Beans, Greens, and In-Betweens
I've been craving white beans lately. I just love how versatile they are. You can make them into a hummus, thicken a creamy sauce with them, add them to a creamy soup base or gravy, they're even delicious in a sandwich. Today I'm going to prep a batch. It looks as though both my kale and cabbage have survived the frost, so I'm going to harvest some of them, as well as a few other projects that will set me up well for a busy week. All the while, catching up on some weekend radio shows while my hands are busy.
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| Soaked White Beans |
Sunday's Menu:
White Beans ala Pressure Cooker
White beans, water
Roasted Kabocha
Kabocha squash, salt, oil
Harvesting Garden Greens
Kale, cabbage, water
Sprout Starts
Alfalfa seeds, water
Soaked Almonds
Almonds, water
Add water and soaked beans to pressure cooker-do not add salt! Cook for 15 minutes once the cooker has reached high pressure.
I've been trying to figure out the right water to soaked bean ratio for my pressure cooker. I know that if I put 2 cups of dried beans in, 5 cups of water will make perfect beans. However, if I take 2 cups of dried beans and soak them, they become 5 cups of soaked beans. Today I learned that 4 cups of water is way too much to cook 5 cups of soaked beans.
It's tricky because it's chaotic if you have too much water in your pressure cooker, but dangerous in a different way if you don't have enough water. I think next time I'm going to try 2.5 cups of water to 5 cups of soaked beans. My suspicion is 2 cups is the perfect amount, but I want to be conservative when experimenting.
Mmmmmm.... The final half of my kabocha squash. I once again preheated my oven to 400 degrees, chopped the squash into 1-2 inch pieces keeping the peel on, placed them in a pan with salt and a high heat oil, and cooked them covered for about 20 min until they were soft. Then let them crisp uncovered for the last 10 minutes. Now they're ready to add to my stir-fries and pasta for the rest of the week!
It's always dark when I get home from work this time of year, and I have no motivation to put on a headlamp and pick greens from the back yard. That's why I picked some leaves during the early afternoon sun today, so that I'll have washed, fresh kale in my fridge the rest of the week. To be efficient, I always use a large bowl with a little bit of water to rinse them.
I'm having good luck starting a round of alfalfa sprouts about every week. That's about how long they take to get delicious. My mustard sprouts are coming along, too. They will both be great on sandwiches and toast this week. (I love it when the seeds get stuck to the bubbles.)
I began soaking some almonds to turn into almond milk later this week. If I wanted to pulp them tomorrow, they'd be ready. I think tomorrow will be hectic though, so more likely I'll change the water out and wait a few days to finish making the milk. That also allows the almonds to sprout.
People's Coop:
Bulk White Beans 2.59/lb
Kabocha Squash 1.49/lb
Bulk Alfalfa Seeds (?)
New Seasons/Fred Meyers:
Bulk Almonds 5.99/lb
Back Yard:
Kale Leaves n/a
Cabbage Leaves n/a
Soaked Almonds
Almonds, water
White Beans (30 minutes)
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| Pressure Cooker in Action |
Add water and soaked beans to pressure cooker-do not add salt! Cook for 15 minutes once the cooker has reached high pressure.
I've been trying to figure out the right water to soaked bean ratio for my pressure cooker. I know that if I put 2 cups of dried beans in, 5 cups of water will make perfect beans. However, if I take 2 cups of dried beans and soak them, they become 5 cups of soaked beans. Today I learned that 4 cups of water is way too much to cook 5 cups of soaked beans.
It's tricky because it's chaotic if you have too much water in your pressure cooker, but dangerous in a different way if you don't have enough water. I think next time I'm going to try 2.5 cups of water to 5 cups of soaked beans. My suspicion is 2 cups is the perfect amount, but I want to be conservative when experimenting.
Roasted Kabocha (30-40 minutes)
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| Chopped Kabocha with Peel |
Mmmmmm.... The final half of my kabocha squash. I once again preheated my oven to 400 degrees, chopped the squash into 1-2 inch pieces keeping the peel on, placed them in a pan with salt and a high heat oil, and cooked them covered for about 20 min until they were soft. Then let them crisp uncovered for the last 10 minutes. Now they're ready to add to my stir-fries and pasta for the rest of the week!
Garden Greens (10 minutes)
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| January Garden Kale |
It's always dark when I get home from work this time of year, and I have no motivation to put on a headlamp and pick greens from the back yard. That's why I picked some leaves during the early afternoon sun today, so that I'll have washed, fresh kale in my fridge the rest of the week. To be efficient, I always use a large bowl with a little bit of water to rinse them.
 |
| Kale Washed in Bowl |
Sprout Starts (5 minutes)
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| Alfalfa Seeds Soaking |
I'm having good luck starting a round of alfalfa sprouts about every week. That's about how long they take to get delicious. My mustard sprouts are coming along, too. They will both be great on sandwiches and toast this week. (I love it when the seeds get stuck to the bubbles.)
Soaked Almonds (5 minutes)
 |
| Almonds Soaking |
I began soaking some almonds to turn into almond milk later this week. If I wanted to pulp them tomorrow, they'd be ready. I think tomorrow will be hectic though, so more likely I'll change the water out and wait a few days to finish making the milk. That also allows the almonds to sprout.
Today's Plastic Free Local Shopping List:
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| Sunflower Sprouts at the Peoples Coop |
People's Coop:
Bulk White Beans 2.59/lb
Kabocha Squash 1.49/lb
Bulk Alfalfa Seeds (?)
New Seasons/Fred Meyers:
Bulk Almonds 5.99/lb
Back Yard:
Kale Leaves n/a
Cabbage Leaves n/a
Nice to see that pressure cooker at work!
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