Pinch A Penny- Got Room For a Legume?

What about peas? Maybe a lentil or chickpea or two? For the sake of our penny pinching quest, designed to help the helpless (i.e. any human who has to eat) make their food budget go farther, we continue on with dried legumes. A quick lesson in agriculture here will include the fact that all beans are legumes, but not all legumes are beans.

For the absolutely culinary challenged, like yours truly, dried beans are a bit more intimidating than anything pre-cooked. Fear not! The dried beans may be a tad more complicated, but are quite manageable. There are advantages to purchasing dried beans. They won’t roll off the shelf and mash your foot like the canned ones will (or was that just me?) and they are also much less expensive. Besides being more of a bargain, there are also a much larger variety of dried beans to be had.

Go gourmet or heirloom. Retailers and savvy shoppers are again appreciating the taste heirloom varieties of all types of produce, but legumes are seeing a comeback as well. With consumers looking for low fat, low calorie and nutritious ways of putting protein into their diets, bean dishes featuring specialty varieties are back on menus in homes and restaurants everywhere.

Other parties are pursuing the development of legumes into recipes for other health reasons. Sufferers of celiac disease and diabetes have excellent results incorporating legume-based recipes into their diets. Celiac disease causes intolerance to gluten, which is found in most grains. Flours made from ground beans and other legumes provide those afflicted with an opportunity to eat baked goods again.

Legumes, particularly lentils, are very low on the glycemic index, which is great news for diabetics, who must also strictly control their diet. Most grain products like breads and pastas will raise blood sugar levels and can be downright dangerous for diabetics. Legumes offer a whole new array of tasty food choices without the complications of the blood sugar rollercoaster that traditional grains do.

All beans are not created equal. Soybeans are special. They are a complete protein, which is one reason they are so popular in Asian foods like tofu and Edamame. Many beans have alternate names, so don’t let that throw you. For instance, the rascally Lima bean is also known as the Butter bean or the Madagascar bean. Whatever you call it, the five year old in me still doesn’t want to eat the darn thing. But, I digress…Your Lima/Butter/Madagascar beans (and other legume varieties) are short an amino acid so are incomplete proteins. To make them complete, simply add a grain based food such as bread or a rice dish.

Many types of beans have alternate, regional names. Local or heirloom varieties may be one of a kind and rare, so grab those while you can. A few have trademarked names. Pretty much all beans can be used interchangeably in recipes, but there are some varieties that are better suited to some methods of cooking than others. Dried beans simply need to soak overnight in plenty of water before they can be cooked. A quick soak method is to use 6 cups of water per 1 pound of beans, boil for 5 minutes and then soak at least one hour, then cook on medium to low heat until tender.

An alternate method is to dust off that crock pot you’ve been wondering what to do with and soak and cook beans in it one step. You can start either of the following recipes first thing in the morning, or better yet, get things rolling the night before by soaking the beans right in the crock pot. Rinse them in the morning, dump in the ingredients, turn the crock pot on low, and go about your day. The crock pot does the work and you don’t. Even stirring is optional. It almost doesn’t get any easier than that.

“What a Crock” One Step Baked Beans

2 c small white beans

1 onion, diced

3/4 c brown sugar

½ c ketchup

¼ c molasses

2 t cider vinegar

1 ½ t salt

1 t mustard

¼ t pepper

1 can diced tomatoes

Rinse beans, fill crock pot with water. Cook overnight on low.

Drain in morning. Add other ingredients and water to cover. Cook on low at least 4 hours.

Hearty Ham Hock & Beans

2 c beans

2 ham hocks

1 onion sliced thick

2 cloves garlic, pressed

Wash and cook beans until almost done, on medium heat, keeping covered with water. Add ham hocks, onion, garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with salad and a hearty bread.

For more recipes and information, try the following websites: