Beans, Perfect Autumn Comfort Food

Now that autumn is here (and now that we are finally cooking in the house again!), we’re cooking a little bit more. I actually roasted a chicken last night!! It was SOOO good to do that. And it was yummy. I am looking forward to roasting a turkey again.

Lately, however, a big favorite for meals is some kind of bean stew, with rice or grilled bread. Beans is such an easy meal, and with rice, it’s a “complete” protein that is extremely healthful. My Basic Bean Recipe is very versatile: we may try different beans or different variations of meat, but the technique is always the same. The kids love the bean dishes. And if the beans are soaked overnight and allowed to cook very VERY thoroughly, the beans don’t give your digestive system that unpleasant side effect. Also, the more frequently you eat beans, the less gastric issues you have with them. And who knows, maybe eating beans is even a best acne treatment or something…. So eating beans with rice is a win-win no matter how you look at it.

Basic Bean Recipe

1 bag of beans, any kind
1 pound of meat (ham, cooked sausage, leftover roast beef)
1 can chicken broth or your own stock
2 cups water
1 medium white onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
seasonings (I use Salamida’s Hickory Pinch seasoning– wow, it’s good)

Read the direction on the bag of beans to add water to the beans; soak overnight. (Remember to sift through them first! I have found gravel in the bag from time to time).

Next morning, drain the water. Place the beans in a large stock pot or crock pot. Add the meat (pre-cook it and drain it if necessary) and all the other ingredients. Allow to slowly simmer all day long, at least 5 hours. The smell will fill the house and drive your neighbors batty.

Serve with fresh rice or grilled garlic bread.

This meal is SO easy to make, costs very little, and is basically no-maintenance. Couple all that with the fact that it’s highly nutritious, and it’s a GREAT meal.

Notes:
You can experiment with the bean dish by adding other interesting ingredients: diced red peppers; minced garlic; pork chops; horseradish; etc.

If your kids are unhappy with bean dishes, add extra meat and fewer beans. Offer it regularly, and each time, add less meat and more beans. The kids will slowly become accustomed to the beans, and may even eventually cook the soup FOR you! (Mine do, anyway! Thanks, Alice!)

Edamame: Cool Beans!

I’ve heard about the bean edamame (eh-dah-MAH-meh) for quite some time. I spotted it in the frozen section of the grocery store, and decided to check it out. It’s actually quite good! I wouldn’t say it’s the most amazing thing since chocolate bars, but it’s not too bad. The best part about the stuff is how it makes me FEEL. Wow, I feel like I could leap tall buildings or plan complicated orlando vacations after eating this stuff! And it fills me up quickly, too, so that I eat less of the starchy stuff.

OK, I’m getting ahead of myself. If you have not yet met edamame, let me introduce you. It’s a soybean. GET BACK HERE! IT’s not THAT BAD, REALLY!! Let me explain.

So it’s a soybean, but it’s a NICE soybean. It’s not pasty or bitter like the “regular” kind of soybean. Edamame is very popular in Asian countries, especially Japan, where the kids actually SNACK on this stuff! It’s extremely nutritious, and has a smooth, mild, slightly nutty flavor. It’s usually shelled and boiled for a few minutes, then eaten plain with salt. I usually eat about 1/4 cup (yes, I am eating it regularly!) a day, before a meal. WOW! I just feel so good after eating them, so healthy. The protein must go straight to my cells, because my energy perks, my thoughts lift, and I am not hungry after eating them.

Here’s the nutritional breakdown of these little green wonders, in 1/2 cup serving sizes:

# 120 calories
# 9 grams fiber
# 2.5 grams fat
# 1.5 grams polyunsaturated fat (0.3 grams plant omega-3 fatty acids)
# 0.5 gram monounsaturated fat
# 11 grams protein
# 13 grams carbohydrate
# 15 mg sodium
# 10% of the Daily Value for vitamin C
# 10% Daily Value for iron
# 8% Daily Value for vitamin A
# 4% Daily Value for calcium

It’s becoming more popular in the United States because it is so nutritional. Health benefits are said to be to lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar (so it is promoted to diabetics), and help fight off cancerous cells.

I like it best plain.I’ve had it heated and eaten with dinner (potatoes, brussels sprouts, etc), but I actually prefer it as finger food, cold. After boiling and cooling, I sprinkle a little salt on it, and eat it with cheese and crackers, or a light snack. They are really good! The texture is smooth and the beans are slightly crunchy but not pasty like other legumes can be.

You can also toss the cooked beans into soups or salads, casseroles or stews, anything! It’s best not to overcook, because the bean will lose it’s sweetness and firmness that make it so appealing. I’m hoping this bean catches on as a snack for the American consumer. I so dislike our culture’s emphasis on chips, pretzels, and sodas as snacks. No wonder our society has so many health problems. I love edamame!