Why Rice? Rice was always one of those boring foods to me. And I wasn't really sure how to prepare it well. How could I keep it from being sticky or turning to glue? And why was it so tasteless? While rice is not on the "basic" list for food storage items it is a cheap, easy to come by and easy to store item with a long shelf life of 30 years. So I started purchasing rice. I made friends with a woman from South America a good number of years ago who laughed a little bit at us eating potatoes like they ate rice. So I asked her for a few pointers because her rice was always so good.
Everyday Uses: Rice is a versatile side dish and can be included in any meal to take the place of a potato, as my South American friend pointed out to me. It is filling and while not a complete protein by itself it can be eaten with beans to form a complete protein. They compliment each other nutritionally in that way. My friend told me to heat my pot on the stove and put a little butter into the hot pot. Once it melted I could drop my rice into the butter, stir quickly to heat and coat the rice with butter but be careful not to let it burn. Then add in the water, bring to a boil before reducing heat, covering the pot and letting it simmer for 15 minutes. Then I would have rice perfection.
How much rice and how much water? Rice approximately doubles when cooked. And I need twice as much water as rice. So if I want two cups of cooked rice, approximately, then I cook 1 cup of rice with two cups of water. I made this harder than it needed to be for years. Really it's easy!
Still too bland and boring? Add 1 bouillon cube per cup of water you add when you go to cook your rice. Chicken or beef bouillon gives rice a nice added flavor.
Favorite Recipes
Red Beans and Rice (From Our Best Bites Cookbook)
I'm not a "down south" kind of girl where Red Beans and Rice are infamous and I resisted having anything to do with this dish for a long time. I'm from New York. But I have red beans and I have rice and this recipe caught my eye. When I came across an inexpensive bottle of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning in the store I knew I'd be trying this dish in my crock pot. If I love this dish anyone can love this dish!
1 pound dry red kidney beans, rinsed, sorted and soaked
6 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 lb. smoked sausage, quartered and cut into thin slices
1 chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. creole seasoning
3/4 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. coriander
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups water
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 c. rice
Combine all the ingredients except for the last 3 in a large crock pot and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low all day. You can also cook it on high until it starts to boil and then switch the heat to low.
When beans are tender, mash about 85-90% of them against the side of the crock pot. Replace lid and turn off heat. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water, vinegar and rice to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and steam for 15-20 minutes. Ladle 1 cup of beans into individual bowls and top with 1/2 cup of rice.
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Chicken and Rice Soup Mix (tastes like Mrs. Grass)
This is an easy shelf stable mix to keep on hand for thermoses packed in lunch boxes going out the door on chilly days. It's mild ingredients are good for those who have been feeling under the weather as well. I like to store this on my pantry shelf in a quart sized Mason jar.
Soup Mix:
2 cups dry rice
12 chicken bouillon cubes, ground up (hit with a kitchen mallet before unwrapping)
4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. black pepper
Toss this into a jar and toss to combine evenly. Yields 4 batches.
To prepare soup: In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water,1 Tbsp. butter and 2/3 cup soup mix to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender. Yields 2-3 servings per batch.
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More favorite recipes:
Corn, bean and rice is found here on my blog under "Cooking with Food Storage - Beans"
Rice is good for puddings, too!
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Cooking With Food Storage–Beans
I’m back to talking about beans again. There are so many things to do with them (and I have so many of them). Obviously the bean is one of my favorite foods to store and use. I have already given tips for successfully preparing them in my previous post on “Perfect Beans”. Now I have some real every day ideas for adding them to your diet and a few recipes and links to recipes as well.
Why? The economy of dried beans:
Last I checked, a small 1 pound bag of dried beans cost around $1.25 or more in the grocery store. Part of that depends on where you shop and what type of bean you are purchasing. I can buy some types of beans at Sam’s Club in bulk for 50 to 64 cents per pound. Beans double in weight when cooked so you end up paying about 30 cents per pound of cooked beans bought in bulk or about 60 cents per pound for cooked beans bought as dry at the grocery store. So the dried bean is LOTS cheaper than canned beans, either way. (Prices for beans have gone up significantly in the past year so these prices I refer to may just be an example at this point).
Every Day Uses for the Bean - The List:
- Meat substitute (Pinto and Black) for beef in Mexican recipes. (It’s best to reduce your meat by half at first and substitute beans for the other half. The body needs to adjust to all that fiber! Then you can replace your meat completely.) In chili, which already calls for beans, I like to use half the amount of beef and increase the beans to cover the meat that I did not put in. Then I toss in the beans that were called for, as well.
-Meat substitute for Chicken (white beans and garlic can fool you).
-Soups
-Burritos, Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Tacos
-Refried Beans
-Casseroles
-Beans and Rice
-Salads
-Bean Burgers
-Pasta Sauce
-Vegetable Dip
-Baked goods – there are recipes out there for pies and brownies. I haven’t tried them so I’m not including them here. If I do I’ll certainly let you know how that goes.
-Grinding them into flour
-Bean sprouts for salads
***Please keep in mind that when adding beans to your diet, they are good sources of protein but do not make a “complete” protein without combining them with another food. Actually, very few plants are a complete protein by themselves. If you google “complete protein” you can get a list of foods to successfully combine with the bean to form a protein. There seems to be great controversy in the general public over complete proteins so I advise going to a reputable website such as the one that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) puts out on the topic. For me, I like the rule of thumb that we drink a glass of milk when we eat beans or peanut butter to form a complete protein in our meatless meals but there are other ways too.
Here are some of my favorite ways to incorporate beans into the diet for both health and $ savings. These are recipes that I have adapted to what is on my pantry shelves as well as to my own taste. Enjoy!
Some Recipes:
Corn, Bean and Rice Salad – serves 4 (easily doubles)
Served cold, this is a low calorie food I like to serve as the main course although it makes a nice side too. Easy to pack for picnics, the recipe makes great use of long term storage products combined with the fresh tastes of summer produce. It is so delicious that kids at the lunch tables beg just to lick the lids or the spoons when I send this with my kids. And just wait until you smell it with the fragrance of cilantro and lime. You won’t be able to resist either!
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 green bell pepper (or any sweet pepper)
1 celery stalk
1/3 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed (or prepared dry black beans)
1/2 red/purple onion
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1.) In large bowl, combine rice, corn, bell pepper, celery, beans, onion and cilantro.
2.) Add the rest of the ingredients over the rice mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least one hour for best results.
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Enchilada Casserole – makes 9x13 to feed a crowd OR two 8x8’s and freeze one!
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mild enchilada sauce
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
4 cups Pinto beans (can mix in Black)
12 flour tortillas (store bought or make your own for further savings)
Prepare beans. Mix cream of mushroom soup and enchilada sauce together with beans. Put a little bean mixture into each tortilla. Roll each up and line in greased pan. Put remaining bean mixture on top of tortillas. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 30 minutes in a preheated 325 oven. Sprinkle top with black olives and/or sour cream if desired.
***Freezes well
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Easy Taco Soup
1 pound of ground beef or canned or prepared dry black beans
1/2 c. chopped onion or 3 Tbsp. dried minced onion
3 c. water
3 16 oz. canned tomato products (stewed, diced or sauce are all fine)
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans (or prepared dry kidney beans)
1 envelope (or recipe) Taco Seasoning
(optional; add one to two cans undrained corn)
Optional toppings include:
Cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped green onions, sliced black olives, sour cream, avocado
In a large pot brown ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent. Drain excess fat. Add water, tomatoes, beans and taco seasoning. Simmer covered, at least 15 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.
Makes a great taco salad with leftovers so it's like a brand new meal and it helps spread the pot a little farther.
***Freezes well
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Refried Beans in the Crock Pot *** or use prepared dry beans and jump to step 2.
(No real measurement for beans here; just keep in mind they usually double in bulk and weight)
STEP 1: Fill crock pot 1/3 full of sorted and rinsed pinto beans. Fill with water until 3/4 full. Cook beans on high for about 4 hours or until tender, adding more water if necessary. Then drain, rinse well and mash.
STEP 2: In a sauce pan cook 1 clove of garlic and 1 small onion in 1 Tbsp. shortening or oil. Add mashed beans. Add oregano and salt to taste. Can freeze.
Serving suggestion: Top with cheese and/or salsa. Tastes great as a dip or roll into tortillas.
***Freezes well
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More favorites:
Black Bean Burgers – www.theprudenthomemaker.com
White Bean Alfredo Sauce – www.theprudenthomemaker.com
This is one of my favorite inspirational websites. Her recipes are easily located once you get there.
Beans Are Beans:
Beans have a very long shelf life if stored properly but a bean more than 10 years old is an “old” bean. There is still nutritional value to your beans but they are more likely to be tough even after cooking. For every cup of old hard beans add 2 1/2 c. hot tap water and 2 tsp. baking soda. Soak overnight. Drain and rinse twice. Then cover and cook 2 hours.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
White Bean Soup
Some bean soups that I’ve tried are just sort of “BLAH” but not this one! It has very little meat to help flavor it but the vegetable and herb combination seem to work great together here. And brining the beans first produce a “perfect bean” for your pot. The recipe calls for chicken broth which I do not keep on my pantry shelf and do not have unless I have boiled some myself with bones left over from a former meal. Chicken bouillon cubes work great, are easy to keep and inexpensive to purchase for making chicken broth but watch how much salt you add if you are using these since they are full of sodium. One cube to a cup of water for each cup of broth you decide to add will do the trick. Do not be afraid to double the recipe if you have a big family, a big pot and a freezer. It will make a quick, easy meal just by thawing and reheating when you need it on a busy weeknight. Pop it in the crockpot for those nights when everyone comes in at different times or your husband works late.
Serves 8
-Salt and Pepper
-1 pound (2 1/2 cups) any small white bean (cannellini, great Northern or navy)
-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (ham pieces would work too)
-1 lb. greens (spinach, Swiss chard, kale or collard greens)
1 onion
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth (or more if you desire a thinner consistency or need to stretch the meal farther)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary or shake in some dried rosemary
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
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*Dissolve 3 TBSP salt in 4 quarts cold water in large pot or container. Add rinsed and sorted beans and soak in brine 8-24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
*If adding bacon, use middle oven rack and cook bacon on a cookie sheet at a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, turning bacon after the first 7-8 minutes. My oven tends to run on the cool side and I like my bacon crispy… just keep your eye on the bacon. Cook longer or shorter depending on your oven and how done you want your bacon to be. Cool on a paper towel lined plate and add 1 TBSP of fat to your heated stock pot. Put bacon in fridge until later.
*On medium heat saute onions, celery and carrots in bacon fat. Cook and stir occasionally until vegies are tender. Add garlic and cook lightly. Garlic turns bitter with too much heat. Stir in broth, 3 cups water, bay leaves, rosemary and soaked beans that have been drained and rinsed again. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour or until beans are fork tender. Stir in greens(frozen works fine), tomatoes and bacon. Cook on stovetop until the soup is hot once again. Discard bay leaves (and rosemary sprig if used) and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Remember to add more chicken broth to your soup if you want to thin it).
Serve hot and enjoy with your favorite loaf of bread, dinner roll or biscuit and condiment of choice to round out your meal. We like butter, apple butter or jam.
***Soup will taste even better the second day.
Serves 8
-Salt and Pepper
-1 pound (2 1/2 cups) any small white bean (cannellini, great Northern or navy)
-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (ham pieces would work too)
-1 lb. greens (spinach, Swiss chard, kale or collard greens)
1 onion
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth (or more if you desire a thinner consistency or need to stretch the meal farther)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary or shake in some dried rosemary
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
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*Dissolve 3 TBSP salt in 4 quarts cold water in large pot or container. Add rinsed and sorted beans and soak in brine 8-24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
*If adding bacon, use middle oven rack and cook bacon on a cookie sheet at a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, turning bacon after the first 7-8 minutes. My oven tends to run on the cool side and I like my bacon crispy… just keep your eye on the bacon. Cook longer or shorter depending on your oven and how done you want your bacon to be. Cool on a paper towel lined plate and add 1 TBSP of fat to your heated stock pot. Put bacon in fridge until later.
*On medium heat saute onions, celery and carrots in bacon fat. Cook and stir occasionally until vegies are tender. Add garlic and cook lightly. Garlic turns bitter with too much heat. Stir in broth, 3 cups water, bay leaves, rosemary and soaked beans that have been drained and rinsed again. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour or until beans are fork tender. Stir in greens(frozen works fine), tomatoes and bacon. Cook on stovetop until the soup is hot once again. Discard bay leaves (and rosemary sprig if used) and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Remember to add more chicken broth to your soup if you want to thin it).
Serve hot and enjoy with your favorite loaf of bread, dinner roll or biscuit and condiment of choice to round out your meal. We like butter, apple butter or jam.
***Soup will taste even better the second day.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Perfect Beans
Finally, I am done with my research on beans having started this over a month ago! Thanksgiving and Christmas got the better of me over the past few weeks. So here it is.
Beans! High in fiber, low in fat. Canned beans are one thing but dried beans seem quite another. They are easy to store and good protein to include in a home food storage but then what? What can I do with them? How do I cook with them? Dried beans are cheaper to buy than their canned counterpart making them affordable for me to pick up a bag here and there occasionally which I did to ensure I was following prophetic council. Plus they keep longer, good for long term food storage which I viewed as a "just in case" type of thing. Keeping longer gave me comfort because I didn't have to fix them NOW and I figured if there was nothing else to eat, I guessed I could stomach eating some beans... if I had to in order to stay alive. I could never live with myself if I had to look my children in the eye and tell them I had nothing for them to eat when I could have... and should have done something about it. But one day I looked at my food storage and realized I had so many barrels of beans I was scared. I was scared of beans!!! How can I rotate through a food storage that I am scared of and have no idea how to use? How could I justify purchasing more of something I had no intention of eating soon when our grocery budget was tighter than ever and still tightening more? Eating beans wasn't anything new... it was the fact that these beans were dry beans. My mom had used dry beans in her meals which I may or may not have liked but I had started at ground zero in the cooking department and was learning my way through the kitchen. My time had come to conquer the DRY BEANS! Now I use them not just in soup recipes but I use them in many mexican recipes replacing the beef with them simply for the economy and health of them. I even make bean burgers that give the old frozen vegi-burger in the freezer case of the local grocery a run for its money. I've come a long way from ground zero.
I have heard many rumors about beans through the years and wondered about them. In spite of having delved in to use beans in our meals for several years figuring out certain tricks along the way I still had some of the same questions. How could I help answer other people's questions they were asking me about cooking with beans such as how can you prevent them from giving you gastrointestinal distress? If I salt them won't they be tough? But if I don't salt them will they have any flavor? What about the time involved in cooking with beans? These are some valid questions with some good news answers. I recently read an article in the December/January 2014 issue of Cooks Country that cleared up any questions I still had about beans. Putting this new information to the test combined with years of personal experience I am confident in coming up with a creamy, flavorful bean every time now.
Time vs. Money or the old adage "time IS money, money is time".
So quickly you should know that while beans are a cheap source of protein, dried beans are ridiculously cheap by comparison. That said, the location you purchase from and the packaging size can further influence the price you pay for those beans. And it doesn't hurt to keep a few CANS of beans on the shelf, either, for those days when even the best laid plans fall short. The price of a couple cans of beans on my shelf to provide a quick meal for 7 is NOTHING compared to the $35 + price tag on an unplanned trip through the McDonald's drive through.
Time, of course, is a resource just like money. The good news with using dried beans is that it doesn't have to take a lot of time. I am referring to "hands on" time. You DO need to plan ahead to use beans but the time it takes to prepare the beans is mostly hands off plus the only equipment needed is a basic Dutch Oven (fancy name for pot with lid). And I'm all for any simplicity I can get in my little kitchen.
Here are some simple Core Techniques in utilizing dried beans in your diet.
1.) SOAK or BRINE BEANS: While soaking beans overnight may be standard procedure that everyone knows about there is a LOT of confusion about brining them. Adding salt to your soaking beans not only seasons the beans but actually softens their skins as the sodium ions in the salt replace calcium and magnesium ions as the beans sit in the salty solution. Sodium ions weaken pectin which is the glue that holds the cells together and gives the cell walls of the bean strength. With the break down of the cell wall more water can then penetrate the bean making for a softer bean. Note that lentils do not need soaking.
Bottom line; Soak beans for 8-24 hours in brine solution of 3 Tbsp. salt and 4 quarts of water for every pound of most beans in most recipes. Use immediately. *** Unused brined beans may be rinsed and kept refrigerated for up to four days or may be frozen for several weeks. Think of this as "fast food" for upcoming meals. FAQ: What if I don't have time to soak the beans overnight? If you don't have any left over brined beans in the fridge or freezer then use a quick soak by bringing the beans, salt and water to a boil. Then turn off the heat and cover with lid letting them sit for one hour. Drain and rinse your beans after the one hour mark and proceed with your recipe. Still not fast enough? Simmer beans in 3 quarts of water with one Tbsp. baking soda for 20 minutes before draining, rinsing and proceeding with recipe. Remember though, an overnight brine will always produce the creamiest beans.
2.) SORT/RINSE BEANS: Bags of dried beans sometimes contain small stones and other debris called ditritus so pick through your beans as you rinse them in a colander with cold water. Really get in there with your hand and mix them around as you run them under the water. If you are really being overly thoughtful (or nervous) you can even spread the beans out on a towel or white plate to make sure that anything that should not be in the beans is spotted and discarded. I usually find that what doesn't belong is obvious.
Bottom line; Rinse those beans keeping eyes open for detritus. Eliminate the jokes and intestinal discomfort. Rinsing beans after soaking and cooking helps remove some of the broken down chains of carbohydrates which can otherwise cause gas and other digestive troubles.
3.) BEWARE of ACID: Contrary to popular myth, salting beans has NOTHING to do with tough beans but acidity does affect the bean. If the cooking liquid the beans are in is too acidic then beans will not soften no matter how many hours they spend bubbling on the stove top. A low pH (higher acid) actually has the opposite effect of brining and will strengthen the pectin in beans, making them tougher; a very low pH actually prevents them from cooking. It took a LOT of acid to cause a problem during testing. A primary acidic food we tend to cook with beans is... TOMATOES! In my own kitchen I have produced very creamy beans when brined with salt and rather tough ones when I added tomatoes too early to my non-brined beans that were boiling. Be safe! Add tomatoes to your recipe only when beans are nearly tender. If beans remain unsoftened despite all these measures then your beans were just too old (more than 10 years) or your water is too hard.
Store beans in a cool, dry place. I like to keep my dried beans as long term storage in plastic buckets with gamma seal lids that can be purchased at places like Home Depot but can be purchased in bulk (least expensively per lid) online. When I run low on beans upstairs in my kitchen I simply refill my canning jar from the buckets and they look somewhat chic sitting on my exposed shelves in the kitchen. Canning jars, also frequently called Mason jars, are the most economical way to store goods in glass. Highly functional, yet very attractive to display, they will keep moisture, bugs, and rodents from ruining your goods. LOVE canning jars!
My favorite beans to store are Great Northern, Black, Kidney and Pinto Beans. Pinto Beans can be purchased in bulk at Sam's Club.
There are hundreds of ways to take advantage of using dried beans in your diet. Now you are prepared for success the next time your recipe calls for beans.
Beans! High in fiber, low in fat. Canned beans are one thing but dried beans seem quite another. They are easy to store and good protein to include in a home food storage but then what? What can I do with them? How do I cook with them? Dried beans are cheaper to buy than their canned counterpart making them affordable for me to pick up a bag here and there occasionally which I did to ensure I was following prophetic council. Plus they keep longer, good for long term food storage which I viewed as a "just in case" type of thing. Keeping longer gave me comfort because I didn't have to fix them NOW and I figured if there was nothing else to eat, I guessed I could stomach eating some beans... if I had to in order to stay alive. I could never live with myself if I had to look my children in the eye and tell them I had nothing for them to eat when I could have... and should have done something about it. But one day I looked at my food storage and realized I had so many barrels of beans I was scared. I was scared of beans!!! How can I rotate through a food storage that I am scared of and have no idea how to use? How could I justify purchasing more of something I had no intention of eating soon when our grocery budget was tighter than ever and still tightening more? Eating beans wasn't anything new... it was the fact that these beans were dry beans. My mom had used dry beans in her meals which I may or may not have liked but I had started at ground zero in the cooking department and was learning my way through the kitchen. My time had come to conquer the DRY BEANS! Now I use them not just in soup recipes but I use them in many mexican recipes replacing the beef with them simply for the economy and health of them. I even make bean burgers that give the old frozen vegi-burger in the freezer case of the local grocery a run for its money. I've come a long way from ground zero.
I have heard many rumors about beans through the years and wondered about them. In spite of having delved in to use beans in our meals for several years figuring out certain tricks along the way I still had some of the same questions. How could I help answer other people's questions they were asking me about cooking with beans such as how can you prevent them from giving you gastrointestinal distress? If I salt them won't they be tough? But if I don't salt them will they have any flavor? What about the time involved in cooking with beans? These are some valid questions with some good news answers. I recently read an article in the December/January 2014 issue of Cooks Country that cleared up any questions I still had about beans. Putting this new information to the test combined with years of personal experience I am confident in coming up with a creamy, flavorful bean every time now.
Time vs. Money or the old adage "time IS money, money is time".
So quickly you should know that while beans are a cheap source of protein, dried beans are ridiculously cheap by comparison. That said, the location you purchase from and the packaging size can further influence the price you pay for those beans. And it doesn't hurt to keep a few CANS of beans on the shelf, either, for those days when even the best laid plans fall short. The price of a couple cans of beans on my shelf to provide a quick meal for 7 is NOTHING compared to the $35 + price tag on an unplanned trip through the McDonald's drive through.
Time, of course, is a resource just like money. The good news with using dried beans is that it doesn't have to take a lot of time. I am referring to "hands on" time. You DO need to plan ahead to use beans but the time it takes to prepare the beans is mostly hands off plus the only equipment needed is a basic Dutch Oven (fancy name for pot with lid). And I'm all for any simplicity I can get in my little kitchen.
Here are some simple Core Techniques in utilizing dried beans in your diet.
1.) SOAK or BRINE BEANS: While soaking beans overnight may be standard procedure that everyone knows about there is a LOT of confusion about brining them. Adding salt to your soaking beans not only seasons the beans but actually softens their skins as the sodium ions in the salt replace calcium and magnesium ions as the beans sit in the salty solution. Sodium ions weaken pectin which is the glue that holds the cells together and gives the cell walls of the bean strength. With the break down of the cell wall more water can then penetrate the bean making for a softer bean. Note that lentils do not need soaking.
Bottom line; Soak beans for 8-24 hours in brine solution of 3 Tbsp. salt and 4 quarts of water for every pound of most beans in most recipes. Use immediately. *** Unused brined beans may be rinsed and kept refrigerated for up to four days or may be frozen for several weeks. Think of this as "fast food" for upcoming meals. FAQ: What if I don't have time to soak the beans overnight? If you don't have any left over brined beans in the fridge or freezer then use a quick soak by bringing the beans, salt and water to a boil. Then turn off the heat and cover with lid letting them sit for one hour. Drain and rinse your beans after the one hour mark and proceed with your recipe. Still not fast enough? Simmer beans in 3 quarts of water with one Tbsp. baking soda for 20 minutes before draining, rinsing and proceeding with recipe. Remember though, an overnight brine will always produce the creamiest beans.
2.) SORT/RINSE BEANS: Bags of dried beans sometimes contain small stones and other debris called ditritus so pick through your beans as you rinse them in a colander with cold water. Really get in there with your hand and mix them around as you run them under the water. If you are really being overly thoughtful (or nervous) you can even spread the beans out on a towel or white plate to make sure that anything that should not be in the beans is spotted and discarded. I usually find that what doesn't belong is obvious.
Bottom line; Rinse those beans keeping eyes open for detritus. Eliminate the jokes and intestinal discomfort. Rinsing beans after soaking and cooking helps remove some of the broken down chains of carbohydrates which can otherwise cause gas and other digestive troubles.
3.) BEWARE of ACID: Contrary to popular myth, salting beans has NOTHING to do with tough beans but acidity does affect the bean. If the cooking liquid the beans are in is too acidic then beans will not soften no matter how many hours they spend bubbling on the stove top. A low pH (higher acid) actually has the opposite effect of brining and will strengthen the pectin in beans, making them tougher; a very low pH actually prevents them from cooking. It took a LOT of acid to cause a problem during testing. A primary acidic food we tend to cook with beans is... TOMATOES! In my own kitchen I have produced very creamy beans when brined with salt and rather tough ones when I added tomatoes too early to my non-brined beans that were boiling. Be safe! Add tomatoes to your recipe only when beans are nearly tender. If beans remain unsoftened despite all these measures then your beans were just too old (more than 10 years) or your water is too hard.
Store beans in a cool, dry place. I like to keep my dried beans as long term storage in plastic buckets with gamma seal lids that can be purchased at places like Home Depot but can be purchased in bulk (least expensively per lid) online. When I run low on beans upstairs in my kitchen I simply refill my canning jar from the buckets and they look somewhat chic sitting on my exposed shelves in the kitchen. Canning jars, also frequently called Mason jars, are the most economical way to store goods in glass. Highly functional, yet very attractive to display, they will keep moisture, bugs, and rodents from ruining your goods. LOVE canning jars!
My favorite beans to store are Great Northern, Black, Kidney and Pinto Beans. Pinto Beans can be purchased in bulk at Sam's Club.
There are hundreds of ways to take advantage of using dried beans in your diet. Now you are prepared for success the next time your recipe calls for beans.
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