Tip Tuesday

Tip Tuesday
Dry Beans

Yes, this is the dry bean addition. I can hear you now... I don't have time for dry beans...They never turn out...They take too long to cook...They always turn out a little crunchy. Yes, yes, I know. I have felt this way too, until I stumbled upon a little secret. Now I am going to pass it on to you.

But first, as you know canned beans are expensive. Yes, they are easy to use, open the can, dump, season and warm - done. Yes, that is very easy. You may not realize that dry beans, with a little thinking can be that easy too. Now I have heard, from a reliable source, that canning beans make there use very easy too. It makes them like your canned beans, but cheaper. But I'm not a canner. I'd like to be, but don't have it in me at this time to do it. So I don't. But I can save money and make beans quick.

You should find a "fast cook" method on the back of your bag of dried beans. If you don't have that here is what you do.

1. Sort and rinse1 bag of beans. I seldom sort my beans. However, there have been times when I have found bits of dirt in the bag. I usually look as I'm pouring them into the colander to rinse them.
2. Put beans into a pot. Cover with 8 cups of HOT water.
3. Here's my added tip. Add 1/2 teaspoon on baking soda to the bean pot.
4. Bring beans to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for at least 1 hour. The baking soda will cause the beans to foam quite a bit.
5. When you are ready to cook the beans, drain and rinse the beans and wash the pan to remove the baking soda.
6. Pour the beans back into the pan and cover again with 8 cups of HOT water. Bring to a boil andsimmer until tender.

Tada! All done. I find it takes between 30minute to 1 hour to get them tender. Check after 30 minutes. You can blow on the beans to see if they are done. The skin will split when you blow on them. I however, just bite into them. That way I can feel the texture of the meat of the bean and get it to my liking. It's about 2 cups cooked beans to 1-15 oz can of beans. I usually cook up the whole bag and freeze part of it. That way when I need them fast I can just pull them from the freezer, put them in a sauce pan and thaw/warm them up. Cover with cooking water when freezing them.

There seems to be something about the baking soda that makes them softer and cook faster. It also seems to make them a little less musical, if you get my drift.

Do you have any hits about beans? Let us know!