Beans, beans, they're good for your

[Tri2Cook]

I hate beans. Well, actually I love beans, never met a bean I didn't like, but the beans hate me. No matter how many (or few) I eat or how often I eat them, they always come back to haunt me and anybody else in the general area. None of the folk remedies or wive's tales seem to help. So I very rarely eat them... which sucks.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Katie Meadow]

I always thought beans hated me too, but I discovered that if I eat them regularly, I don't have any unpleasant side-effects. I started making a pot of beans once a week last year (with at least one meal's worth of leftovers) and after a couple of months my body started to adjust. Now it's not an issue. Red beans and rice is current favorite way to cook 'em.

[mizducky]

Made the most ultra-simple beans the other day ... just a bunch of pintos in the pressure cooker with one smoked turkey tail. That one chunk of animal protein spread its fatty smokey salty goodness throughout the entire pot of beans--mmm mmm good. I really dig cooking with smoked turkey parts, but the tails can be the hardest to find. But IMO they're worth seeking out, because their higher fat content really gives beans that umph I was looking for (fat carries flavor). Of course, a well-placed ham hock does that too; but even though I'm usually all about the pork products, the smoked turkey is a welcome change of flavor.

[nakji]

The last time I made baked beans I put a piece of lop yuk in, as it was the only pork product in the house. It provided a really rich flavour. I wonder if a bit of smoked duck would work much the same as smoked turkey?

[andiesenji]

I hate beans. Well, actually I love beans, never met a bean I didn't like, but the beans hate me. No matter how many (or few) I eat or how often I eat them, they always come back to haunt me and anybody else in the general area. None of the folk remedies or wive's tales seem to help. So I very rarely eat them... which sucks.

Have you tried Beano? I have no problems with beans, because I consume them regularly, but I do have problems with the brassicas and Beano works a treat.

Edited October 19, 2009 by andiesenji (log)

[mizducky]

The last time I made baked beans I put a piece of lop yuk in, as it was the only pork product in the house. It provided a really rich flavour. I wonder if a bit of smoked duck would work much the same as smoked turkey?

Both the smoked duck and the lop yuk sound like excellent ideas.

[pax]

Ugh, these beautiful beans are making me crazy! My 7 yo, who will eat beans mashed beyond all recognition ala mashed potatos, refuses to eat a bean that actually looks like a bean, and all those Rancho Gordo beans are so gorgeous. I cry when I puree them.

Kids are just so dang weird.

[judiu]

Pax, have you tried the young'un on refritos? They look somewhat more bean-y, and you can doctor them up to taste! HTH

[Sartain]

I have some of the Rancho Gordo Christmas beans - must find good recipe for them.

In the meantime, I made David Tunis' Zuppa di Fagioli with Rosemary Oil. It's cooling in the fridge for supper tonight. Can't wait!

[qrn]

Found a couple of country ham shanks today in the freezer, gonna make em with some great northerns..good cold weather food...

Bud

[nakji]

In the meantime, I made David Tunis' Zuppa di Fagioli with Rosemary Oil. It's cooling in the fridge for supper tonight. Can't wait!

That sounds great - is that home-made rosemary oil on top? I love soup garnishes.

[Richard Kilgore]

Five pounds of various Rancho Gordo beans arrived. Some just to be eaten as beans and some for the cook-along with Paula Wolfert's new book on Clay Pot Cooking.

[Sartain]

In the meantime, I made David Tunis' Zuppa di Fagioli with Rosemary Oil. It's cooling in the fridge for supper tonight. Can't wait!

That sounds great - is that home-made rosemary oil on top? I love soup garnishes.

Yep, warming 1/2 C olive oil with several sprigs of rosemary, and then garnishing the soup with a teaspoon of the aromatic oil. Delicious and soul-satisfying.

[nakji]

That sounds gorgeous! But googling that name and recipe yielded only sites in Italian. Can you tell me what book the recipe is in?

I think that the garnish for the soup is at least as important as the soup itself. Who could imagine a bowl of pho without the plate of greens and sauces that accompany it? Or onion soup without a cheesy crouton?