Mary Ann Lynes, Aiken, Janet Sharp, Augusta
Using beans:
- Bean soups are hearty and delicious. See some of the recipes on this blog.
- Dried beans can be prepared in advance and used in place of canned beans. Kept in the refrigerator, cooked beans can be added to give texture, color and protein to many dishes.
- A handful of cooked beans in a salad, in soup, in a rice dish or in other main dishes will be a tasty, nutritious and an attractive addition.
- A tip about wheat: Add a handful to your dry beans as you would normally cook your beans. This addition will give you a full serving of protein. What a great way to incorporate wheat into your diet!!! (A note from Yvonne Frarraccio, Grovetown)
Choose one of the following methods to have table-ready
beans.
- Traditional method: cover beans or lentils with water and soak overnight. A quicker way to soak, cover beans with water, bring to a boil, turn off heat and allow to sit an hour. After soaking the beans, discard the liquid. Add water to cover the beans and cook until beans are soft. Cook time varies depending on the type of bean, 1-2 hours. Add seasoning to taste.
- Quick method: Use a pressure cooker instead of soaking and cooking. Check the cook book that comes with your pressure cooker model to determine cook times. Cook time in the pressure cooker will be only a few minutes, 3-20 minutes depending on the type of beans you use, and beans, lentils and even wheat are table ready!
- Salt and pepper to taste (many people suggest NOT adding the salt until the end of cooking time as it seems to make the beans take longer to cook.)
