Sunday, June 19, 2016

How To Make Beans Yummy

I like beans, there, I said it. In grade school, such a statement would issue scoffs and lame projections about liking beans=liking farts.
First of all I don't know of an easier more comforting food to prepare. That's right, comforting. Beans are very mild, so they take on other flavors very effectively. If one does not add sodium before the skins are cooked they will be soft and creamy even. And if one needs to add more fiber or vegetables time there diet, beans are and easier transition in my experience.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with dry beans, first you have to "sort them"- just look through them and discard any rocks or nasty looking beans, then rinse them, and I soak them over night with a couple Tablespoons of Whey, Kefir, or Yogurt. I discovered I really like soaking them this way because they just taste more nutritious to me for whatever reason and they don't give my family the gas we usually associate with beans.
After I have soaked/fermented the beans over night, I drain and rinse them before putting the beans in the crock pot and cooking them covered with about an inch of water to cover on low heat all day. I usually cook them with a bay leaf or two, a couple whole cloves of garlic and maybe some onion if I feel like it. Once they've cooked a good seven hours, I pull out two pieces of cooked bacon from the freezer (which I keep for just this purpose.) I add the frozen bacon and a tsp of salt to the pot, give it a stir, and let it cook at least another hour. Remove bay leaves and bacon and serve as desired. Now you can add more salt per serving after this as needed, but I feel like this is enough for us most of the time.
These are so good, even my picky toddler who usually won't eat beans from anywhere, will devour these and passionately declare, "Yom Nom!" Just as is. If we just really need some jazzing up some sour cream and hot sauce doesn't go amiss and I really enjoy a block of moist corn bread along side with some sauteed radish tops. That there's comfort food!

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