Quote:
Originally Posted by Meditrina
I had a spinach salad for lunch today. With Gorgonzola cheese, cranberries, grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, and raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Then I looked at my soda. Not caffeine free.  I remembered what Aberkok said, and switched to water. I think I could actually do that on a regular basis. |
That sounds really yummy.
Don't be afraid of legumes! Canned legumes are easy but they're usually also full of unnecessary sodium. I suggest learning how to cook from dried--it's easier than you think, and cheaper than buying beans in cans. However, I do not recommend trying to cook kidney beans from dried until you've mastered cooking beans from dried; kidney beans give off a toxin if they're not cooked correctly.
Mark Bittman's methods for cooking dried beans:
Cooking Beans the Quick-Soak Way from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
1 lb. dried beans or split peas (picked over and washed)
salt and pepper
1) Put the beans in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and cover with cold water by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil and boil the beans, uncovered, for about 2 minutes. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the beans soak for about 2 hours.
2) Taste a bean. If it's tender (it won't be done), add a large pinch of salt and several grinds of black pepper and make sure the beans are covered with about an inch of the soaking water (if not, add a little water). If the beans are still raw, don't add salt yet and cover with about 2 inches of water.
3) Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat so the beans bubble gently. Partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, checking the beans for doneness every 10-15 minutes, and adding water as necessary. If you haven't added salt yet, add it when the beans are just turning tender. Stop cooking when the beans are done the way you like them, taste and adjust the seasoning, and use immediately or store.
Cooking Beans the No-Soak Way from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Mark notes: This is the only method you need for lentils and split peas.
My note: This still works for regular dried beans--it just takes a couple hours to cook the beans. To be honest, I've had batches of beans that have soaked that took as long to cook as beans I didn't soak.
1 lb. dried beans, split peas, or lentils, washed and picked over
salt and pepper
1) Put the beans in a large pot with a tight fitting lid and cover with cold water by 2-3 inches. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the beans bubble gently. Partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, checking the beans for doneness every 10-15 minutes, adding more water as necessary.
2) When the beans start to get tender, add a large pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. As the beans get closer to being finished, they need to be covered with only an inch or two of water. Stop cooking when the beans are done the way you like them, taste and adjust the seasoning, and either use immediately or store.
Cooking Beans, the Long-Soak Way from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Mark notes: A long soak, to him, is 8-12 hours. Anything more and the beans will get mushy quickly when cooking.
1 lb. dried beans, washed and picked over
salt and pepper
1) Put the beans in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and and cover with cold water by several inches. Let them soak for 8-12 hours.
2) Drain the beans and return them to the pot. Check a bean for doneness. If it's tender but not yet done, add a large pinch of salt and several grinds of black pepper and make sure the beans are covered by about an inch of water. If the beans are still raw, don't add salt and cover with 2 inches of water.
3) Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the beans bubble gently. Partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, checking the beans for doneness every 10 minutes or so, and adding more water as necessary. If you haven't added salt yet, add salt just as the beans are turning tender. Stop cooking when the beans are done the way you like them, adjust the seasoning, and use immediately or store.
Some suggestions for legumes that I like:
Black beans and rice
Black bean Mexibake (corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, cheddar cheese, and black beans stacked up like a lasagna)
Spinach and chickpeas (check out this recipe here, props go to noodle for the linky:
spinach and chickpeas | smitten kitchen)
Black beans and polenta
Hummus
Lentil soup (easy-peasy: saute diced onion, carrot, and celery in butter with a bay leaf, add washed and picked over lentils [I like Puy or French green lentils, they stay firmer], add a quart of stock, and cook until lentils are tender).