Category: Dry Beans

This is so simple and so good. The sweetness of the cabbage is wonderful with the creamy beans and heat from the chili. You can heat it up for breakfast with an egg. You can cook some sausages in the same pan and serve it all with a little mustard.... Read more »

My CSA includes lots of radish seedlings (micro-greens) early in the season and they add so much flavor and a little bite to salads, soups, eggs, you name it. . . .This is really just a template for combining crunchy vegetables, cooked beans, plenty of toasted seeds and herbs with a basic vinaigrette or your favorite dressing. Quantities and ratios are totally up to you. Make as little or as much as you need. It keeps well though the seeds lose some of their crunch.   Variations: Substitute some fresh mint, cilantro or parsley for the radish seedlings. You can use many different types of beans, such as black, pinto, kidney, and chickpeas ... Read more »

The Tomato Ginger and Garlic Sauce that goes beautifully with meatballs and braised greens, also makes a delicious Asian-inspired chili.  ... Read more »

Soups like these are why I cook more beans and rice than I need for any given meal. Canned beans would be just fine, too! Pair the leftover rice and beans with sausage from the freezer and some leftover chicken stock (or just water or veg broth).   Variation: Leafy greens such as mustard greens, chard, spinach, kale are all excellent.... Read more »

This is a bright, springy dish that can be a light supper with some good bread or another vegetable or salad. You can omit the lentils. I happened to have some previously cooked little black lentils (which hold their shape beautifully--much like French Green lentils) on hand and like the color contrast with the white beans but the dish doesn't need them to succeed.   You can change the ratio of chicken to beans/herbs using either half a chicken breast or a whole one. A whole one will give you lots of meat per person. You can also substitute thighs for the breast if that's what you have or use up leftover cooked chicken.... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_17896" align="aligncenter" width="660"] A version with 1 sausage (a little goes a long way) and no celery, carrot or leek.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15295" align="aligncenter" width="600"] An all veg version with carrots and celery.[/caption]   This classic combination comes together quickly with either canned or home-cooked beans.... Read more »

Dumplings are simple to stir together and if you happen to have sourdough starter on hand, you can employ some of it to make them extra bouncy and moist. The fresh herbs make them particularly flavorful. You can cook dumplings in most any soup, so this is just a suggested combination. Vary the beans, vegetables, stock and herbs to suit your taste and pantry.   Variations Incorporate different beans by using various or a combination of butter beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, and/or black eye peas. Red or black beans can be substituted or added to the dish, as well. Cooked or canned beans (drain if using the latter) work well when limited on time. Add them to the soup during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Soaked, and drained, beans, as described below, are highly nutritious and delicious. Great herbs to use, in any combination, is parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, tarragon.  ... Read more »

Whether you add the chorizo (or other sausage or meat) or not, this long-cooked deeply flavored sauce-y stew is fantastic. You can also decrease the cooking time and still get good results.   Variations Can serve on top of rice, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes and turnips, or as is, with a salad. Can substitute or add other meats such as ground turkey or chicken seasoned with smoked paprika (pimenton), chili powder, or any hot pepper If desired, water, veggie or chicken broth all make a great substitute for the chickpea cooking liquid. ... Read more »

This is quick and so satisfying. The yogurt is a nice counterpoint to the chickpeas and spiced cauliflower. You can add leftover chicken or tofu and/or some toasted seeds or nuts for variety and texture.  ... Read more »

Red beans and rice is a traditional Louisiana area Creole dish, often seasoned with ham bones or other pork products but very delicious without as well. It's a richly flavored dish either way and makes the most superb leftovers.   You can use already cooked beans or beans that have just been soaked (either the quick method of pouring boiling water over dry beans and letting sit for an hour or two or the 8-hour version). The version below uses soaked, but not cooked beans but just decrease the cooking time if you're using already cooked beans and use some of the bean cooking liquid in your preparation.   Add some salt pork, bacon or ham bones or hock if you'd like. Add the salt pork or bacon to the onions etc. when sautéeing. If using a bones or a hock add when you add the liquid. ... Read more »

In late summer I often roast and process peppers of various kinds together with a few tomatillos into a flavorful sauce. I thinned out this sauce to make a dressing for this template of a salad. Feel free to use a typical vinaigrette instead and feel free to change up the beans, vegetables, to suit your needs. You could by all means add bacon too!... Read more »

Talk about a template; minestrone is a bean and vegetable soup and, loosely defined, can use any bean, any shape of pasta (or no pasta), most any vegetable and herb, meat or no meat (diced bacon or a little sausage is good, added when cooking onions) be hearty and stew-like or light and brothy. For me, what makes or breaks minestrone are the beans and the bean broth. You can certainly use canned beans but home-cooked beans with their broth are what gives minestrone its richness and complexity.   Dishes like these are why I try to keep cooked beans (in their broth/cooking liquid) in the freezer and at the ready. It makes a soup like this, that cooks in 20 minutes, taste like it's been simmering for hours--in a good way!   Variations A variety of vegetables are well-suited for this recipe and can be used individually or in combination, such as: a bunch of leafy greens, such as chopped kale or spinach 2 cups trimmed and chopped greens beans 1 cup shelled peas and/or diced fennel 2 cups diced zucchini If adding pasta, use the smaller volume for small pasta shapes like tubes, as pictured, little elbows, orzo, or the larger shells, etc. Any type of garlic is great in this recipe, such as 1 head new garlic, 2 stalks green garlic or garlic scapes, thinly sliced. Vegetable broth or water are a great substitute for bean broth if unavailable or in a pinch. ... Read more »

Use regular broccoli if you don't have purple sprouting broccoli--a delicious early spring, overwintered broccoli with tender leaves and stems.  In the Pacific Northwest green garlic--immature stalks of garlic--are often harvested at the same time as the overwintered broccoli so this is a lovely combination but regular garlic will work just fine!... Read more »

Black futsu squash is so easy to use because the skin is tender and edible, it keeps its shape, and is delicious. In this dish the squash is diced and sauteed until tender--just takes 7 minutes or so and then tossed, warm with cooked beans, lots of parsley, and a nice bright dressing.    ... Read more »

The combination of beans stewed with herbs and whatever vegetables you have on hand, makes for a lovely ragout that's particularly delicious over creamy polenta. This version employs cranberry beans, leeks, carrots, celery, thyme and parsley.  ... Read more »

  This is delicious, versatile, improves on the second/third day, can feed a crowd, and is also delicious made vegetarian. It's fun to use a couple of kinds of beans, if you have them.   In the late summer and fall when there is an abundance of fresh peppers I use sweet and hot red peppers in the sauté with the onion or add roasted poblano or Anaheim chiles for wonderful depth and flavors.   I often make a quick slaw to go with it and serve a bit of it right on top as a garnish. It's also delicious with cornbread.   Variations Many different beans work well in this dish but black, pinto or any red bean, is fine. Vegetable, beef or chicken stock are a good replacements for the bean cooking liquid, if using canned beans. To thicken your chili smash 1/4 of the beans. Top chili with chopped radishes, green onions, cilantro and/or parsley and a squeeze of lime juice ... Read more »

If you have home cooked or canned chickpeas on hand, this comes together very quickly. The sauce is versatile and keeps for a week so make plenty to use in other ways. Use other tender greens like mustard or turnips greens or even mizuna or tatsoi if you don't have spinach.   You can scale this up but don't skimp on the greens. You want plenty per serving and they cook down so much.  ... Read more »

This is a fairly quick, flavorful curry and you can use whatever leafy greens you have (feel free to increase the quantity of greens). I needed to use up some leeks when I made the above version, which adds sweetness. Adding the fresh, mashed garlic at the very end adds a nice dimension.... Read more »

–inspired by twopeasandapod.com This is delicious as a dip, on toasted bread, as a sandwich filling or just as is. You can adapt this in many ways too—add your favorite hot chilies or hot sauce, different spices or herbs, etc. I particularly like using mint or basil or a combination or tarragon and chives or parsley.... Read more »

Make this your own with whatever cooked beans and/or grains you have on hand. You can keep it simple with just some cilantro and beans and the sauce or add an egg, or lots of vegetables or bacon or other meat, etc.  The sauce is good on noodles, cooked or raw vegetables, plain rice and pretty much anything, and it is inspired by the wonderful folks at Umi Organic (Noodles).   Variations Any cooked grain, such as rice, quinoa, barley, etc., complements this template very well. You can use red, green, napa, and/or savoy cabbage to give this meal a wonderful crunch and flavor. Lovely herbs that give this recipe a great depth of flavor are cilantro, mint, basil, or whatever tender herb you have. ... Read more »