I grew up in New England where beans were "Boston Baked", came in a brown glass jar with a piece of over cooked salt pork sunk in to it and were served with frankfurters and dark brown molasses bread which came in a can. Then when I went to grammar school in Florida I was introduced to chili con carne, which meant mostly over cooked kidney beans with a hint of beef, the Hispanic influence hadn't really hit so who knew what carne meant.
Then, I met refried pinto beans in a taco hut in San Diego (this was about 50 year ago, we and the beans have come a long way), they were a change from the kidney beans but the texture was closer to a soupy pile that filled the plate from rim to rim. They were ok but I didn't dream about a bowl of pintos.
In the early 80s I wanted to make new and different bean salads for the cafe and found a plethora of heirloom beans from an organically run farm in California: Rancho Gordo. Scarlet runners, Christmas limas, borlotti cranberry beans, flageolets, big giant white beans for cassoulet, wow, beans beans beans! We had great fun exploring these jewels from the pods.
Now I want to pass on the beginners steps to enjoying beans, and please look at all the good reasons we should include these wonder bubbles of protein, fiber and minerals.
What you will need:
Your choice of dry beans
Water
Olive Oil
Coarse Sea Salt
Pepper
Patience
