Saturday the wind near ripped the grass right off the lawn. Sustained winds off 20-25 with gusts over 40 (closer to 50 really). I felt bad for the nabes that had only just had the leaves cleaned away. You'd never know it to look outside now.
Since I was tucked well inside, I amused myself by making a vat of ham and bean soup. The twist was I was determined to use up about a pound and a half of dried pinto beans. I've tried cooking pintos before, but I just could NOT get them soft. So this time I figured I'd let them simmer and get soft if it took all the way to Thanksgiving!
Well, it didn't take that long, but it did take at least 5 hours before they softened up. Then I stashed them in the 'fridge overnight and finished the soup today. I added my own grown red potatoes, onions and peppers as well as a pound of store-bought carrots. And while I simmered the whole shebang for another 2 hours, I'm still not completely happy with the firmness of the pintos. Just how the heck long do these things have to cook??
Anyway, the soup is delish, taste-wise (although it's several shades darker than when I use the usual pound of 15-bean mix). Maybe the beans will soften up when I freeze them for later meals.
Meanwhile, to work up an appetite, I spent a little time in the veg bed today. Click the pepper pic for an update.
The soup looks delish! I love to make soup in the winter. Beans can be slow to soften. When I make red beans and rice, I always soak the beans over night and then let them simmer for about 4-6 hours.
ReplyDeleteThe secret for me and I just learned it a couple of years ago is never ever salt the beans until they are near finished and soft! Works like a charm. I start beans without soaking in the morning and have them ready for lunch.
ReplyDeleteThe soup looks really good.