!Beans, peas, lentils --- agk's kitchen created: 15 May 2023 updated: 19 August 2023 --- "Put navy beans in a big pot of salted water to soak overnight. Put on with the wash water about six in the morning, with bacon, or ham. Let cook uncovered on low burner. Clock between loads of wash. Add 1 large, finely minced onion at eight when you're bluing the overalls. At nine have a quick cup of coffee & dump 1/2 in the beans if you want. Add 1/2 cup fine minced carrots at bleach time (about eleven). Serve at noon with soda crackers & slaw you made the night before. For washday this is a pretty good deal." --Mary Linder in Mickler 1986, White Trash Cooking WATER & COOKING TIMES C=cup/240mL, T=Tablespoon/15mL, tsp=teaspoon/5mL 1 cup dried simmer pressure ----------- cup water/time cup water/time Aduki bean 2-3 1.5h 2-3 45min Black bean 2-3 2.5h 2-3 1.25h Lentils 3-4 1hr 3 20min Green split peas 3-4 1hr 3 20min Whole peas 3-4 3hrs 3 1hr Pinto-Kidney bean 2-3 2-3h 2-3 1hr Garbanzo bean 3-4 4-5h 3 2-3hr Limas & Black- 2-3 1hr 2-3 35min eyed peas Mung bean 3-4 4-6h 3 20min Note: These are minimum cooking times. In many traditions simmering large beans all day ensured digestibility. SEASONING - Coriander, cumin, ginger (lentil, mung, black, aduki) - Sage, thyme, oregano (black, pinto, lentil, kid- ney) - Dill, basil (lentil, garbanzo, split pea) - Fennel or cumin (pinto, kidney) - Mint, garlic (garbanzo, lentil) TO COOK First sort through for dirt & stones. Then wash & rinse thoroughly. Simmer - Place soaked kombu in bottom of pot. Add soaked legumes & cold water. - Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. - Cover & simmer til almost done. - Add seasonings & salt. - Continue to cook about 15 mins til soft. - Uncover. Turn to medium if you want to cook off excess liquid. Pressure-cook: less cooking time, water, soaking - Place soaked kombu & legumes in pressure cooker with cold water. - Cover & bring to pressure. Reduce heat to low & cook required time. - Allow pressure to come down. - Remove cover. Season & simmer about 15 min til excess water cooked off. Bake - Place soaked legumes in pot with cold water & soaked kombu. - Add 4-5 C water to each C of beans. - Place pot on stove. Boil for 15 min to loosen skins. - Pour legumes into baking dish. - Cover and place in oven at 350F 3-4 hours. - Add more water when needed. - Bake until 80% done. - Add salt & seasonings. Cook until soft. - Remove cover to brown. Variation: Add diced onions, kale, or other veget- ables when legumes 50% done. --Pitchford 2002, Healing With Whole Foods p.513-4 NOTES Legumes are second only to grains as our most imp- ortant food source. Whole dried beans keep for a year in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place--or indefinitely in the freezer. Acidic foods (tomatoes, tomato sauce, lemon juice, wine) react with seed coat starch & toughen beans. Calcium (in molasses) interferes with cooking. Salt reacts with the seed coat, prevents liquid from being absorbed, & toughens beans. Add these ingred- ients after beans finish cooking. --Ruth Yaron 2013, Super Baby Food p.278-81 Aduki beans, lentils, mung beans, & peas digest most easily and can be eaten regularly. Legumes combine best with green or non-starchy vegetables & seaweeds. Season with salt, miso, or soy sauce at end of cooking. Salt is a digestive aid for high- protein foods. Soak dried legumes 12 hours or overnight in four parts water to one part legume. Change the water once or twice. Lentils & peas need shorter soaking, garbanzos longer. Soaking softens skins & begins the sprouting process, which eliminates phytic acid thereby making more minerals available. Gas-causing enzymes and trisaccharides are released in soak water; discard. After bringing legumes to boil, scoop off & discard foam. Boil 20mins without lid at start of cooking to break up & disperse indigestible enzymes. Pour a little apple-cider, brown-rice, or white-wine vine- gar in the water in the last stages of cooking legumes. Combining vinegar with legumes softens them & breaks down protein chains & indigestible compounds. Sprout legumes to break down their protein into amino acids, starches & trisaccharides into simple sugars, and to create valuable enzymes & vitamins. Sprouting legumes til they have rootlets maximizes digestibility. Lentils, mung, & aduki beans sprout most easily. --Pitchford 2002, Healing With Whole Foods p.511-3 RECIPES Judge Joe B Hamiter's Red Beans & Sausage Serves 6 -- Soak 1lb dried red beans overnight. Chop 4 medium- sized onions & 4 stalks of celery fine, saute in 1T bacon drippings in an iron pot. Add beans, 2 bay leaves, 2 small red peppers, salt. Cover well with water, boil slowly for one hour. Cut 2lb of smoked, stuffed sausage in 1in pieces, fry lightly in 1T bacon drippings, add to beans. Simmer entire contents for additional hour. Serve over cooked rice with side dish of green onions. --Mary Land 1954, Louisiana Cookery p.190-1 Refried Beans Serves 4-6 2C cooked beans (aduki, black, pinto), 1/2C bean juice/water, 1/2 onion chopped, 1/4tsp coriander, 1/4tsp cumin, 1T oil, salt to taste -- Saute onion. Add seasonings. Saute 1min. Add 1/2C beans at a time. Mash with back of wooden spoon. Add bean juice. Simmer til enough liquid has cooked off. -- Tostadas: toasted tortillas topped with refried beans, salsa, sliced avocado, lettuce. Tacos: soft tortilla wrapped around beans with guacamole, salsa, shredded cabbage. --Pitchford 2002, Healing With Whole Foods p.516 Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos see Sweet Potatoes Hummus see Snack Food Curried Chickpeas Saute onion. Add curry powder. Add tomatoes. Add coconut milk. Add cooked chickpeas, kombu, bay leaf. Dump in pressure cooker, bring to pressure, cook >20min. Serve over rice with side dish of palak paneer (cooked spinach & cheese). --Anna's recipe Eggplant and Chickpeas ("Pizza") Warm canola or other oil in skillet on med-high. Peel, dice, & saute eggplant. Add butter after eggplant sucks up all the oil. When dry again & toasted, mince some garlic & ginger. Add more oil with garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, tiny pinch salt, italian seasoning, white pepper. Cook til garlic soft & fragrant. Add broth, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, cooked chickpeas, and water as needed. Cook til chickpeas & eggplant are desired texture. --Evy's recipe Mushroom Lardons with Black-Eyed Peas & Greens Serves 4 2 med portabello mushroom caps sliced 1/4in cubes. 6T olive oil. 1/4tsp salt, 2T soy sauce, 1/2tsp smoked paprika. 5 minced garlic cloves, 1/2tsp black pepper, 1/2tsp crushed red pepper flakes. 2C cooked black-eyed peas, 6C rough chopped kale, collards, or chard. -- Heat 3T oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms. Cook stirring often til they start to brown, 3 to 4 mins. Reduce to medium, cook til mushrooms deeply & evenly browned, ~10mins longer. Reduce to medium-low if they darken too quick. You want them to shrivel & brown. Add salt, soy sauce, smoked paprika. Stir til pan dry. Put mushrooms in bowl, set aside. -- Place remaining 3T oil in pan with garlic, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, til garlic fragrant, 30sec to 1min. Add black-eyed peas. Once they start sizzling add greens. Stir & shift greens around with slotted spoon or tongs. Once they start to wilt after 1.5-2 mins, return mushrooms to the pan. Cook stirring til greens tender, 2-3 mins more. Turn off heat; serve. -- Will keep 5 days refrigerated in airtight jar. --Pelzel 2019, Umami Bomb p.104-6