breakfast - cream of wheat, bananas, raisins; Lunch - flour tortilla, refried beans, salsa, carrots, grapes; Snacks - hummus, pita bread