Because My Mother Said So!

Beans, beans Part 2:

Without giving it a second thought there are manythings we do just because “Mom” said so. Putting a pot of beans out to soak, it started me thinking about beans. Cooking beans from scratch, things need to be done because Mom said so. Some, I don’t know why but some can be figured out.

Thinking back, I remember the time my mother-in-law brought us a food basket when we lost our jobs. There was a bag of dried beans in it (you will find reference to this in the about button on my website, bigeyedcooks.com). I never cooked beans from scratch nor paid any attention when my mom did so my first attempt was not so good. I just threw them in a pot, added water and cooked them, and cooked them, and cooked them. When I served them they didn;t tase good and there was stuff in them that shouldn’t be there. Them I hollered for mom!

When I prepare to cook dry beans from scratch, my Mom says:

• Step 1; Sort the dry beans. As careful as manufacturers are there are occasions when small twigs, stones, or dirt are missed in packaging. Today’s American factories are more thorough than in years past, but if the beans come from a foreign manufacturer, extra care needs to be taken in sorting.
• Step 2; Rinse them well in a colander. Place them in a large cooking pot, adding cold water, covering the beans with about 3”, cover with a fitted lid.
• Step 3; Soak overnight. When not soaked, it takes the beans too long to cook.
• Step 4; Dump them into the colander and rinse them well again. Rinse the soaking pot and put the beans in with enough water for cooking. Do not season yet.

Now the beans are ready to cook and I will cover that next time.

A shortcut to soaking; follow steps 1 and 2 except cold water is not important. Bring to a rolling boil, remove from heat, and let soak, covered for only 1 hour. Then finish with step 4.

Stay tuned for more about beans and why I should go to this much work.“Same time, same channel”.

You must believe in and want the results of your endeavor otherwise you will not do what is necessary to overcome the negatives.

Sherry Pope, Author of Easy See Easy Cook, a specialty cookbook designed for people with vision problems. For information about the cookbook and how to order it, please visit bigeyedcooks.com.