Cool beans! (and vegetables)

Ahem, an incantation:

"Beans, beans, the magical fruit,
The more you eat,
The more you..."

...FLATULATE??? No ma'am, not if you know how to properly cook the stuff!

Magic trick #1: Soak the beans a good looooong time (like, overnight)
Magic trick #2: Cook beans in water with one of the following additions (depending on recipe): kombu (seaweed), cumin, or a bay leaf.
Magic trick #3: For really hard to cook beans (like soy beans, or those dried beans that have been sitting in your pantry since mastodons roamed midtown Manhattan) add a large pinch of baking soda to the water. This will ensure that the beans get cooked all the way to the center.
Magic trick #4: I know some people are really into their low-fat living, but for cryingoutloud add some fat to your beans (coconut oil, EVOO, lard, whatev.) - it's a digestive aid that'll help you not only to fart less but also to absorb all the nutritious stuff in the beans.

Okay. Enough Beans 101. Time to get cooking:

Black-Eyed Pea Salad (copyright (c) Jenny Matthau, Natural Gourmet Institute)

- 1 c. black-eyed peas, soaked (measure them out pre-soaking, not post)
- 3 c. water
- 1 tbsp. mustard
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tbsp. cider vinegar
- sea salt to taste
- 1/4 c. EVOO
- 1/2 c. reconstituted & chopped sundried tomatoes
- 3 scallions, minced
- 1/4 c. parsley, minced

Drain those beans, rinse 'em, then put beans and water together in a pot and bring to boil. Lower the heat and cook until the beans are cooked through but still have a bite (salad beans are tough - keep at it, and err on the side of overcooked cause talk about gas...). Once finished, drain beans and place in a large bowl to cool.

Mix together the next 5 ingredients and pour over the warm beans.

When the beans are cooled, toss with the vegetables and serve.

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Bonus picture:


Holy brussel sprouts, Batman!

I've been gleefully toting these magical wands of MMM! home from the Union Square greenmarket. Talk about whole foods!