Rethinking Beans and Rice.Docx

ReThinking Beans and Rice By Angi Schneider, Carol J. Alexander, Andrea Fabry, Tessa Zundel, Krystyna Thomas, Stephanie Stevens and Rebecca Shirk All contents copyright ©2014 Angi Schneider All rights reserved. This ebook is a collaborative effort by the authors to help those who are unemployed or underemployed. It is offered as a bonus to those who purchase Hope - Thriving While Unemployed during the first two weeks of its release date. Please do not distribute or copy this ebook without the expressed written consent of Angi Schneider. If in PDF form, it may be stored on your computer. This publication may be printed for personal use only. Disclaimer The information in this book is based on the authors’ opinion, knowledge and experience. The publisher and author will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information contained herein. Introduction This ebooklet is a collaborative effort on the part of SchneiderPeeps, Spring Mountain Living, The Homestead Lady, Everything Home With Carol, It Takes Time, MomPrepares and Letters From Sunnybrook. Our hope is that this ebooklet will help you spend less money on groceries without compromising nutrition. You do not have to eat cheap processed food just to stay within your budget. All of the contributors have blogs full of fun, frugal and (mostly) nutritious recipes. Please feel free to visit each blog linked above. Sometimes beans and rice (or rice and beans) get a bad rap. However, beans and rice can be a great way to stretch your grocery dollars. And, contrary to popular belief, the meals don’t have to be boring. Please use these recipes as a guide. If you don’t have one of the ingredients, try to find a substitute that you already own. For instance, maybe you don’t have red wine vinegar but you have apple cider vinegar, just use the apple cider vinegar and it will be fine. Yes, the taste will be a little different but you might just discover you like the substitute better. Some people have a hard time digesting legumes and grains; however, with soaking and proper preparation most people can eat them. To Soak or Not to Soak? Most people soak their beans in some way before they cook them; even if it’s just a one hour quick soak. How long you soak them will depend on your lifestyle and how well your family digests beans. The longer you soak them, the easier they are to digest. Also, if you put a splash of apple cider vinegar in the soaking water, that will help with digestion. Make sure that you drain the beans and cook them in fresh water. Some people also soak their grains. Some of the recipes in this book are for soaked grains; others are not. Do what works for your family. How to Get Five Meals from One Pot of Pinto Beans by Angi Schneider of SchneiderPeeps 1 big pot – I use a 20 qt. electric Roasting Oven 4 lbs. pinto beans Lots of water garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper and onion powder (optional) Rinse beans really well. Put beans in the pot (I use the roasting oven pan) and cover with water. Let sit overnight. In the morning drain the water and cover with fresh water. (You can also do a quick soak – Put beans in pot, cover with water and bring to a boil, turn off heat and let sit for an hour. After an hour drain water and fill pot with fresh water. ) Cook beans (gentle boil) for another 2 hours or so, making sure they stay covered with water. They are ready when they are soft. You can add your seasonings at any time but I do it after the beans are soft (about 4 tbsp. of each garlic powder, cumin, chili powder; about 2 tbsp. salt and 1tbsp. each pepper and onion powder). warning: if you choose to put salsa or any tomato product in your beans do NOT add it until the beans are soft or else you can cook them for 2 days and they still won’t get soft. You can use these beans in a variety of ways, we usually eat them the first night with cornbread. Then I take the leftover beans and put them in containers (usually quart size) and put them in the freezer. Over the week we will make… Taco Soup 1 lb of meat 1 quart of cooked beans 1 can of diced tomatos 1 can of corn 1 packet taco seasonings (or just more of what you put in the beans) 1 small can of tomato paste (optional – my family likes it more like chili than a soup) Mix everything together and heat. If I’m feeling generous I’ll serve it with some grated cheese and maybe even some tortilla chips. Taco Salad Tortilla Chips Beans Cooked ground beef lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, grated cheese, sour cream and salsa Put chips on a plate and crunch them. Add beans, meat and whatever toppings you want and enjoy. Chalupas (Taco Bell calls these Tostadas, I’m not sure why) You can either buy chalupa shells already cooked or you can fry your own (they are just corn tortilla that are fried flat). Mash your beans and put them on the shell along with lettuce, tomato, etc. and enjoy. Bean Burritos (we eat these for lunch 3-4 times a week) Beans Flour or corn tortillas lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, grated cheese and salsa Put the beans in a skillet and mash them (or in a food processor). Heat tortillas, put some beans on them along with some lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and grated cheese. (Sometimes we have all of these things, sometimes we have only beans and tortillas, they’re still yummy.) Gluten-free Fermented Dosas by Andrea Fabry of It Takes Time While there are several steps to this recipe – it’s much easier than it appears! Soak, ferment, and cook your way to this fun addition to any meal! First stage Second Stage ½ cup lentils 1-2 teaspoons salt 1½ cups white rice ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 1½ cups filtered water Third Stage 2 tablespoons turmeric bug (optional) Ghee, butter, lard, red palm oil or any natural fat of choice 1. Place rice, lentils and filtered water in mason jar. 2. Cap tightly. (An airlock may be used.) 3. Soak for 8-12 hours. 4. Drain – be sure to save the soaking water! 5. Using a food processor, process the rice and lentils in food processor. (you will get a better texture by processing before adding the soaking water.) 6. Add soaking water and process again. 7. Stir in salt and cayenne pepper. (Other suggested spices include cilantro, cumin, ground pepper, turmeric.) 8. Pour mixture back into mason jar. 9. Cap tightly. (Or use airlock.) 10. Ferment 12-24 hours. 11. Heat pan on stove with a thick layer of fat. Heat until very hot. 12. Spoon approximately ¼ cup batter onto pan. 13. Cook for 1-2 minutes until you see bubbles. 14. Turn. (I like to drizzle fat on top before turning.) 15. When you are confident it has cooked, release with spatula and serve! How to Make Hummus by Carol J. Alexander of Everything Home With Carol First, you need to assemble your ingredients. I’ve always made hummus with garbanzo beans, but this time around I wanted to try black beans. Oooh, I am ever so glad I did. It is absolutely fantastic. I started the day before with dry beans. After sorting and washing, I put them in a pot, covered with water, and brought to a boil. After boiling for five minutes, I turned them off and let them sit, covered, until evening. Before going to bed, I drained the beans and put them in my crockpot. I added fresh water and set the pot on low. In the morning, they’re done. If you don’t want to use dried beans, you can use canned or frozen. This is what I normally use. Besides the beans, you will need tahini, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil–at least. A few optional ingredients are garlic, paprika and parsley. Here is the recipe I use: 2 cups of cooked beans 1/3 cup of tahini 1 tsp salt (I use Real Salt) 1 tbsp of olive oil 1/8-1/4 cup of lemon juice 1/8-1/4 cup of water {What is tahini, you ask? Oh, silly me. That’s another one of those Arabic words. It just means ground sesame seeds. It’s like natural peanut butter. When you get it, the oil might be on top and you’ll have to stir it in. } After you have everything gathered, just measure and dump into a mixing bowl or other large container. I like to use my 1 quart measuring cup. Then, I use my stick blender and whip it all up. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can use a blender. Personally, I don’t like blenders because I find I have to keep stopping and stirring. Now, for my secret ingredient. After this was all whipped to the right consistency, I stirred in a half jar of my home-canned sweet red peppers. Oh, the flavor of those peppers is beyond words. And it permeates the beans so that you have the perfect mixture of sweet and tart. Well, there you have it. Easy peasy. And delicious. Please try making hummus yourself. I like to spread it on toast for breakfast or crackers for an afternoon snack.

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