Welcome To Bean Central
My husband likes to cook. Wintertime and especially the aftermath of holiday indulgence means there’s generally a desire for a healthy reset in our diet. I’m a bit less disciplined than he is, so if we have some lingering Graeter’s Peppermint Ice Cream in the freezer, there’s no way I’ll let it go to waste. However, my husband is a bit more determined to feed the soul. So, when he tells me by mid-morning he’ll take care of dinner, I’m good. Any time I don’t need to do the dreaded meal prep, go to the grocery, and bore myself with the same old recipe repertoire is okay with me. In fact, I’m very appreciative of my husband’s intentional gastronomic efforts. Not only does he like to cook, he’s pretty good at it. There’s only one problem.
Right now, in the world of my husband’s culinary pursuits, it’s all about beans. He loves beans. I’ve heard him say numerous times he thinks beans are the most underappreciated food group. I kind of think that way about puff pastry when it meets strawberries and vanilla cream, but I defer. These days, there’s inevitably a variety of dried heirloom (aka fancy) beans soaking in a bowl of water in the early morning hours on our kitchen counter. That means there’s some sort of culinary plan in the works.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to beans, but recently every meal seems to involve beans. How about beans for breakfast? I mean, over easy eggs topped with beans, according to my husband, is the best way to start your day. Better yet, have you ever considered poaching eggs in bean broth? Seriously. I’m not kidding. I get the bean creativity, but I think I’ll pass on the that one.
Our fridge is stocked with soup; yellow eye beans with kale and ham soup, soup with leek and flageolet beans, and black bean soup with, well, black beans. All I know is, there aren’t many people I know who think a bowl of beans drizzled with a bit of olive oil is the perfect afternoon snack. I’m more of a tea and cookie kind of gal, but I do appreciate the constant education I’m receiving about all you can do with beans. You know it’s bean central over here when my husband makes beans for our grandkids because “they LOVE them.” (Don’t worry, I always have ice cream sandwiches on hand just in case.) The best news is this; because our son and his wife Christmas gifted my husband with a new bean cookbook, we’ll be eating some sort of bean dish from now until Springtime.
I would have to agree that the kind of beans my husband cooks are quite savory. According to him, all it takes is a bag of beans covered with water, a bay leaf and a clove of garlic simmering on a stove for a few hours. What you get are some pretty tasty beans on hand for all occasions. Truth be told, eating beans does make you feel good.
I can honestly say I haven’t had a bad bean meal yet. And, I remain thankful I don’t have to cook. Just know if I ever report to you that poaching eggs in bean broth is my go-to breakfast, please tell someone to take me out for pancakes.
Photo by Mikey Frost on Unsplash