beans about it

Hey y'all!  You know.. I was not a bean fan growing up.  I have liked green beans for years but not as a child.  The beans I am talking about are more of speckled, black eyed peas, butter beans... you know the kind.  In the last year I have mastered the way I make them.  Even Shaun likes them spoonful after spoonful.  My secret it in the bacon, onion and vegetable broth I use.  I don't just throw them in there.  First I put pieces of bacon and slices of onion in a pot and turn the heat up.  I don't cook the bacon all the way but enough to make some grease for the onions to semi-fry in.  Next I put in the broth and let it start heating up then add the beans, salt, pepper and about a tablespoon of parsley.  I put the lid on the  pot and keep the heat high until I see a good boil.  Then I turn it down to about 2 and let them cook for a while.  Most of the time it's about an hour.  I've let them go longer and I've took them off before the hour.  Just depends on when everything else is done cooking.  I don't add any more broth or water.  As long as the top is on they shouldn't dry up at all.  And I put almost the whole carton of broth.  If I had canned broth I would use the 15 ounce or whatever can and maybe add water.  The box of broth is 32 oz.  I hardly ever use the whole thing.  Just to make sure the beans are covered well with liquid.  I also have gotten used to using frozen beans and not canned.  I just like them better.  So there... my master bean recipe.  Loved round the world... or maybe just my world.  Love ya!

By the way... the secret to not getting the farts if using canned beans is to rinse them with water very well when you first open the can.  Just dump them in a strainer and rinse off the juice that they have been sitting in since they last saw day light.  That is the pooty stuff.  You still might get the toots a little bit but not near as bad.   :)

Black Bean Soup

Hi Y'all.  Let me tell you... I love some black beans.  I even grew some on the garden a few years back and have already bought some new seed beans for this year.  This soup is actually made from canned black beans but you know it's not really a problem, with the proper equipment, to can them yourself in an afternoon.  Then you would have lots of jars to go to.  But they are pretty cheap in the grocery.  I prefer the organic kind and let me give you a tip... if you drain and rise the beans you will cut down on the flatulence dramatically.  If that's a problem for you.  I know when the word "beans" is brought up in certain circles, facial expressions can change in an instant.  That trick would probably work on any canned bean and it is well worth a try and the time and effort.  Here's a hearty and lovely winter time black bean soup recipe for you.  I don't have an end result picture as I got a little too excited and was hungry... both times I made it.  :)

Some ingredients are not pictured.  Like the garlic or the broth, or the carrots because I picked them out of the bag of frozen veggies that time.  I also added leftover chicken the the first batch.

The soup actually doesn't stay this color.  Once the black beans get cooked in good the soup gets darker.  I served ours with cheese quesadillas and another day with tortilla chips.  I froze the left overs to have for lunch.  Also you can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth for a more vegan approach.  

Here are a few other black bean dishes I've shared in the past.

Black Beans and Rice

Black Bean Delish Side Dish

Canning Dried Beans

Cowgirl Veggie Burritos

On The Menu

On The Menu is a series that shows what's On The Menu at our house from blog posts and cookbooks that I have come across.  I am really enjoying sharing the wonderful recipes that I have found with you and hope that you enjoy them too!

Barely-Blanched Broccoli Salad

Photo and recipe from: kalynskitchen.com                

I am a broccoli lover.  I eat steamed broccoli and brown rice for lunch several days a week.  I swear by broccoli being the culprit of my finger nails growing so good.  This recipe sounds easy and divine and will be a perfect addition to grilled chicken or fried fish.  Yum!  Truthfully... I've never bought feta cheese ( I know... nerd).  But it's true.  I hope it comes in a small quantity from the store as this recipe doesn't take very much.  Maybe we could put it on regular salads too.

Black Bean, Rice, and Cilantro Salad

Photo and Recipe from: kalynskitchen.com

Being a rice lover, a black bean lover and pretty much any vegetable that will go with... lover, this salad looks right up my alley.  I found it listed on the blog under 90 no-cook lunches.  This recipe makes 8-10 servings so I can see myself making it for supper for Shaun and I both then taking the rest for lunch at the day care.  Maybe even wrapping some up in a tortilla with cheese if I'm feeling sassy.  

Great Green Beans

Holy Moly!  After such a horrible garden experience last year, which produced absolutely no canning possibilities, this year we have been blessed!  We actually decided to cut down the size of our garden and cut out several items that we usually grow like cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelon and corn.  We planted two rows of green beans; one row of flat Italian and one row of tenderette bush beans.  On the Thursday evening before I left for Florida, my friend Melia, sister Tracy, niece Kristen and my hubby Shaun all picked, washed and broke the row of Italian beans and the afternoon before we left was spent canning beans.  The row had a good yield of 48 pints!

I returned home the following Saturday and on Sunday morning, Shaun and I headed to the garden early to pull the plants in the second row of beans.  Instead of picking beans off of the plants we decided both times to pull the plants and pick the beans.  That way, on one hand you only get one batch to can, but on the other you are done... and sometimes that is a plus!  Shaun and I picked, washed, broke and I canned most of the afternoon on Sunday.  I have to say I did miss the additional hands in the picking and breaking but together we got it done.  Shaun's dad also came by to chat and broke a few beans with us. We'll put you to work!  Out of the tenderette row we wound up with 39 pints and 5 quarts of delicious green beans.  Enough to last the two of us a good long time.  I shudder to think of yet another and another afternoon spent picking and canning beans.... now on to the tomatoes!!!  I have already put up twelve half pints of salsa and plan on putting up some pasta sauce tonight.  Even though our garden this year is smaller it is still keeping us busy!  Oh... I didn't mention how wonderful our green bell peppers are doing!  I chopped and froze nine very large peppers last night too.  Whew!

Maybe it was due to our very cold winter maybe not but the bugs don't seem as bad this year so we opted to not use any bug killer at all.  We've had a little problems here and there and I've already seen a huge horn worm on my tomatoes... blick!  I hate those.

The beans actually got a little bigger than we usually like them to but they will still be divine!

Can you spot the okra?

A tip or two when using a pressure canner.  Note: my canners are old... I have no idea if newer pressure cookers leak or are any different but I can't imagine how they would be.

First, when building up pressure, I like to wait to put the weight on until I see puffs or a light steady stream of steam coming out of the top.  Then I put the weight on.

Be sure you know what weight of pressure you need.  Green beans take 10 pounds of pressure.

This is going to happen... water spewing or dripping out from around the lid while the canner is trying to build pressure to seal.  Wipe it up quickly and maybe hold a kitchen towel around the leaks until they stop.

For more pressure canning tips please visit my Pressure Canning Tips page and do ask questions if you want to!

And speaking of canning tomatoes... here's my recipe for Tomato Basil Sauce which is a great base for soups and pasta sauces.

Have a lot of cucumbers?  Here's my recipe and instructions for Dill Pickle Spears.

And if you come across any good potatoes or have grown them yourself and not dug them up yet or even if you have grown them yourself and want something else to do with them besides let them sit and wait you can check out my Potato Madness post from 2009.

Have a good weekend and get busy canning people!!!

Oh hey... I just can't hush can I, I found a few posts of mine on drying herbs.  You just have to get your plants and produce while you can... unfortunately Autumn is coming.

Saving Herbs

What to do with all those herbs

Drying Parsley

and Garden Friend or Foe

sunday afternoon

I much enjoyed my Sunday.  We slept in.  I made baked brie for breakfast/brunch that I didn't make on Christmas morning.  I got laundry done.  I canned black eyed peas, black beans, rattle snake peas, white beans and a mix for the chickens for extra protein.  All the while I listened to tunes. 

HERE's a post on canning dried beans and peas.  So easy to do if you've got the right equipment.

And HERE's my post on baked brie.  So delicious. 

Chicken Mix - kidney beans, white beans, black beans, barley and lentils.

Black eyed peas for New Year's day.  I even went ahead and added the smoked ham, salt and pepper.

Rattle snake peas that grew in our garden this year.

One of my favorite songs and bands that I listened to while I canned today.