Unfortunately, my first several rounds of cooking dried beans I boiled them to smithereens. They turned into a soupy, mushy bean mess. The biggest problem being that the hulls did not survive the boil.
The experience left me downtrodden. Discouraged. Disheartend.
Then one day while perusing the www I came across this super informative blog post about cooking dried beans or peas in the slow cooker.
Life changing.
You can soak them or not soak them. Usually I don't soak.
Simply place dried beans in slow cooker, fill with water, throw in a couple teaspoons of salt, and set on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8.
And your done. Perfect, hull-intact legumes. Eat them right away or freeze them in plastic containers for a later date.
With this particular batch, I made black-eyed pea hummus with 1/2 of the peas and froze the rest. Recipe here. I loved it.
Dried beans are your very best friend when you know how to cook them correctly. Enjoy.
Thank you thank you! I don't know you and you don't know me, but I just love your blog. I saw the post title in my reader and I thought, THIS is something that I can use! Ha!
ReplyDeleteHuh! This is brilliant, SB! I don't always read your blog, but I saw where you'd cross-posted this on Facebook and was intrigued. I've been looking for a no-fuss way to cook dried beans and this is just perfect. Totally going to try it this week, especially now that the weather is getting colder. Plus, the crockpot is my best friend on days when I'm busy at work but still need to feed the family. Btw, your blog looks lovely and I'll look forward to checking it out more often. Hope all is well with you and your family!
ReplyDeleteI am SO happy you posted how to cook beans! The few times I've tried, mine are severely undercooked. I understand your feelings of disappointment, discouragement, downtrodden! Been there! I'm excited to try this, and also to make your hummus. I don't particularly care for Black Eyed Peas, but this will be a great way to sneak them into all of our diets :) Hope you and your cute family are doing well!
ReplyDeleteIf you cook them in a little chicken broth they are flavorful. I tried this after reading about it on Planted By Streams blog. I think she links to even another blog. You would like Planted By Streams - she is an Auburn alum and pastor's wife. Check it out. I now freeze beans in 1.5 cups per plastic bag which is equivilant to one can of beans - makes recipes that call for a can of beans easy! Love your blog! Keeley
ReplyDeleteI totally do this in the summer and set my crockpot outside to keep the heat out of the house.
ReplyDeleteYum. My kids LOVE black eyed peas plain with salt and butter :)
always soak and RINSE , makes beans and peas easier to digest then use minced garlic, ham and bacon. Lastly, cook slow
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