Best Beans Ever!

 BEST BEANS EVER!!!!!

Red beans in a tomato curry like broth

My friend, Bryce, grows cranberry beans in his garden. He cooks with them all year and I have loved eating them at his house.They are a fancy colored pinto bean and cook up to a plump "meaty" bite.  Yummy.  Super yummy.

I decided to grow them myself a couple seasons ago.  Beans are super easy to grow - they just need some good compost and soil, water, sunshine, and a tall tripod or other bean pole set up. Once they are looking ripe and green you just leave them on the vine until the outer hull turns brown and the beans have dried out.  However, the sad news is... gophers love beans and they found mine this year.  Boo!  The gophers left me a small handful of these lovely colorful pinto beans but I have resorted to spending far more than I am comfortable with at the local Farmer's Market where they can be purchased!  However, it's local and I know the farmers work hard and I just love these beans.

Live Earth Farms is not the local farm stand where I buy my beans but man oh man do I love this sentiment!  I really do believe more of us should know where our food comes from and how it was grown and/or produced.  I think we would eat really differently if we had any idea.

Back to beans....

I recently had a vegan feast at a friends house.  She is not vegan and this was her first vegan dinner party.  She did an amazing job!  One of the things she served us were bowls of savory red beans in a mildly spicy curry like broth.  Her inspiration was the Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/02/red-kidney-bean-curry/


I decided to try my own beans inspired by Smitten Kitchen (which is an awesome blog and many of the recipes can be made vegetarian or vegan)

Laurie's Best Beans Ever!!

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 or more cups of Cranberry Beans 

Olive Oil

1 onion chopped

1/8 - 1/4 cup grated ginger

Box or can of Tomato Sauce

3 or more garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

1 or more teaspoon turmeric 

1/4 or more teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon or less paprika

1 bouillon cube and lots of water

Chopped fresh tomato, if in season and on hand

1.  Soak beans overnight and rinse before using

2.  Heat oil in a large skillet and add chopped onion, grated ginger and minced garlic. Saute' until translucent.  Add spices and saute' for a minute or so.  Add tomato sauce.  Simmer until everything is fragrant and mixed - maybe 5 minutes or so.

3.  Dump onion/spice/tomato mix into a large crock pot, add soaked and rinsed beans, the cube of stock and enough water to cover the beans, the chopped tomato, and salt and pepper.

4.  Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.

5.  Serve over rice, next to stir fry greens, or in tortilla or chapati like bread!  Top with chopped cilantro if you like.

Remember that you can used canned beans. I would suggest some sort of red bean or hearty larger bean. Adjust the spices to your enjoyment level. Add less spice for milder beans and a bit more cayenne and some sort of chili pepper if you'd like a stronger bite!

This is originally a red bean "curry" but it can be made with a stronger chili flavor, as well.

Play with the recipe and come up with what works best for you.

Use a ginger planer for best results when grating ginger.  Ginger is so good for you!  Great for digestion.

I have quart bags of sauce that I made tucked away in my freezer but it has a distinctly Italian flavor.  I used this Pomi tomato in the box.  What a debate there currently is about tomatoes and cans!  I am trying to stay away from cans.

Here is the saute' pan full of onion, ginger, garlic, and the spices.  

These are the soaked cranberry beans.  They lose the beautiful red color after being soaked.  This kind of pinto is so much meatier than a regular pinto.  You gotta try them.

 The crock pot is full and ready to simmer for hours.  I try to cook at night or put it all together in the morning so it is ready by the time we are all home and eating dinner.  Yum!

And how can I post without a photo of my doggies?  Here I am giving the black doggy a big hug! The brown spots are sitting in the background awaiting their turn! By the way... they don't eat beans.