Beans, tomatoes and basil, oh my !

Not all in the same dish, although I am sure I could come up with something if it were a "quick fire challenge" or a "mystery basket" like the cooking competitions have.

This is just my way of covering several topics in one post.
It's summer and the farmer's markets and family gardens are full of tomatoes and basil so I have been making pesto and caprese salads. So good !!

Now is the time to think about what you will do your bounty of fresh tomatoes as well.
I was just telling a friend about the easy way to make great tomato sauce using roasted tomatoes, no peeling, no canning. This same link will also show you a simple and tasty way to make your own tomato juice, again no peeling or canning, we like that ;-)





But what about beans ??
If you are like me, you have jars of colorful, shiny dried beans in your cupboard that you plan to cook one day.

However, when it come to meal time it's just so much easier to reach for a can of already cooked beans. One of my kitchen goals for 2014 was to use all those dried beans. I thought I would do it using the pressure cooker, I didn't. In fact I gave up for a while...then I realized I could cook my dried beans with my slow cooker, a much less scary piece of equipment.

I was amazed at how easy this really is. You do have to think ahead a bit. Sort, wash and soak your beans overnight.

Here are some white beans that I don't even remember buying.

Rinse your beans and put them in the slower cooker with plenty of water and turn it on high if you are going to be around or on low if you want them to cook while you are at work. On high they take 4 to 5 hours, on low and I am guessing longer. Obviously if you are going to leave them all day be sure you have plenty of water.

I am talking about larger beans like the white beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, pinto beans and such.

 I add no other seasoning, except maybe a little salt, that way you can use them for any kind of recipe. And here is the great thing...they freeze beautifully in freezer bags. Once they have cooled, I measure them out in one or two cup portions, mark and label the bags.

 It's easy to grab a bag of frozen beans in the morning and throw them in the fridge for dinner that night. And so very satisfying !

I make my favorite kale and white bean soup.

Or killer re-fried beans.

Or Gina's beans or my curried chickpea soup... you get the idea.

What kinds of forgotten beans are lurking in your cupboards ??