Beans by Sister Douglass

Here are some notes and recipes for using beans from our last Relief Society meeting:

Cooking Beans (any kind)
• Sort and wash beans--no more than about 1 pound of beans for a large pot
• Put beans in a large pot and add 3-4 cups of water per cup of beans
• Bring to a boil and boil lightly for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, adding more water as needed
• When beans are soft, add salt to taste

Basic Refried Beans
• Fry chopped onion in oil to give the beans a nice flavor
• Add beans by spooning out of cooking pot with a slotted spoon
• Fry a little while and mash with a potato masher or the bottom of a plastic cup
• Add broth from the cooking pot until the beans are the desired consistency
• Serve

Refried Beans with Chorizo (Mexican Sausage)--a spicier and more flavorful refried bean
• Squeeze 1 Chorizo sausage out of casing
• Fry sausage and break into small pieces
• Add beans and mash in w/sausage
• Add bean broth until the beans are a consistency you like
• Serve

Refried Beans with Corn Tortillas
• Heat corn tortillas wrapped in paper towels in the microwave for a few seconds
• Add more bean broth to the refried beans until the mixture is quite thin
• Soak tortilla in the thinned refried beans for 30 seconds to 1 minute
• Place a little thinned refried beans inside the tortilla, fold in thirds, put on a plate
• Sprinkle with Queso Fresco (a white crumbly Mexican cheese) or some other cheese of your choice, then add a dollop of sour cream
• Serve

Soup Beans
4 cups of cooked beans
2 cloves
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 peppercorns
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
3 large sprigs of thyme or 1/8 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbs. Vegetable oil
1/2 medium white onion (finely chopped)
salt to taste
Queso fresco, fresh Parmesan
• Put 1/2 cup beans and their broth in the blender, add cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, and thyme and blend until smooth.
• Heat oil in a skillet, add onion, and fry gently.
• Add the pureed beans and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Puree the rest of the beans and gradually add them to the pan with 1 cup of water.
• Add salt and bring to a simmer.
• To serve, put 1 cup of soup into a bowl add 1 fried or poached egg, cheese and croutons.

White Bean Recipe
8 oz. white beans
6 cups water
1/4 medium white onion (roughly sliced)
3 garlic clove (roughly chopped)
4 large springs cilantro
salt to taste
2 ancho peppers (veins and seeds removed), lightly toasted and soaked for 15 minutes.
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. finely chopped white onion
3 oz. Queso fresco, crumbled
• Cook beans with sliced onion, garlic and cilantro in the water for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours until tender
• add salt
• put 1 cup of the bean stock plus 1/2 cup of the beans in a blender, add the peppers torn into pieces, and blend until smooth
• Heat the oil in a skillet, add the chopped onion and cook without browning
• Add the puree and cook on a medium high heat for about 2 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent sticking
• Add this mixture to beans and cook over medium heat 15 minutes
• Stir in cheese
• serve immediately