When I was a little girl growing up in SE Texas, my father worked at an oil refinery. Oil refinery workers belonged to Unions, and sometimes there were strikes, meaning no money came into the house for long periods of time. I learned at a young age the beauty of a dried bean and a pot of rice, and how to stretch the grocery dollar with what we called "Strike Menus." This experience prepared me well for lean times that occasionally came in adulthood. Given the state of the economy, I'm going to share with you a wonderful recipe from my childhood that can be used with any type of dried bean. Delicious and healthy! If you do it right, a pot of beans with rice as a side item, a pan of corn bread .. a week's worth of food for a family totaling about $5! Enjoy ---and save!
To take the "percussion" out of a pot of beans, you must start the soaking process the night before. Find a large bowl and fill it with water. Empty a bag of beans in the bowl of water, adding 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda. Stir the baking soda in, cover the beans with a dish towel, and do what you do until tomorrow. Be sure not to use salt in the soaking process. About 16 hours later, a lot of the "percussive" ingredients will have dissolved! Now drain and then rinse the beans 3 times.
Recipe (Any Type Beans) ½ T Baking Soda (for soaking process) 1 Bag of any type of bean 1 Onion (you do not have to have this) 2 Celery Stalks, chopped (you do not have to have this) 1-2 Garlic cloves (you do not have to have this) 1-2 Bay Leaves (you do not have to have this) 2 Chicken / Veggie Stock or Broth **Water can be substituted, but will require more seasoning **You will keep adding water and adjusting seasoning, so if you can afford the stock/broth, it will save you money in the long run 1 (Optional) Package of Turkey Sausage, sliced and added before serving. This recipe is fine meatless As Needed: Salt, Pepper, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Dales Sauce, Tabasco, Red Pepper Flakes, Soy Sauce, and/or basically any seasoning you have in your cupboard. Just about any seasoning will work! This is why it's inexpensive! Use what you have! The first time you make this you will wonder how it's going to work. It will work, just trust. Place your stove top slightly above medium high. Get out a stock pot (or a gumbo pot where I'm from) and … Remember now, you can skip this step if budget is tight: If you decide to use the onion, garlic and celery (called The Holy Trinity in my hometown), use about 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil (or any oil) and saute' the Trinity until onion is clear and vegetables are limp ... pour your stock/broth in with the Holy Trinity (or not) and then add your pre-soaked (non-percussive) beans. Start adding your seasonings and taste testing as you go. Remember, trust and have fun. Once you have it about right (to your personal taste), bring to a very slow boil, a simmer really, and let it cook. As it cooks, your broth will thicken slightly and become darker. The liquid will begin to cook down, so you will keep adding water or stock/broth as needed. You will need to readjust seasonings as you go. It's done when it's done. Your first try at this will be experimental. You cannot mess it up. If you are afraid you will mess it up, you have invested about $1.50 for the beans and whatever sale priced stock you used, if you even use it! Have fun with it. Make a pot of rice per package instructions. Get yourself a 49¢ box of cornbread or really save by buying some corn meal and making your own cornbread per package instructions. [I have a Cajun cornbread recipe that is to die for. Just ask if you want it!] If you can afford salad (we never could during strikes), then have one with this. You're done! Laissez les bons temps rouler