Beans: Let's Be Friends...

Let's be honest. Until I learned in college that beans are such a powerhouse of good nutrients, I never gave them a second thought. After I became a vegetarian however, I realized how important they are for maintaining enough protein in my diet. The only problem was that I never learned to really cook beans properly. Sure, I can use the canned ones in recipes, no biggie - but I wanted to learn how to use those dirt cheap dried ones. Will had learned the art of cooking beans from the dried version well, so I enlisted his help after a few failed attempts of my own. Last weekend, he walked me through a big pot of chickpeas. :-)

Dried Beans from Scratch
Directions:
Rinse beans well in a colander and sort out any that look a little funny. Transfer beans into a large pot and cover with 1 1/2 inches of water. Bring to a boil over the stove. Once beans have reached a rolling boil, turn off the heat and cover with a good fitting lid. Let sit for two-ish hours. When you are ready to finish your beans, add enough water and broth to bring the liquid level in the pot up to 1 inch or so above the beans. Bring to a simmer and cooked until the beans are soft and a good bit of the water has boiled off. That's it!

There was no good way to make this look pretty!

Yesterday, I took my cooked chickpeas and made some hummus. Yum!
Basic Hummus
Ingredients:
-3 cups cooked chickepeas
-1/2 cup reserved chickpea liquid (or the liquid from the can)
-1/2 cup water
-1 tsp baking soda
-6 tbsp tahini
-Juice from one lemon
-2 tbsp basil pesto
-1-2 tbsp olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Toss the chickpeas, liquid, and about 1/2 cup water into saucepan and begin to simmer. Add 1 tsp baking soda and continue to cook until the skins begin to breakdown on the chickpeas.
2. Add chickpeas and all the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until it resembles a paste (or frosting!). You're done!