Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Beans and Legumes

Enjoyment wise, I think I would be fine with a mostly vegan diet. Preparation wise, I would fall short. First, I need to up my knowledge of what non-animal proteins have the most protein, iron, and calcium, areas I struggle with in my diet anyway. Second, a vegan diet, unless I succumb to pre-made things from co-ops and expensive grocers, requires a higher level of meal planning than I have put into action. I want to change this. I've mentioned my love of YouTube vlogs, and that I will follow a certain vlogger for a while, getting to know their lifestyle, and how they manage a lifestyle that seems compatible with my values and priorities. 

One such vlog is a young British couple, now living in Portugal with their  infant daughter and  spunky dog. 8 Miles form Home chronicles vegan couple Sasha and J, and they share often how they prepare meals on the fly, completely vegan, but what seems like relatively no fuss. Their pricey coffee and local pastry habit aside, their food consumption is thrifty with whole grains, hearty vegetables, and lots of legumes and beans. They also have some stand by's such as making "green juice" and roasting chick pea's with a little oil and chili peppers, both of which add a boost to their simple meals.
from@kichn
I bought my daughter a hummus cook book for Christmas, complete with recipe to make it from dry chick peas, almost always the most economical version, to using the hummus as an ingredient in falafel or burgers. I should have bought her a food processor as well, but I'm keeping an eye open for her, and for a replacement for mine that broke a couple years ago.  I do have a ninja blender, and it works well, but think hummus might be too much for it to handle. In the mean time though, I gave roasting canned chick peas a try Tuesday night. Surprisingly, my local grocery store didn't carry dry chick peas or garbanzo beans. First, I actually saved the chick pea water. Interestingly, the water/glop that is in the canned can be substituted for eggs in baking. Who knew? I used the liquid called, aquafaba, with a cake mix, oil, and the bits of white and semi sweet baking chips, into a pan of bars. 

Now, while I did not give up sugar for lent, we do not need to eat a whole pan of bars in the next two days so cut in squares and wrapped, most will go into the freezer. I'm going to use some of roastred the chick peas with some rice for my lunch today. I forgot  to snap pictures. This is from Hersheys.com. Yeah, mine looked just this nice. Fail on appearance but taste was good. Chocolate hides culinary sins.

I'm a navy bean fan. I've shared my  navy bean soup recipe  before.I once tried making baked beans from scratch, but not sure what I did wrong as the beans never fully got soft, and the sauce was moving to burnt. Perhaps I didn't soften the bean enough through pre-soaking. Advice? As I get more creative, or at least more "beany", I'll try and share my successes and failures.

9 comments:

  1. I failed in my attempt to make baked beans using dried haricot beans. From what I've read it's a common problem, maybe one that would be solved by using a pressure cooker, but as I find them very scary I've given up. I tend to make baked butter beans instead, much easier!

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    1. I keep hearing the new pressure cookers aren't scary, but they are so expensive, and I don't know if I would use enough to justify the cost. Plus, I';n with you, I still think I would be leery.

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  2. we've soaked beans and put them in the crock pot all day. That usually does the trick, but maybe it's the beans that we're getting.
    Good luck!
    I can't always eat beans, due to the side affects... But do enjoy a good ham and bean soup on occasion. I've could be vegan except I'd tweak it to include meat. ;)

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    1. I think my husband would be begging for a cow after a few days, but us girls would do fine. It s dairy-cheese, milk, yogurt we'd have to find substitutes for. Oh, and cream for my coffee.

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  3. My grandmother swore by this so I do it when I cook dry beans and it hasn't failed me yet. Rinse the beans in a colander and drain. Put them in a big pot with a lid and soak overnight. Before cooking drain and discard the liquid, add water to cover and cook on medium heat with the lid on. Works every time.

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    1. For soup, I have no problem, it is the baked versions. So I guess the key is to start with the cooked beans, like our smart grandmas knew to do!

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  4. As I'm reading this, I cook a vegan borscht with dry beans - simple and very yummy! I shared my recipe on my fb page recently. I'm like you - ready to go vegan, or at least pescetarian to begin with, but my family isn't ready to completely give up meats (we mostly eat chicken and turkey though). I'll look into your bean soup recipe.

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    1. Now I will need to find that recipe. Dairy is more my animal product vice. I love cheese, and I would have a hard time cutting that out, but meat, not really-if the vegetarian stuff was ready to go for me!

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  5. I took a vegan cookery course last month (it was a disaster - soup exploded all over the walls) and I wasn't impressed with the food, but am taking a Persian cookery course next month as, like you, I want to get more into veggies. I also have Thug Kitchen cook book (which is great apart from the foul language - why they have to swear all the time I don't know), and Oh She Glows - also good. I will check out the site you mention though, so thanks. Oh and I sat next to a young woman coming back from Greece in September and she said she had never had so much energy since becoming vegan - and THAT I believe, so it's probably worth a shot. Anna

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