- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
I was always kind of afraid of dealing with beans but it’s made out to be harder than it is. A can of beans is now approaching $1 US, and I use them quite frequently in soups and chili, etc. Well, a pound of dry beans also costs around $1 US (or $2 US, depending on make and model) - but a pound of dry beans makes roughly about 6 cans’ worth of beans. From a cost perspective, it’s a no-brainer.
Pictured: my favorite, Navy beans, which have an almost ham-like flavor to them - and they’re the cheapest, about $1.29/lb by me at the blue box, I’m sure you could get them cheaper at bulk stores.
Beans need to be kept in the fridge and will go bad if you don’t use them in less than a week unless you use salt, so I do. With salt, they keep for up to two weeks, maybe more, I couldn’t really say because I use them (also they taste better with salt, obviously).
Easy to make, too. They tell you to meticulously look for rocks, I just don’t have time for that. Never ran into one yet. I fill a medium pan with 3-4 cups of water, 1/2 Tbs kosher salt and 1/2 lb (~225g) beans sometime before I go to bed. In the morning, I turn the burner on high until it boils (~7 minutes - be careful, it will boil over) and then turn to lowest setting, put a lid on (slightly cocked) and let them simmer for 2 hours. After that, drain them in a colander and run cold water on them until they lose their heat, put them in a container and into the fridge until you need them in soup or chili or whatever.
Worried that beans can be toxic because you heard that somewhere? That’s only bigger beans like Kidney beans and in any case the cooking is what kills the toxicity (boiling for >30m). Small beans like navy beans and red beans you don’t have to sweat it at all. In theory you should also drain/replace the water after the soaking to eliminate flatulence-inducing saccharides. I just don’t and honestly can’t tell any difference, but you may be more or less sensitive than I am.
Enjoy your beans!
This is outstanding advice, because most people don’t eat nearly enough fiber. Ya. Its poverty food. It’s also magic that will make your guts work correctly and possibly save your life.
I boil up a batch of beans/rice/quinoa or some combination every week. I cook enough to be an ingredient or side for several meals. I don’t heavily flavor it, and cook to avoid much sauce, so its more flexible to use. There’s always a stock container of beans or rice in my fridge. It may take you a few batches to get good at cooking these things from scratch, but its pretty simple stuff.
Ya folks. Wash your food.
This most especially applies to brown and wild rice, which has natural arsenic. Rice may well be the primary or only source of arsenic in your life. Really, if you don’t already know, you should learn and stop eating arsenic.
And quinoa. If you eat quinoa, you probly already know this. But quinoa has a chemical called saponin until its washed.
But ANYTHING that comes from a factory and passed through innumerable hands, yes you should wash it before you eat it. Pesticides. Chemicals. Germs and dirt.
Washing beans, rice, quinoa is pretty easy. Put it in a bowl with water. Stir it. Let it sit a bit.
Stir it again, and pour the water off the top.
(I use a strainer, but that is not necessary if you get good at this.)
Do this seven times. If there was any clouding in the water, there won’t be by the seventh repeat.
I usually let it go on about an hour or so, I’m also soaking the product while washing it.
Damn. Avoid brown rice? That sucks!
That article makes me want to avoid rice altogether, despite loving it so much.
It doesn’t say anything about soaking rice in cold water for a while and then washing it before cooking in fresh water. Does cold water not have any ability to absorb the arsenic? I wonder if distilled water could help….
I eat rice frequently. I like wild and black rice, which has some of the highest arsenic ratings.
There are various ways to wash it. The washing method I detailed takes requires only a bowl, very traditional, but there’s various other methods.
Arsenic is water soluble. Washing rice will remove a good bit of the poison.