Beans, beans, they're good for your

[andiesenji]

Our weather has finally cooled down to what one expects in November (90 in the Valley a couple of days ago and in the high 70s up here).

So, I pulled a canister with the last of my cranberry beans out of the pantry and have them soaking.

I have some smoked pork neck bones to flavor them, along with some winter savory I just picked this morning. I am also going to toss in a fresh bay leaf.

[moosnsqrl]

Despite the nearly 80-degree temps here in the midwest, I have to have "Thanksgiving food" so I have a batch of Ojo de Cabra (seasoned simply with dried epazote and some crushed red pepper, for a little heat, and an onion) and Osage Red Hominy (w/a bit of this and that and an onion) on the stove in preparation for a "3 sisters" stew for tomorrow (I'll add kabocha in the morning). The goats eyes are so beautiful, I'm kicking myself for not having snapped a picture of them after soaking; it nearly broke my heart to put them in a pot and cook them.

Which brings me to what I'm thankful for: all of the farmers and producers of small-but-wonderful heirloom, artisanal and/or handcrafted foods that are returning us to the simple pleasures of the table. I salute all of you and wish you a happy holiday!

[andiesenji]

The beans have been cooking for 1 1/2 hours:

The raw beans:

Soaking:

Cooking for 1 1/2 hours:

The aroma is just lovely.

[KMPickard]

I've searched every which way I can think of to track down Miagai's BEP recipe that's been lauded in the above posts - and I haven't been successful. Could someone be so kind as to post a link?

TIA

Kathy

[OnigiriFB]

BEP recipe

[mizducky]

Ms Ducky says

I used to think I didn't really like kidney beans, pintos, and other beans of that size and shape, because I found them too bland and starchy.

Believe it or not, I agree with you, sort of. Plain old kidneys, navys, Great northern, etc. are bred to produce quickly and a lot. They have none of the nuance of an heirloom bean. It's much like a hard, pink hot house tomato or a Cherokee Purple right off the vine. They are both tomatoes but there's a world of difference. Pintos I still love, if they are fresh. There are several strains of pintos but you want to make sure they are light when you buy them. the dark ones are probably old.

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Okay, I totally get the tomato analogy. I gotta quit messing around and just get some better beans. You shall be hearing from me Real Soon Now.

[Tess]

I eat beans more in the summertime possibly-- cooked, chilled and on salads or antipasto plates.

In the winter/for holidays I make a layered salad with cooked white beans, pomegranate kernels and toasted walnuts or pecans (in that order) on a bed of greens, hopefully including some dark ones. The bean to pomegranate ratio depends on what I have. Some kind of vinaigrette poured over right before serving, or served on the side. You could put dressing on the beans beforehand too, but the marinated bean reminds me too much of three-bean salads in school cafeterias. Many of us have some unfortunate bean memories I suspect.

[Abra]

Wow, I never imagined beans with pomegranate seeds. I'll have to give that a try.

Being kept indoors today by freezing rain, snow, and a miserable cold, I opened up some Red Nightfall beans. Uncooked, they have a subtle attractiveness, a silvery delicacy.

Normally I start beans at bedtime and leave them on low all night, giving them at least 7-8 hours to cook. Many beans want even an additional couple of hours. But I started these this morning, and they were done in just 6 hours. That's good to know, for when I need quick beans. With only 6 hours of cooking they were still entirely intact and perfectly tender.

They're not nearly as pretty when they're cooked. Kind of plain, actually. They have a very earthy flavor with a slight mineral tang to them. Tonight I ate them underneath a scattering of rice pilaf with some gyro-style lamb and a heap of tzatziki. Tomorrow I'm going to find a more illuminating use for them, although I'm struggling over what flavors would complement them best. Any advice?

[Milagai]

Hope you feel better soon.

How about this recipe for your Red Nightfall Beans?

http://abbacat.vox.com/library/posts/tags/rice/

Milagai

[Mottmott]

I eat beans more in the summertime possibly-- cooked, chilled and on salads or antipasto plates.

In the winter/for holidays I make a layered salad with cooked white beans, pomegranate kernels and toasted walnuts or pecans (in that order) on a bed of greens, hopefully including some dark ones.  The bean to pomegranate ratio depends on what I have.  Some kind of vinaigrette poured over right before serving, or served on the side. You could put dressing on the beans beforehand too, but the marinated bean reminds me too much of three-bean salads in school cafeterias. Many of us have some unfortunate bean memories I suspect.

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Thanks. This will bean my beautiful dinner tonight. I happen to have all the ingredients in the house, including canniloni beans that at this moment are cooking on my stove.

[Abra]

Thanks, Milagai, great idea! I'm making some bacon right now and was contemplating using the rind and ends to spark up the beans. I really like the idea of adding pimenton too. Ok, it's a plan!

[anzu]

Interesting about the lack of beans in Thai food, other

than tofu.  What about other SE Asian cooking?

Now that you mention it, I can't think of beans in Chinese

restaurants either (other than steamed bean paste in desserts).

What about in Japanese cooking?

Milagai

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In Japanese cooking, beans - talking about beans in the form of beans, and not as miso, soy sauce, etc. tend to make an appearance either in the form of soy beans, fresh and boiled in the pod, or dried beans that are soaked and simmered to form a 'simmered dish' (nimono) that is served as a side dish.

Other dried beans apart from soy beans also appear as nimono. For my taste, these tend to be too sweet. The reconstituted beans are usually simmered with mirin (sweet cooking wine), sugar, and soy sauce till they are essentially covered with a sweet glaze. I'm sure some people like it, but I - who otherwise adores beans - find them rather sickly.

Adzuki beans are used not just as bean paste, but also appear as oshiruko wikipedia link here, a sweet adzuki bean soup, that can be served with chestnuts, rice cakes, etc. There is an extremely similar Chinese bean soup. Again, this is probably just me, but I'm not wild about it - I prefer my beans in savoury preparations, preferably with lots of sour Indian spices such as amchur and ground pomegranate seeds.

[andiesenji]

I just want to mention that I am certainly impressed with the quality of Rancho Gordo's beans. I received an order and have already cooked some of the red nightfall and some of the marrow beans.

These are by far the cleanest beans I have ever sorted through. I did not find a single bit of waste in the marrow beans and only two tiny shrivelled bean in the red nightfall, no debris washed out when I rinsed them in a colander.

I cooked the marrow beans with smoked ham hocks and the results are excellent.

I partially cooked the red nightfall beans because they are going to be baked tomorrow and I like the way they hold their shape even when cooked for a long time.

[Abra]

Andie, you'll be happy with the baked beans! Even though my Red Nightfalls were cooked through after 6 hours, I gave them another 3 hour simmer with the skin and ends of some home-cured bacon, as well as a bit of molasses, brown sugar, and some boiled cider syrup, and they were scrumptious and still nicely intact after all that extra cooking.

My favorites are still Rio Zape, among the red beans, but the Red Nightfalls are very nice too.

[helenjp]

George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary has a jokai soup recipe, and also has a beans and sauerkraut recipe that is good. In fact, he has a lot of great soup recipes, apart from the bean soups.

[John DePaula]

I just received an order as well. Wow, these are gorgeous beans! I've been too busy making chocolate to try them out yet, but they look to be at the very top in quality. I also sent a nice variety to my brother for Christmas.

[rancho_gordo]

Thanks for all the nice comments. It does take me a long time to hand paint each bean, but in the end, I do think it's worth the bother!

I did want to let you know that late this summer the TV show In Wine Country filmed here for a few days and saw my trial gardens and how we hand thresh the beans (just the trial beans, not the production beans, which is almost all automated). They filmed for 2 days so it should be at least somewhat interesting and you can laugh at my bad "TV presence". The show airs Saturday. Here in the Bay Area it's NBC11 (at 6:30 pm) but across the country it's NBC affiliates in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Miami, Philadelphia and Hartford, CT. To avoid trouble with this thread, please PM if you have any questions about the show rather than post here. I think it's OK to ask about actual bean things here, however. I'd be curious to see how you clean your beans at home after harvesting. I think you'll like the technique we use, if it makes it in the final cut.

This broadcast will also apparently feature David Kinch and Manresa.

[whatsup1]

I don't know how I missed this thread.

I've been addicted to Rancho Gordo's beans for several years now, especially the Good Mother Stollard beans. I just received my order for eight pounds, in fact. I love them best with just onion, garlic and a bay leaf, but they work well with just about any bean recipe. Sometimes I soak a couple of ancho chile peppers, puree them and stir them in when the beans are just about done. Yum, especially with a squeeze of fresh lime.

But shhhh, don't tell anybody, they ran out of my favorite bean last year.

Thanks, Steve, your beans are the best.

[whatsup1]

. . . and the beans were boiled poetry . . .

Awesome!

[rancho_gordo]

. . . and the beans were boiled poetry . . .

Awesome!

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Upvalley, there's a sign that welcomes you to Napa Valley and there's a quote from RL Stevenson: ...and the wine was bottled poetry...

In this segement I mentioned if they ever were to change it, I'd suggest ...and the beans were boiled poetry... and then I'd know I'd made it. The prodicers of the TV show morphed the sign into my quote. I laughed pretty loud at that!

Glad the show made it to Florida! And thanks for the support. And you have excellent taste. That is an amazing bean.

[Abra]

When I heard that a big storm was coming a couple of days ago, the first thing I did was put a pound of Anasazi beans and a couple of turkey drumsticks into the crockpot. An hour later, the power went out for 24 hours. The saddest thing I ever did involving beans was to have to dump that whole potful out!

[barcelona]

another big fan of Rancho Gordo products - here are his marrow beans i cooked recently in a clay pot, fagioli al fiasco way:

[rancho_gordo]

another big fan of Rancho Gordo products - here are his marrow beans i cooked recently in a clay pot, fagioli al fiasco way:

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What's interesting is a lot of people would tell you to take a cup or more out and puree it in the blender and then return it to the pot for a creamy soup. Nay, say I! The pot liquor as you have it is one of the most wonderful things going. I like the creamy, too, depending on the dish, but this looks super.

[moosnsqrl]

Caramba! - I missed the bit about the TV show until just now. If anyone knows when/if it will be re-aired I would appreciate the info.

[barcelona]

call me obsessed but Rancho Gordo's Good Mother Stallard Beans are incredible. He suggests to cook them simply and he's right - amazingly flavorful broth.