Bean Night

How to make a pot of beans.

Not quite every Sunday, but most Sundays we celebrate bean night! The kids have a love/hate relationship with bean night. I mean it is basically a pot of beans. I do, however, try very hard to include at least one crowd pleasing item. Tonight I made focaccia bread. I mean how can you not like fresh out of the oven focaccia?

Why bean night? Well as a vegetarian/vegan house hold we try to eat vegetables sometimes. I’m also a proud member of the Rancho Gordo Bean Club. Being the member of such an elite group is not just an honor, but also a burden. Several times a year I receive a box of very nice beans and they start to accumulate if I don’t cook them frequently. At this point I have my beans down to an imperfect science.

POT OF BEANS

• One diced onion

• Some times celery

• 1 TBS Olive oil

• Salt to taste

• Rotating Spices

• Grated raw garlic

I rarely, if every, soak my beans over night, but instead I do a quick soak. Partially because the beans I use are “fresher” and in theory they cook faster. In the morning I’ll pull out my biggest pot and add the dried beans. It is best to check for rocks. Every once in a while one will end up in the beans. Fill up the pot so it’s 3/4ths full and bring to a boil. Let the pot boil for about 5 minutes and then shut of the heat and cover the beans for the rest of the day.

About two hours before dinner I will officially start the beans. Sometimes I drain the soaking water and add fresh water and sometimes I cook with the soaking water. Honestly, either seems fine. I’ll turn the heat on high and bring the beans and water to a boil again and then adjust the heat down to a simmer. I add in a whole diced onion, any additional veggies (celery, garlic), my olive oil, and my spices. Tonight I added 1 tsp of allspice, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of onion powder and a shake of smoked paprika. I hold off on adding salt till the last half hour of cooking. Somewhere I read to do that, so that the beans don’t break down. I’m not sure how much that holds true, but I do it regardless! Since my beans are not an exact science I’ll monitor the amount of water and how well they are cooking. Smaller fresher beans will cook faster and larger drier beans will take more time. When the bean are soft, but still together I’ll add my salt and sometimes more olive oil. The amount of salt can very, so start with a little, but be prepared to add a lot of salt. When the beans taste and look close to finished I will grate about 5 cloves of fresh garlic directly into the pot. It realy helps to flavor the bean broth.

I usually just serve the beans with their broth in a bowl. Tonight that’s what I did, Sometimes I’ll just scoop the beans onto a plate with rice or potatoes! We always serve it with about three different types of hot sauce. Bean night is a great excuse to accumulate a large assortment of hot sauces!

Enjoy!

WEEKLY MEALS

• MONDAY/Gochujang tofu, green beans, and rice

• TUESDAY/Kale pesto pasta

• WEDNESDAY/Mix of takeout, leftovers and a homemade salad

• THURSDAY/Roasted tofu with squash and sesame seeds from the NYT

• FIRDAY/I was visiting my cousin Annie and her family in Santa Barbara!!! We order very good takeout and I got to see my Aunt Elsa who was visiting!

• SATURDAY/Sheet pan gnocchi with cherry tomatoes, kale, and burrata