Comfort beans?
Posted by yabbitgirl on Oct 07, 2007 · Member since Apr 2006 · 14266 posts
The weather is getting chilly here and I'm soaking some black beans for tomorrow. What are some of your favourite "comfort food" bean dishes for cold weather? I loooove blackbean hummus, but I'd like something hot.
Black Bean Soup - This is a recipe I've had around for a looooong time. My mom found it in a TVGuide. It was sent in by Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it's seriously good!
1 lb dried black beans, rinsed and sorted
10 C water
1/4 C olive oil (I use less, probably half that amount)
1 1/2 C chopped onion
1 1/2 C chopped green pepper
4 lg garlic cloves, smashed
4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp vinegar
Saute onion, pepper, and garlic in the olive oil in bottom of pressure cooker, till tender. Add beans, water, salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaf, and sugar. Stir, close pressure cooker. Bring to high pressure, then let cook for 40 minutes (though I usually cook for 45). Let pressure come down, then stir in vinegar.
*If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak beans overnight, then cook following directions, letting soup simmer until beans are tender.
I love 15 bean soup, it's a mixture of all kinds of beans, split peas, lentils, etc cooked with garlic, onion, tomato sauce, herbs and spices and diced tomatoes. It reminds me a lot of beef stew but tastier and healthier :} Usually the recipe on bags of mixed beans is for this soup, i just add more tomatoes and subtract any meat and it works out really well.
For comfort food bean dishes, I like the following:
Romanian Mashed Beans from this site http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8786 is so simple and delicious, served with a cabbage and potato dish like Bubble & Squeak http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=11318.
Alison's Famous Easy Pea Soup from this site http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10413 is pretty tasty.
This Minestrone from this site, which I usually make with garbanzo and kidney beans, is fabulous http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=9970
I also adore the Injudra from this site http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=4898. (As you can see in my recipe comments, I change this one up just a bit and serve with Sunflower Seed Sour Cream http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6912.0.)
Bryanna Clark Grogan also has a couple wonderful bean soups, Monastery Lentil Soup and Navy Bean Soup http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/1964635.htm (Scroll toward the bottom of the page.)
Of course, chili of all sorts is terrific in cold weather. I often don't use a recipe for chili, but I did see this one called Delicious Vegetarian Chili posted recently on a fitness forum (originally posted on Allrecipes.com as The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World) which sounds really good http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Vegetarian-Chili-in-the-World/Detail.aspx.
I almost forgot it, but I love the Border Beans recipe from Fatfreevegan.com http://www.fatfreevegan.com/beans/border.shtml. There are a bunch of other great bean recipes here, too.
lately i've been in the mood for something kind of like this, except with black beans:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=11620.0.
in fact there's a can of black beans, and a can of corn waiting to be used in a delicious spicy soup.
let us know if you end up doing anything delicious yabbit :)
The recipe in this post is fantastic:
http://fieldtofeast.blogspot.com/2007/04/home-baked-beans.html
Black Bean Soup - This is a recipe I've had around for a looooong time. My mom found it in a TVGuide. It was sent in by Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it's seriously good!
i don't believe it. this is the most ridiculous explanation of how someone acquired a recipe i have ever heard.
Black Bean Soup - This is a recipe I've had around for a looooong time. My mom found it in a TVGuide. It was sent in by Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it's seriously good!
i don't believe it. this is the most ridiculous explanation of how someone acquired a recipe i have ever heard.
I know! But it's completely true, I swear!! Ask my mom!
My best way of making comforting black beans is to saute a chopped small onion with a couple cloves of garlic. I then add two cans of black beans, or about 3 1/2 cups cooked dry beans, along with maybe 3/4 cup veg. broth, a splash of lemon juice, and about a teaspoon of cumin. Simmer for 30 minutes, then mash up some of the beans (or all, if you like a smooth texture) salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
My husband really likes these black beans with cilantro pesto and brown rice, but they are also good in burritos or by themselves. They are so quick and easy, which is great because I think black beans are the ultimate comfort food.
I love cooking pinto beans with onion soup mix - the Knorr kind, with dehydrated onions and whatnot. I cook the beans and soup mix until the beans start breaking down, becoming creamy. That with some fried cabbage and a thick slice of bread.
Or, barbequed lentils - lentils, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and a favorite barbeque sauce (I prefer a spicy vinegar heavy one for this). With cornbread.
Beans are the ultimate in comfort food. The possibilities are endless.
Golly, you guys are the best. Kudos!!
Willwolf, I am thrilled to see you answered my post. Your screenname intrigued me from my very first day on VW and your posts are always full of wisdom and great info. I haven't seen you post for awhile so double thankyou.
The new brand of beans I bought swelled up MAJOR big after soaking so I have plenty for some soup and something else!
Now, which one...decisions, decisions...
This recipe for Black Bean Pizza is delish:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8077.0
I have even been able to find mashed black beans in the can at the store, but I think that is because there is a high Mexican-American population here. But is is great, but a little labor instesive to mash the black beans, I suggest using a fork, that seems to work the best.
Don't they have potato mashers any more? LOL
What I finally did was, I cooked the beans and then fried up the "pizza toppings" in the recipe Snow Queen suggested, and mixed in the beans. Made some grits to put under it, with a little hot sauce. I was too tired to make pizza dough and I wanted hot "spoon food" today.
BUT I am definitely copying this thread for future reference. Y'all rock!
Aw, yabbitgirl, thanks for your kind words. I'm not sure if I ever explained my screenname here. Willwolf is a combination of two of my beloved past feline companions, Wolfgang and Willie, who've now moved on to their next gigs. Wolfgang was the best cat in the whole wide world and my best friend. Willie was an awesome cat who slept with his head right on the pillow with the covers pulled up on him, just like a human.
I guess I never actually gave any black bean ideas in my previous post, but here are a couple for next time around:
Anne's Favorite Tortilla Soup http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10020.0
Mmmm Mmmm Mexicali http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8173
My all time favorite comfort bean dish is a spicy chili with as many different types of beans that I can fit into the pot. With cornbread. Yum!
Black Bean Soup - This is a recipe I've had around for a looooong time. My mom found it in a TVGuide. It was sent in by Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it's seriously good!
i don't believe it. this is the most ridiculous explanation of how someone acquired a recipe i have ever heard.
I know! But it's completely true, I swear!! Ask my mom!
i refuse to believe arnold eats anything but steak. he thinks he needs it to maintain his muscle mass, and he doesn't care that it is environmentally unfriendly.
Are you telling me what to say???!
Seriously, though. Arnold's black bean soup. I could not even make that up. I'm too drug-addicted, and all.
Are you telling me what to say???!
Seriously, though. Arnold's black bean soup. I could not even make that up. I'm too drug-addicted, and all.
i really believe you, i just like to poke fun at the governator anytime i get the chance.
I know it. That soup is goooood, though, even though it was Ah-nahld's recipe!
I have a hard time believing Ah-nahld eats black bean soup too. I imagine him saying in a restaurant..."Just have the cow walk right up to my table and drop dead."
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