No-Soak Beans in Under 90 Minutes

This is revolutionary, people!

No more soaking. No remembering the night before that you have to prep the beans for tomorrow. Enter the lazy bean: the wave of the future.

I read about it over at The Paupered Chef and couldn't believe it. Then I tried it myself--and it's true. It's true.

The beans cooked in less than 90 minutes. And I didn't use the pressure cooker.



Here's what I did:

(1) Dumped a one-pound bag of dry navy beans into my enameled cast iron dutch oven. I didn't sort. I didn't rinse--I just went full-gusto into the experiment. Why navy beans? It was either that or black-eyed peas, and you know how I love to make those already. That's another experiment for another day.

(2) Covered with water--about 1-1/2 inches above the beans. I just eyeballed it.

(3) Stirred in a couple of pinches of kosher salt. About 1-1/2 teaspoons should do it.

(4) Brought to a boil on the stove with the lid on.

(5) Transferred (keeping the lid on) to a preheated 250*F oven for 60-75 minutes. Mine were done at 60 minutes.

These are perfectly cooked beans--simple, toothsome and oh-so-good for you.

See Nick's post for proper instructions. Read through the comments, too, for added tips. It'll change your life forever.

It's Cinco de Mayo!

The fifth of May. Last year I explained the holiday incorrectly, so I'll quote Kalyn's article for the sake of accuracy:

Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of a historic battle on May 5, 1862, in which Mexican troops prevented French armies from taking control of Mexico.

Regardless of the whys and the whos, today is a great opportunity to enjoy some of Mexico's delicious cuisine, at a restaurant or even home-cooked meals inspired by Hispanic flavors.

My background is more Caribbean-inspired. I was taught while living in Key West by local Cuban-Americans along with a dear friend of mine who is Puerto Rican by birth and raised in Columbia. Some of my favorite dishes to make at home are sweet-spicy combinations with a side of beans and rice.

Remember that, for those of us who are insulin-challenged, beans are very, very good for us! As long as they're on our plates, we can have some brown rice to go with them, or enjoy a flour tortilla. Just be sure to keep portions in check.

Here are some yummy meal ideas for your Cinco de Mayo celebration:

- Huevos Rancheros. Everyone loves breakfast for dinner--why not enjoy this little twist tonight?

- Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Easy and satisfying for the whole family.

- Quick & Easy Tortilla Soup. This one comes together quickly and makes a great accompaniment to a salad.

- Nachos are easy to make at home and make for a tasty and economical dinner.

- Or you could bask in nacho-fry heaven with a plate of Frachos.

- A fajita/taco buffet is an easy to serve a crowd--perfect for families with picky eaters. Just fry up some ground beef (or turkey) with some chili powder and a little tomato sauce, grill, bake or fry a few chicken breasts to slice up, and put them out with flour tortillas, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, onions--whatever your crew loves. Let them build their own!

- Tostadas. A tostada is a corn tortilla that's been fried crisp, lays flat and is topped with various accoutrements. Simple and delicious!

All of those things, and many more, are delicious. But, as I mentioned above, my favorite way to enjoy Hispanic meal nights at home tend toward island flavors. And hey, we're allowed some leeway here, aren't we? If you're like me, try these:

- Carribbean Pork Chops with Orange-Ginger Glaze, Black Beans and Saffron Brown Rice is a favorite of mine.

- Does your family love hamburgers? Try my Caribbean Jerk Burgers with a side of sweet potato fries.

- Picadillo, Pink Beans and Rice. Picadillo is a Cuban ground beef dish--very economical and delicious to boot!

- Grilled Jerk Chicken with Nectarine Salsa. A delicious, summery combination.


So there you have it. Plenty of dinner ideas for Cinco de Mayo or anytime.

Italian Sausage and Seafood Soup with Fennel and White Beans

How is it possible that I've lived this long without trying fennel?

I think it was the association to licorice. And while I do eat the very occasional (maybe once a year around Easter) piece of licorice and enjoy it, the thought of it in savory concoctions was unwelcome.

Then again, I've always loved italian sausage, which often contains fennel seed and that slight licorice-y accent. So I finally hiked up my big girl pants and gave it a whirl.

Yum.

In this sausage-seafood "surf-and-turf" soup, fennel, along with onions, shallots and garlic create a beautiful flavor base. The beans provided fiber and those wonderful starch-blocking amylase-inhibitors that I love so much. An ever-so-slightly spicy tomato broth, flavored by sausage, clams and shrimp, brought the whole together in a delightful symphony of flavor that was filling without being too heavy.

A satisfying meal on a cold day.

And since the beans were going to stabilize my blood sugar, I snuck in a shallot-herb whole wheat biscuit for catching up all that yummy broth.

This is a very rustic dish; no need to be precise with slicing and chopping. Just go for it!



Italian Sausage and Seafood Soup with Fennel and White Beans
serves 4

canola or extra virgin olive oil for frying (about 2 tablespoons)
3/4 to 1 pound sweet italian sausage in casing, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 large yellow onion, sliced vertically
1/2 fennel bulb, coarsely chopped (reserve 1 tablespoon fennel leaves for garnish, if desired)
2 or 3 shallots, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons red pepper flake (or more or less, to taste)
1 can (about 15 ounces) white beans, rinsed and drained (I used beans I had made from dry)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato-vegetable juice
8 ounces small clams, cleaned
8 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
finely grated parmesan cheese

In a dutch oven, brown sausage in canola oil over medium heat. You don't need to cook the sausage all the way through at this point, because it will be simmered later. Remove from pot and set aside.

Adjust heat to low. Saute onion and fennel in the same pan, stirring occasionally to scrape up any browned bits. Cook until starting to brown, then add shallot, garlic, basil, oregano and red pepper flake. Continue to cook for about 1 minute, or until garlic is fragrant.

Pour in chicken broth and tomato juice and return heat to medium. Bring to a simmer and cover pot. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add clams and simmer for 1 minute; then add shrimp and simmer an additional 5-6 minutes. Clams should be opened and the shrimp will be pink and cooked. Remove from heat.

Discard any clams that didn't open. Sprinkle with reserved fennel leaves and a generous dusting of parmesan cheese.

Serve hot, ladled into shallow bowls with bread or biscuits.

Sausage-Potato Soup

We've been guaranteed a white Christmas. This photo was from 7am today.


It snowed Friday. Saturday we had a bit of a reprieve--long enough to get shoveled out and do some final Christmas shopping. Then came more snow overnight and through Sunday. Church services were canceled due to snowy, icy, unplowed roads. As you can see, it's still snowing.

With all this chill, most people are staying home, snug in their warm houses. We've been eating very simply, keeping in mind the feast that's to come on Christmas Eve. This was our favorite this snowy weekend--especially while we watched the Falcons win against the Minnesota Vikings: Sausage-Potato Soup.


Made from a humble tube of breakfast sausage, invented to use up some on-hand ingredients instead of braving the weather to run to the market, this soup really satisfied us in-between shoveling sessions.

And we've been doing a lot of that.

It's guaranteed to warm you up, help blood glucose levels (the exercise from snow removal can drop sugar quickly) and get some healthy veg all at the same time. It's low-fuss, no-nonsense, and takes about 30 minutes to put together in only one pot, providing you already have some cooked sausage on-hand.

You could use any sausage or ground meat/poultry for this soup, according to what you have available and taste preferences.


Sausage-Potato Soup
makes about 6 cups prepared soup

about 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1 pound breakfast sausage, cooked in advance and chilled to remove extra solidified fat
3-5 waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick (or as desired)
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes, as desired
1 cup cooked white beans (optional)
1 cup chopped frozen spinach

In a large soup pot, saute onion and carrots in olive oil until onion is soft. Add cooked sausage, potatoes, chicken broth and water with a good pinch of salt. Simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes, depending on how large you cut the potatoes). Keep in mind that your sausage might be salty, so don't oversalt.

Taste broth and check for seasoning; season with salt, pepper and red pepper flake as desired. I used a sprinkling of black pepper, about 2 teaspoons of garlic powder and a tablespoon of red pepper flake for added kick.

Stir in cooked white beans and frozen spinach. Heat another 5 minutes or until warmed through. Serve steaming hot in mugs with a piece of crusty italian bread for sopping.

Delicious.

Pureed White Beans

My grandmother was diagnosed with diabetes about 15 years ago. To be fair, the woman eats pretty well most of the time. It's just those special occasions that seem to cause her to lose her willpower completely. Over the years I've watched her snarf dinner rolls and sugary cranberry jelly, mountains of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with abandon. She knows she's not supposed to--but it's the holidays. These are the things you eat during the holidays.

Not everyone can turn it off so easily--I, certainly, can't easily cheat one day and go back to the straight-and-narrow the next. Once that door is opened, well, it's ON, baby! Six months later I'm still sneaking potatoes and breads and sugary sweets.

And that's bad for me.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I've learned to make a number of things sugar-free, especially desserts. Cranberry jelly is a no-brainer. Sweet potatoes, which are low glycemic-index, are already fair game--and finding a spicy-and-lightly sweet version instead of the pie-esque concoction that formerly graced my table was easy.

It's those pesky mashed potatoes. How would I enjoy gravy? What would cradle my peas and carrots? What would adorn my forkful of turkey?

Beans.

They lower bad cholesterol. They are digested slowly, which has a stabilizing effect on blood sugar. They're chock full of antioxidants. They encourage weight loss. They make your colon happy. And, best of all, they contain starch-blocking compounds (called amylase inhibitors), which are believed to help prevent some of the starch from other foods eaten during the same meal from being absorbed.

Do we need any more reason to add beans to every holiday meal? I don't!

I've been making pureed white beans for a few years now, occasionally through the year, but especially on holidays. It's so easy: just pre-soak white beans according to package directions (I usually follow the overnight method--1/2 pound of beans, sorted, soaked overnight in 6 cups of cold water), drain, rinse, then cover with a fresh 6 cups of water. Simmer until tender--about 30 minutes, cool slightly and drain again.

Now here's where you can get creative. These are the three main versions I stick with:

Variation 1 - Simple Puree

Process cooked, drained beans in the food processor or with a hand blender until pureed. Add a little melted butter, skim milk, salt and pepper for a simple side dish.

Variation 2 - Skinny Potato-Bean Puree

Process cooked, drained beans in the food processor or with a hand blender until pureed. Add 1-2 peeled, chopped, boiled & drained white potatoes and mash with a little chicken broth, salt and pepper for the right consistency and seasoning. Note: My family likes mashed potatoes a little on the lumpy side, so I usually hand-mash once the potatoes have been added to ensure a lumpy result, which incidentally serves as an excellent disguise.

Variation 3 - Onion and Garlic Pureed White Beans

While cooked beans are draining, saute 1 medium sliced onion in extra virgin olive oil until browned and beginning to caramelize. Add several cloves of chopped garlic (to taste; I like it pretty strong, so I use about 4-5 cloves) and saute until fragrant. Add drained beans and puree with a hand blender; thin with a little chicken broth or skim milk as needed, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

1/2 pound beans prepared serves about 4.


Make your bean puree as flavorful as you like. No, they won't taste exactly like mashed potatoes--but they're a lot tastier than those nasty "fauxtatos" made from cauliflower, they are lovely with turkey and gravy, and best of all, they have those awesome amylase inhibitors which will hopefully help your body process any extra starches you might indulge in at your holiday celebration.


This is my entry to Eat Healthy: Fight Diabetes event hosted by Art of Cooking Indian Food. I'll post a link to the roundup here sometime after the event deadline of November 30, 2008. I'm also submitting this post to Just the Right Spice's Healthy Holiday Recipe Roundup--visit the recipe roundup here.

Meanwhile, here are some other recipes that might help you as you plan your own diabetic-friendly feast:

Pumpkin Curry Soup - this can be made with any winter squash
Pumpkin Milkshake
Sugar-Free Cheesecake
Flourless Dessert Crepes
One-Bowl Sugar-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake - this one contains a stick of butter, but the cake is SO unbelievably rich that you'll get a good many servings from it. Everything in moderation...
Pumpkin Coconut Panna Cotta
Healthy Holiday Recipe Roundup of November 12

White Bean, Pesto and Bacon Spread

I always, always, always keep dried beans in my pantry. A one-pound bag of dry beans is about the same price as one can of prepared beans, but half a bag of prepared beans from dry is 2 cans worth of beans--clearly a more frugal, if slightly more time-consuming option.

However, with a little planning, dry beans are easy to use--and you control the salt content. Just soak 1/2 pound of dry beans in 4 cups of water overnight. The next day, whenever you get around to it, drain the beans, rinse well, and put in a saucepan with a fresh 4 cups of water, a pinch of salt (optional), and simmer until the beans are tender--about 20-30 minutes.

Easy!

So now that you know how easy dry beans are to make, you'll start keeping them in your pantry, too. Right? Right?

Other on-hand items in my house include bacon in the freezer, and pesto (either in the fridge or freezer).

When Mr.W and I are invited to a friend's house, I never show up empty-handed. I am a food-maker, and it makes me happy to see friends, family, coworkers and even strangers gobble up my food. But when the purse strings are tight and grocery shopping is limited to little more than essentials, one has to be creative. That's where pantry & freezer staples come in.

I recently made this dip to bring to a gathering of friends, to rave reviews. Make some today--you'll be glad you did.

White Bean, Pesto and Bacon Spread

yield: about 2-1/2 cups

• 1/2 pound cannelini or other white beans, cooked and cooled from dry (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)


• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano


• 1/4 cup pesto


• 1 small onion, sliced and sauteed slowly in a bit of olive oil until golden and beginning to caramelize and deglazed with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar


• 1/4 pound bacon, chopped and cooked to crispy, drained on paper towels


• 1 tablespoon bacon grease reserved from cooking bacon


• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, if needed

In a food processor, combine beans, oregano, pesto, onion-balsamic mixture and bacon grease; puree, adding additional extra-virgin olive oil, if needed. You're looking for a creamy, spreadable consistency.

Serve at room temperature topped with crispy bacon bits on crostini or fresh bread slices.

Warm thanks to Michele Humes of Fine Furious Life who inspired this recipe in her recent post and comments.

Picadillo, Pink Beans and Rice

My city is all about Italian food--and that's pretty much it. Sure, there are a couple of Chinese restaurants, but I'd hardly call them international cuisine. Taco Bell doesn't count. There are some asian places (Thai, Vietnamese) and a really great Greek restaurant, but these are at least a 20-minute drive away, and in these days of high-dollar gasoline, we're sticking close to home.

The years I spent living and travelling outside of my hometown bred in me a real love for all sorts of flavors. Although I can't visit a local restaurant to satisfy this cravings, I've learned that most things can be made at home to satisfy a palate yearning for a variety of ethnic foods. This is just one such meal.

Picadillo is an economical delicacy I learned to love while living in Key West. It is something of a sweet-spicy hash or chili--with as many variations. One of the most unusual variations I ever ate was in a Key West Mollete (pronounced moy-yet-tay). The picadillo was stuffed into a cuban bread loaf and deep-fried--talk about yummy!

But the best way to enjoy picadillo is the simplest: with beans, rice and sauteed plantains.

Picadillo

serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, vertically sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup beef broth or stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup green olives or 1/4 cup capers (we leave these out because we detest them)

In a large saucepan set over a medium flame, saute onions in olive oil until transparent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Carefully remove onions and garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Cook ground beef in the same saucepan until crumbly and browned; return onions and garlic to the pan. Stir in chili powder, cumin and cayenne. Pour in beef broth; add tomato paste and raisins. Simmer, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, or until liquid is reduced slightly.

Serve warm with beans and steamed white rice.

When I make beans, I like to add either potato or yucca. I happen to have a bag of yucca pieces in the freezer so I used them in my beans; if you want to enjoy authentic beans, you should try yucca or potato. While it's a bit counter-intuitive to add more starch to your beans, it's an hispanic home cook's secret for stretching the beans while deliciously thickening the cooking liquid.

Pink Beans with Yucca

serves 4

1/2 pound pink beans, pre-soaked and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups water

3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 cup tomato sauce

2 big chunks yucca (thawed if from frozen), or 1 medium potato, diced (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine beans, olive oil, water, salt, garlic powder, oregano and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes, or until beans are tender. Add tomato sauce and yucca or potato, if using, and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes, or until yucca/potato is fork-tender.

Serve over hot steamed white or brown rice.

Caribbean Pork Chops with Orange-Ginger Glaze, Black Beans and Saffron Brown Rice

I love caribbean food.

When we lived in the Florida Keys, Mr.W and I often enjoyed the local dishes. Jerk chicken, cuban roast pork and picadillo were some of my favorites; they were always accompanied by black beans and yellow rice, and usually plantains.

I've been hankering for some of that deliciousness lately, and so I made some last night and was very pleased with the result.

The pork chops were dusted with jerk seasoning and seared, then braised in a mixture of chicken broth and some lovely ginger-orange marmalade I discovered yesterday. This French import is no-sugar-added and sweetened only with fruit juice, so I wasted no time snatching this jelly from the market shelf, even at over $4 for the jar. A rare indulgence, and well worth it.

The beans simmered with ingredients right from my freezer--what a comfort food! I made the yellow rice from brown rice. You can see I garnished the rice with a chive flower. Mr.W was horrified and didn't know what it was. Sometimes it's good to keep the husband on his toes.

I wish I'd had a plantain to enjoy with this meal, but the glaze was sweet enough and a nice balance to the other flavors on the plate.

Caribbean Pork Chop with Orange-Ginger Glaze, Black Beans and Saffron Brown Rice

serves 2

Saffron Brown Rice

(this takes the longest time to prepare)

1 cup brown rice, rinsed

2 cups water

2 pinches saffron threads, crumbled

pinch kosher salt

sprinkle adobo seasoning (or granulated garlic)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let go for about 30-40 minutes, or until all water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Black Beans

1 15-ounce can black beans

1/2 can water

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (or 1 clove chopped fresh garlic) or adobo seasoning

pinch kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon chives (I used frozen)

2 teaspoons tomato paste (I used frozen)

1 tablespoon cilantro (again, frozen)

about 1/3 cup chunked frozen yucca (I buy this in a Goya bag) or peeled white potato

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until yucca or potato are tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Caribbean Pork Chops with Orange-Ginger Glaze

2 boneless pork chops

caribbean jerk powdered seasoning blend

1 cup chicken stock or broth

2 tablespoons no sugar added, fruit juice sweetened ginger-orange marmalade (or just use orange marmalade with a few slices of ginger added)

Sprinkle pork chops generously with caribbean jerk seasoning on both sides; allow to sit for 5 minutes while you heat up a saucepan over a medium flame.

Brown both sides of pork chops, turning only once. You want a nice crust on both sides. Add chicken stock and marmalade. Cover pan loosely with foil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes to finish cooking chops.

Remove pork chops from liquid and set aside. Reduce pan juices to a thick glaze. Serve chops drizzled with glaze.

Waiter, there's something in my... Garlicky White Beans

Pulses (beans and legumes) are the required ingredient for this month's installation of the ever-popular "Waiter, there's something in my..." foodblogging event. This month, the host is the talented and ever-so-clever Jeanne of Cook Sister!.

Visit the roundup to see a fantastic array of beany-goodness. There are several awesome recipes that I plan to try!

So without further ado, here is my entry.

Bursting with garlickyness (is that a word?) and balanced with salty romano cheese and sweet onion, this white bean dish could be served as a vegetarian main course or as a simple, yet flavorful, side dish to accompany meat or poultry.




Garlicky White Beans
serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish

4 cups cooked beans, drained (I used great northern beans; you can use cannelini, or any bean you wish)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced vertically
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
freshly shaved romano (or your favorite) cheese

Place beans in a greased casserole dish; sprinkle with salt. Set aside.

In a skillet over a medium flame, saute onions in heated olive oil until transparent; add garlic and saute until fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and pour over beans.

Shave romano cheese over beans to cover generously, or as desired. Bake in a 325*F oven until top is golden and beans are hot.

Beans may be served hot or at room temperature.


This bean dish was served at my Easter table and was a delicious accompaniment to my leg of lamb.