Trust No One and Make No Beans About it!

One of the most important things we’ve learned so far is to trust no one.  Eating at restaurants is at best a game of roulette.  At worst, it’s a game of Russian roulette.  OK, maybe we won’t die, but the pain a good dose of hidden wheat or gluten causes makes my wife feel like she’s dying.

We have a favorite Mexican restaurant we trust, but we have to be very careful of what we order and so far, the wheat/gluten intolerance isn’t so severe that we have to worry about cross contamination from cooking surfaces.  But I have been sorely tempted to ask if I could watch the food prep.  (Mostly because the food is so good)

You can’t ask to watch food prep when you are buying packaged foods, however.  Many, many products labeled as Gluten-Free just aren’t.  As I mentioned yesterday, some ingredients like monosodium glutamate are bad.  Below is a list I found which includes many ingredients to be on the lookout for(you can click all pics to enlarge them):

http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/allergy/wheat.html

Read the labels or better yet, cook it yourself.  I personally did not have to throw any jars of MSG in the trash when I was cleaning our cupboards.

That seems like a lot of don’ts.  When Cristy is getting bummed reading the labels on food she used to eat, she tends to yell, “Wheat is in Everything!!!”

Not really, Sweetie.  There are plenty of good things to eat that are both gluten free and high fiber.  Beans are a great place to start!

Beans do NOT contain wheat or gluten, are very high in insoluble fiber (the one we have trouble getting enough of) and luckily for us, taste great.  We both like beans.  And, there are lots of different kinds of beans and tons of bean recipes.

Hey!  How did they get in there? Don’t worry, they’re gluten free!

I’m going to start with two kinds of beans today: Fava and Pinto.  I was just going to make Fava beans, but it’s going to be a six day project so Pinto beans are my back up plan.

 

First things first.  All beans need to be sorted and rinsed.  I like to dump a pound of beans on a cookie sheet and wade through them with my fingers a row or two at a time.

Remove anything that looks weird.  Rocks, ugly beans (they won’t grow into swans), loose bean skins. You know.  Things that you don’t want to include in your dish.

Rinse the beans thoroughly.  There were rocks and clumps of dirt in that collection dish.

And finally, soak or quick soak the beans depending on the recipe you’re using.

That’s the basics and they need to be done for all types of beans whether they are fresh, frozen or dried.  I rarely use canned beans anymore because the dried are much less expensive.

Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart!  Indeed they are.  And they’re good for your colon too.  Let’s cook some:

Lupini Beans (Fava beans in brine)

I’ve been looking for a recipe for these for a long time.  As a kid, I used to eat them with my mother who was part Italian.  They were just a nice salty snack and a very rare treat.  Who knew they were good for me too?

1 or more pounds of Fava beans (these keep for weeks)

Water

Salt

Sort beans and pick out the stuff you don’t want to eat like rocks and dirt and ugly beans. 

Rinse them really well under running water and put them in a pot of fresh water to soak overnight (about 8 hours).  Drain, rinse again and then put them back in the pot with enough water to cover them by about 3 inches.  Bring to a boil, reduce temperature to low and simmer for one (1) hour.

Drain again, rinse and then put them in a container that will hold the beans with some room to spare.  I made room in the fridge for the pot.

Mix enough salt water to cover the beans in the container.  Use about 1 tablespoon salt per quart of water.  Refrigerate.

Change the salt water every day for 5 days or until the brine is no longer bitter.  The brining process removes the alkaloids normally destroyed through cooking.  They will cause some very serious gastric distress if not broken down.

Mom and I just popped them out of the skins and ate them like peanuts.  You can also skin them (they slip out of the skin pretty easily after brining), add some olive oil and pepper and serve them that way.  I'm going to try to can some.  Use your imagination.  Skip the liver.

Refried Beans or Frijoles Refritos

This is just a very versatile dish that goes with everything.  Spread some on a corn tortilla, slap a serving down in the middle of a salad or just enjoy a pile in a bowl with a spoon.

2 ½ cups dry pinto beans

3 quarts water

½ cup chopped onion (optional)

2 Tbsp pork lard, bacon fat or olive oil (I like to fry a little bacon and add enough soybean oil to make up the difference)

¼ cup water

Salt to taste

Sort, rinse well and cook beans in water.  I put them in a pot and cover them by several inches with filtered water.  Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours.  Beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just starting to split.  Strain the beans.  I like to do a gentle rinse at this point.

In a large skillet (I use a cast iron skillet for these) cook the onions and oil/lard until the onions are translucent.  Add the strained beans and about ¼ cup water.  You may need to add a little more water to the skillet.  With a potato masher, mash the beans until they are a rough purée.  Add enough additional water to keep the fried beans from drying out or getting too thick.  Add salt to taste.

As always, use your imagination!  Add cheese, make a bean dip, or just enjoy them the way they are.

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” -- Truman Capote