Ready for fresh salad season

Salad season must be coming soon. The first day of summer is only a month away. Three-bean salad comes to mind, mostly because I have received a number of questions about cooking dry beans.

Many families laid in a supply when the first directives to shelter at home came along. For many, cooking dry beans is a new experience. You can find dozens of cooking methods in cookbooks, internet recipe forums and on YouTube. Stovetop, slow-cooker and Instant-pot are just a few appliances suggested.

A number of methods eliminate pre-soaking the beans. All methods have their merits, so you may want to try several to find what works best for you. Chanty Marie has a great video on YouTube, “How to Cook Beans in the Instant Pot,” sharing the method and various cooking times for each variety of bean.

My method of soaking overnight before cooking is what I learned from my mother. Rinse and place the amount of beans you want to cook in a large bowl or non-reactive kettle. Fill the bowl or kettle with cold water to within an inch from the top. Stir in 1 tsp baking soda per cup of dry beans. Let soak uncovered over night. Next day, drain thoroughly, place in large kettle and add 3 cups water for each cup of beans.

Bring to a boil and again stir in 1 tsp baking soda per cup dry beans. Skim off foam that rises. Then add 1/2 tsp salt for each cup beans, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beans are tender, around two hours depending on the variety. Drain, reserving the liquid, and use as desired in recipes, adding reserved liquid as needed.

Baking soda helps reduce the element in beans that gives them the nickname “musical fruit.” Salt helps the beans soften and cook faster. Another tip, cooking beans uncovered helps them hold their shape, ideal for salads and chili. Covered cooking makes the beans soften more for refried beans, pies or cookies. Extra bean cooking liquid is great to add to vegetable soups.

Pinto Bean Pie

Pinto Bean Pie is a recipe I have shared before; it was submitted by Karen Brooks some years back. I have tweaked the spices a bit to suit my taste.

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

2 large eggs

1 can (15 ounces) or 1 3/4 cup cooked pinto beans, including the juice.

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp each ground nutmeg, allspice and cloves

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line pie dish with pie shell and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter and eggs, beating with an electric mixer until creamy. Add beans and liquid, vanilla, spices and blend until thick and smooth.

Pour mixture into prepared pie dish. Bake 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream or lightly sweetened plain Greek yogurt.

Note: the original recipe called for 1 tsp cinnamon. Also, the addition of 1/2 cup chopped pecans makes an elegant pie, and nuts added to beans complete the protein.

Beans are a great source of protein, but they need the addition of wheat, nuts or sunflower seeds to complete the amino acid combination for digestion. A little meat added to a bean dish does the same.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

Tuna and White Bean Salad incorporates a number of garden vegetables. We shared this recipe in the fall of 2008. It is easy to double or triple for more servings.

1 can (15 ounces) or 1 3/4 cup cooked white beans

1 can (6 ounces) water-pack tuna

6 cups chopped salad greens

1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced

1 red or green sweet bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup oil and vinegar dressing, or dressing of your choice.

Rinse the beans with cold water and place in colander to drain. Place tuna on top of the beans to drain through the beans so they take on tuna flavor. Let stand 5-10 minutes to drain thoroughly.

Place salad greens, cucumbers and sweet pepper in a large serving bowl. Add drained beans and tuna. Toss lightly then add dressing and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

Note: Other bean varieties may be used and chicken or turkey may be used in place of the tuna. Other dressings such as Ranch or Catalina work well in this recipe.

Not everyone likes the tangy oil and vinegar, Italian style dressings often associated with bean salad.

The following recipe started out with the name Mexican Bean Salad, but I changed it a lot. Now it is Ranch Bean Salad.

Ranch Bean Salad

1 can each, black beans, kidney beans, white beans and kernel corn (15 ounces each), rinsed and well drained.

1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper , seeded and chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup ranch dressing

Combine all ingredients in a large serving bowl and toss lightly to evenly coat with dressing. Chill 1 hour before serving.

Three Bean Salad

For a fast, yet traditional Three Bean Salad, look no further than this Wishbone bottled dressing recipe, doubled here.

2 cans (15 ounces each) cut green beans

2 cans (15 ounces each) red kidney beans

2 cans (15 ounces each) garbanzo beans

1 red or sweet onion, quartered and sliced thin.

1 cup bottled Italian dressing

Be sure the beans are well drained. Combine with onion and dressing and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

One last thing about beans before I run out of room. Dry, uncooked kidney beans are poisonous. Now I doubt anyone would eat enough of these tooth cracking things to do them in, but just keep in mind, a few can cause severe stomach pain, so a word to the wise around small children. Besides no one wants to deal with a bean in an ear.

I will be sharing more bean related recipes in the Welcome to My Kitchen Facebook page over the next two weeks.

Share your favorite bean recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office.