Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Before I knew that D's belly objected to garbanzos, I set some to soak. When he saw them coming out of the oven, he was distraught. "Mom, why did you make those!??!" he wailed. I explained that they weren't for him. He was sad. Ingredients 1 pound dried garbanzo beans water 1/4 C vinaigrette (whatever oil-vinegar dressing you have is fine) freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 2 T fried onions for garnish Procedure Place the dried garbanzo beans in a medium bowl and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Soak them overnight. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Drain the garbanzos and return to the mixing bowl. Toss them with the vinaigrette and spread them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until the beans are deep golden brown and crunchy, tossing every 15 minutes, for an hour.  Remove from the oven, return to the mixing bowl, and toss with the fried onions. Spread them back out on the baking sheet and cool completely before servin...

I wrote this up for our CSA newsletter back in June, but figured I'd post it here as well: how to cook dried beans . Beans are a healthy addition to a diet; they’re an excellent source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, and iron. Because they’re high in carbohydrates, they’ll up your energy level. And they’re low in fat. But you can’t just take dried beans and cook them. You have to soak them, most of them anyway. Lentils, split peas and black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked before cooking. Here’s a quick how-to... Before you start, pick through the beans, tossing out any discolored or shriveled beans or any foreign matter, such as rocks. Rinse well. If you have overnight, there’s the Slow Soak… In a large souppot, cover 1 pound dried beans with 10 cups water. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 6-8 hours. Drain and rinse the beans. If you’re pressed for time, but still have 2-3 hours, use the Hot Soak… In a large souppot, bring 10 cups water t...