Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Cooking Beans - Part 2

So, I borrowed this book from the library and was inspired to make some pinto beans. I'm tempted to buy this book but I'm not sure I really need it.



First I soaked the beans overnight, then covered them with fresh water and added an onion, some garlic and bay leaves and cooked them for around 1 1/2 hours. Here are my pintos after that.



I made a ton of beans, so I packed up two big containers of these beans and froze them. I'm thinking refried beans/nachos. Yum! I turned the rest of the beans into Druken Beans using a recipe from Heirloom Beans. I sauteed bacon, onions, jalapenos, garlic and mushrooms, and added them to the beans which I'd simmered with a beer, Drunken, right? Here are my Drunken Beans.




Don't they look great? I served them with cheese on top and cornbread and salad on the side. I really like Deborah Madison's basic cornbread recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Her method creates a really nice crust. I add-in grated cheese, diced jalapenos, and frozen corn.




My daughter said she was 100 thumbs up on the corn bread, but likes my black beans better. She was a little confused about the mushrooms.

Edited to add: Here is the direct link to the cornbread recipe, look at the bottom of the newsletter. I added one cup of grated cheese and a couple of diced jalapenos to the batter. I remove the pepper seeds, since I am feeding a little one.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to tell you that I do not like pinto beans, but your corn bread looks delicious.

Anonymous said...

I have never made homemade beans before....I like the fact that they seem a little spicy! The cornbread looks DELISH too!

Iliana said...

Mushrooms in beans? Now that is new to me. Sounds tasty though. And, the corn bread looks yummy.

Tara said...

bermudaonion, pintos are not my favorite either, but they tasted better (much better!) when I made them myself.

Rachael, it's kind of fun to cook beans, and a challenge to in a way! You feel as though you've conquered those dry beans when you're done. Thanks!

Iliana, it was new to me too, but it was in the recipe so I added it. I bet my girl would like it more if I'd just added onion/peppers/garlic/spices as I do with my black beans.

nutmeg said...

ANYTHING containing jalepenos is great! I have never made corn bread before - I will follow your link :-)

Tara said...

Nutmeg, I am going to add the link for the cornbread!

J.L. Danger said...

that cornbread looks fantastic!

Melissa said...

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is the cookbook I never want to be without. It's one of my favorites! Funny you mentioned it too, because this morning I just referenced it in an article I wrote.

Lesley said...

Oh my gosh, that all looks so good!

Tara said...

J.Danger, thanks!

B&B's Mommy, Isn't it a great book? I just love browsing through it. I think I must have similar taste to Deborah Madison b/c everything in all her books sounds good to me!

Lesley, thank you!