Perfectly Simple Beans

Beans have become such a big part of our diet. We love them in soups, chilies & as a side dish. In the last year or so, we've really discovered how superior the flavor & texture of dried beans are over canned. We try to keep a selection of various varieties (mainly from Rancho Gordo) on hand in our pantry most of the time.

The biggest thing with using dried beans is remembering to give yourself enough time to cook them before using them. I've started to pre-cook the beans a day or two in advance & keeping them in the fridge until needed. Unless of course, I'm making something like ham & bean soup where the beans will cook right in the soup. Since I was cooking some beans up for this week I thought I'd share a few bean cooking tips.

1. It isn't absolutely necessary to soak your beans before cooking them. I often skip this step & just know the beans will take a little longer to cook. Just give them a rinse & a quick pick through for stones.

2. Your crock pot is a wonderful way to cook beans.

I got this 1.5 quart pot at Target for $7.00 & it is perfect for cooking up 4 - 6 servings of beans. I typically start at the high setting & then turn it down to low when its really bubbling.

3. Don't salt you cooking water. This will give your beans a tough skin. Add salt after cooking if needed.

4. If you are using good beans the cooking water is often good enough to replace stock for soups or chilies. When I made ham & white bean soup last week I added water instead of stock knowing that the beans, ham & other seasonings would add enough flavor.

Usually I just cook my beans in plain water but this week I decided to experiment with adding some seasonings to the cooking water.

I started with 1 cup of dried beans. The bean I was using here is called Silvia & was a limited edition from Rancho Gordo, isn't the color pretty, they ended up tasting a lot like pinto beans. Then I added in half a chopped white onion, a minced clove of garlic, a chopped stalk of celery, a bay leaf and a pinch of epazote (an herb that is traditional thought to help reduce some of the intestinal discomfort you may get from beans). Then I just added 3 cups of water & let it simmer away for about 5 hours. Oh, these were so good! We used them as a filling for a taco lunch and Matt ate any leftovers by themselves.

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