WINTER COMFORT FOOD

             EATING BEANS UNDER PRESSURE

When pinto beans are soaked for 8 hours they will cook under pressure in 6 minutes!  If you lose track of time and go beyond 8 minutes they will become refried.  Black beans take a minute or two less and lentils require no soaking at all.  I bought a 4 quart stainless pressure cooker for last years 3 month sailing adventure to conserve fuel in the B.C. wilderness.  The cooker saves time, energy and retains nutrients, and if I was forced to cook with only one pot/pan it would be the versatile pressure cooker.  Enough of my new infatuation and back to "poor man's meat".  As population increases and resources diminish it is inevitable that the sustainable menu shifts from meat based protein to more and more plant based protein where beans are king.  Since manure is integral to most organic food production, meat has it's place in a sustainable farm model, unless the farmer is an ethical vegetarian.  This being said I think that meat needs to shift from the focus of the meal to a more flavoring agent/condiment role, kind of like it's use in a chinese stir fries.

  I cook 3 cups of dry beans once a week and along with brown rice, use beans in soups. salads, sauces and many dishes including of course mexican dishes.  I avoid kidney and lima beans because of the research suggesting the possibility of toxic compounds and decreased digestibility.  At less than 20 cents a serving, and given its nutrient profile, texture and taste the pinto is my mainstay.  Black beans incredible flavor make them a close second.  Lentils, which are not beans but a member of the vetch family, require no presoaking and cook under pressure in less that 5 minutes.  The first photo shows me soaking 3 cups of beans in 9 cups of water (3:1) during my morning green tea and toast (multi-grain spelt, hazelnut, cherry sourdough).  At dinner time or +/- 8 hours later drain off the soaking water and add enough liquid to barely cover the beans.  This is the point where I jump out of the nutritionists camp and land somewhere south of the Rio Grande.  If you want the beans to be rich and creamy add plenty of fat.  Cook beans the day after you roast a chicken (or any meat) and add the drippings, better yet if you are making a stock ladle the lipid infused top of the stock to just cover the beans.  When cooking for vegetarians use vegetable stock and add half a cup of olive oil.  I add vegetables and spices after I pressure cook to retain their volatile oils and colors.  

Beans can almost be considered fast food.  The second photo shows a bowl of Pacific Rim bean soup where I added leftover stir fry, brown rice, red curry and water to the beans the instant the steam stopped venting  Presoaked raw beans became a soup I would be proud to serve at any dinner party in less than 30 minutes!  Viva las frijoles!

P.S. If you plan on being in public after eating avoid the "killer b combo", beans,beef and beer.