I love all the hundreds of ways Indians cook beans (not counting all of our Dahl recipes). I could eat Indian Rajma any time if a Punjabi mum cooked them for me. Only just discovered the joys of cooking beans from scratch and wow they taste so much better than the canned stuff!
I love beans. All kinds. And really enjoyed Michelle’s article. We do a bean a week. Buy them in bulk dried from “the great bulk wall” at a local grocery. And buy fresh beans at our local Farmers Market. Cook em up a pound at a time on the stove or in the instapot. If I don’t need the whole batch I freeze beans and any leftover bean water in jars for future recipes. My version of cans. A friend recommended this site for some bean varieties not available at the grocery. Haven’t tried it yet but plan to soon
How fitting that we are repeating the Beanessanince week from the August meal manager (week 2). Love the bean and corn salad for the tostadas and enchiladas! Certainly not missing the 'meat' here!!
I used to make a kidney bean chilli about once a week... This makes me want to bring it back into the rotation! I've wanted to try dried beans but I always get nervous that I won't soak / cook them long enough and will get stomach aches... Has this ever happened to anyone?
All you have to do is make sure they’re super soft the first time so you can get the hang of it. Puree them with some spices and make a bean dip. You’ve got this!
I made a white bean soup last week and it was so tasty. Beans (and lentils) have been our go-to for vegetarian dishes, and they are also so affordable!
Thank you for posting this, Michelle. I needed that reminder and inspiration to get back to making my beans from scratch. I have a cupboard full of jars of beans but kept buying canned beans. My favourite piece of advice from you is always the reminder that we can do this! Thanks!
My husband is from Texas, and we now live in South Carolina. Before we were vegan, I fell in love with The Homesick Texan. I have two of her cookbooks, and while we don’t eat the animal products anymore, her bean recipes and salsa recipes, and rice recipes are wonderful! It also turns out that pinto beans and corn bread are a typical meal in SC. The Carolinas also specialize in field peas and butter/lima beans.. so good!
I have gone back & forth from can to dried beans over the decades. Currently in canned phase, prepping things is really hard for me sometimes but I always have dried beans around for the apocalypse. I do have an instant pot & when I am up to it will start using that to cook dried beans.
I love making beans. Here in Costa Rica the easiest beans to find are black or red beans. We can also get garbanzo and white beans dried. I pressure cook mine the old fashioned way. It’s amazing: less than and hour to fresh delicious beans. I’ve never used an instapot. So far I haven’t felt the need to upgrade.
I've got an import store near me that is, as far as I can tell, is kinda like a Costco but run by immigrants for immigrants. There are 2 full aisles, probably 50+ feet long, that are nothing but dried beans. Red lentils, brown lentils, chickpeas (white, brown, split and whole), pintos, kidney, white, mung (split and whole), fava, butter, something called "gram" and probably a few more with non-English names that I can't remember. They come in packages in a variety of sizes, from a variety of places (India, the Middle East, Africa). We go two or three times a year to stock up on the things we can only buy there (this is where I must tell you that ajvar is an Eastern European pepper spread that will elevate nearly any sandwich or pasta sauce), and despite there being plenty of dried beans in my pantry, I STILL take a slow wander down the Beans Aisles, just to see if there is some other bean I haven't met yet. This most recent time, I bought a small bag of large dried lima beans... Gonna cook those up with onions, garlic, bell pepper and a cheezy sauce for a vegan version of Pizza Beans. 😁
It took me a month to get around to making them! I thought the Pizza Beans turned out tasty. The lima beans cooked up enormous! I more or less followed Smitten Kitchen's recipe for the beans but then poured Queso Blanco from Book 5 over them instead of topping with cheese. The biggest critique from the eaters around here was that the meal definitely needed some good crusty bread to sop up the sauce.
Love this. I prep about 2 pounds of beans every few weeks and then freeze them in small batches and add them back to other recipes: chili, stews, etc.
I just love this! This is why food writing is not just blather and recipes. This is wonderful really!
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
I love all the hundreds of ways Indians cook beans (not counting all of our Dahl recipes). I could eat Indian Rajma any time if a Punjabi mum cooked them for me. Only just discovered the joys of cooking beans from scratch and wow they taste so much better than the canned stuff!
Beans4evs! We chuck black or pintos in the instant pot for an hour with onion, cilantro, better than bouillon and plenty of salt about every week.
This is my latest fav way to cook beans, Nisha never disappoints. https://rainbowplantlife.com/creamy-white-bean-soup-with-kale-and-gremolata/
This stew will be back in the rotation this winter: https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/dilly-bean-stew-with-cabbage-and-frizzled-onions
Dill and beans are one of my favorite combos
I love beans. All kinds. And really enjoyed Michelle’s article. We do a bean a week. Buy them in bulk dried from “the great bulk wall” at a local grocery. And buy fresh beans at our local Farmers Market. Cook em up a pound at a time on the stove or in the instapot. If I don’t need the whole batch I freeze beans and any leftover bean water in jars for future recipes. My version of cans. A friend recommended this site for some bean varieties not available at the grocery. Haven’t tried it yet but plan to soon
https://www.ranchogordo.com
Rancho Gordo is amazing. I love a giant bulk wall too though
I simply love this.
How fitting that we are repeating the Beanessanince week from the August meal manager (week 2). Love the bean and corn salad for the tostadas and enchiladas! Certainly not missing the 'meat' here!!
I love to hear that 👏👏👏
I used to make a kidney bean chilli about once a week... This makes me want to bring it back into the rotation! I've wanted to try dried beans but I always get nervous that I won't soak / cook them long enough and will get stomach aches... Has this ever happened to anyone?
All you have to do is make sure they’re super soft the first time so you can get the hang of it. Puree them with some spices and make a bean dip. You’ve got this!
I made a white bean soup last week and it was so tasty. Beans (and lentils) have been our go-to for vegetarian dishes, and they are also so affordable!
Thank you for posting this, Michelle. I needed that reminder and inspiration to get back to making my beans from scratch. I have a cupboard full of jars of beans but kept buying canned beans. My favourite piece of advice from you is always the reminder that we can do this! Thanks!
I’m so glad. We CAN do this damnit!
1. This time of year, try some freshly shucked beans from the farm stand. The taste/texture if remarkably different when compared to dried beans.
2. The stove-top pressure cooker is the answer to all dried bean related questions. No soaking, amazing flavor, cheap to buy, easy to store.
3. What is the title/date of the butt-trumpet photo above? I need some context!
Yesss, love fresh shucked beans too. Such a treat.
The butt trumpet is all over so many illuminated manuscripts from the medieval period. We love a fart joke
https://rkslade.substack.com/p/the-interesting-history-of-the-butt
My husband is from Texas, and we now live in South Carolina. Before we were vegan, I fell in love with The Homesick Texan. I have two of her cookbooks, and while we don’t eat the animal products anymore, her bean recipes and salsa recipes, and rice recipes are wonderful! It also turns out that pinto beans and corn bread are a typical meal in SC. The Carolinas also specialize in field peas and butter/lima beans.. so good!
Yesss! I love The Homesick Texan
I have gone back & forth from can to dried beans over the decades. Currently in canned phase, prepping things is really hard for me sometimes but I always have dried beans around for the apocalypse. I do have an instant pot & when I am up to it will start using that to cook dried beans.
I love making beans. Here in Costa Rica the easiest beans to find are black or red beans. We can also get garbanzo and white beans dried. I pressure cook mine the old fashioned way. It’s amazing: less than and hour to fresh delicious beans. I’ve never used an instapot. So far I haven’t felt the need to upgrade.
I love the research you put into these articles. I feel like I learn so much from you.
Awww thank you!!!
Agree! The articles are just as nourishing as the recipes!
I've got an import store near me that is, as far as I can tell, is kinda like a Costco but run by immigrants for immigrants. There are 2 full aisles, probably 50+ feet long, that are nothing but dried beans. Red lentils, brown lentils, chickpeas (white, brown, split and whole), pintos, kidney, white, mung (split and whole), fava, butter, something called "gram" and probably a few more with non-English names that I can't remember. They come in packages in a variety of sizes, from a variety of places (India, the Middle East, Africa). We go two or three times a year to stock up on the things we can only buy there (this is where I must tell you that ajvar is an Eastern European pepper spread that will elevate nearly any sandwich or pasta sauce), and despite there being plenty of dried beans in my pantry, I STILL take a slow wander down the Beans Aisles, just to see if there is some other bean I haven't met yet. This most recent time, I bought a small bag of large dried lima beans... Gonna cook those up with onions, garlic, bell pepper and a cheezy sauce for a vegan version of Pizza Beans. 😁
It took me a month to get around to making them! I thought the Pizza Beans turned out tasty. The lima beans cooked up enormous! I more or less followed Smitten Kitchen's recipe for the beans but then poured Queso Blanco from Book 5 over them instead of topping with cheese. The biggest critique from the eaters around here was that the meal definitely needed some good crusty bread to sop up the sauce.
Ohhh I love that combo. And honestly, when is a meal not improved by crusty bread?
Ummm this sounds like heaven. I’m very jealous. Let us know how the pizza beans turn out!
I am so jealous, but mainly happy for you, that you have such an amazing grocery store near you!
Im very jealous lol