The Bean Counter

[deborah]

We were talking about our (normally) well stocked larder, and contrasting that to the more common household with only three day's supply.

SO commented that we have more beans than most other people. I have now weighed our bean supply (this is actually pulses, and includes lentils and peas - so long as they are DRY - not canned, not fresh.

This is a challenge to find who can count the most beans in their house.

As we are counting beans, we are also not including flour made from beans, nor seeds, nor grains. Just pulses.

[oldladystache]

I'm not sure exactly. At least 30 pounds of beans. And 30 pounds of rice.

[chaskavitch]

I don't eat a lot of beans, tbh, but luckily (for this survey, anyway) we were trying to work more of them into our regular meals. 

We do, however, have about 30 lbs of rice, maybe 10 of oats, and 50 of flour, plus my sourdough starter and plenty of yeast.  I like to buy things on sale at Costco, what can I say? 

Now that I'm enumerating my food stash, though, I kind of feel like I'm playing Oregon Trail.  All I need is like 100 lbs of bacon...

[pressure9pa]

Many pint jars of canned chili beans.  Only ~1.5 pints of dried beans.  6 pints of canned green beans.  Lots of rice, lots of oats.  We could survive a while. 

[kanga1622]

I have a couple cans of baked beans but otherwise we don’t eat any beans. Even our chili is the Texas variety.

But we have a nicely stocked pantry and freezer in other supplies.

[OtherJen]

We have at least 10 lbs of dried beans and lentils. This is normal for us. I'm Mexican-American so beans are a staple of my diet. I think I also have a can each of black beans and garbanzos.

We also have about 10 lbs of rice, 5 lbs of quinoa, and 25 lbs of oatmeal.

[deborah]

I went to the supermarket today. No rice. No flour. A few cans of beans (you're limited to two per customer). But plenty of dry beans and lentils

[seemsright]

We eat a ton of beans and the like. I feel really good eating a ton of them.

Split pea soup is one of of our favorites. Just made a pot of Lentil Chili and we are having leftovers for lunch. A pot of black beans with a poached egg and some homemade tortilla is delicious. A navy bean and garlic mash on some homemade pizza dough with some chicken sausage and kale is amazing...I can go on.

   

[gkerrhome]

How do most of you cook your dry beans?  In the past, I always soaked and boiled the heck out of them.

But last Christmas I receive a pressure cooker. I cannot believe how easy and how well it cooks all the beans I have tried. Also, I actually made a southwestern black bean recipe in the cooker. Came out excellent. Have been eating them as a side and also in tortillas.

[Metalcat]

I cook entirely vegetarian at home, so we go through a TON of pulses.
I think I clicked the wrong option by accident though, my screen was being jumpy. I have 10lbs of chick peas alone.

[OtherJen]

How do most of you cook your dry beans?  In the past, I always soaked and boiled the heck out of them.

But last Christmas I receive a pressure cooker. I cannot believe how easy and how well it cooks all the beans I have tried. Also, I actually made a southwestern black bean recipe in the cooker. Came out excellent. Have been eating them as a side and also in tortillas.

We use the electric pressure cooker. It has been a game changer. Between the soaking and pressure cooking, my husband is actually able to digest beans and now enjoys eating them.

[Metalcat]

How do most of you cook your dry beans?  In the past, I always soaked and boiled the heck out of them.

But last Christmas I receive a pressure cooker. I cannot believe how easy and how well it cooks all the beans I have tried. Also, I actually made a southwestern black bean recipe in the cooker. Came out excellent. Have been eating them as a side and also in tortillas.

We use the electric pressure cooker. It has been a game changer. Between the soaking and pressure cooking, my husband is actually able to digest beans and now enjoys eating them.

Same, I don't even bother with soaking except for kidney beans

[OtherJen]

How do most of you cook your dry beans?  In the past, I always soaked and boiled the heck out of them.

But last Christmas I receive a pressure cooker. I cannot believe how easy and how well it cooks all the beans I have tried. Also, I actually made a southwestern black bean recipe in the cooker. Came out excellent. Have been eating them as a side and also in tortillas.

We use the electric pressure cooker. It has been a game changer. Between the soaking and pressure cooking, my husband is actually able to digest beans and now enjoys eating them.

Same, I don't even bother with soaking except for kidney beans

I wouldn't bother if I were the only one eating them, but the pre-soak has made a HUGE difference for my husband. It's not a big deal; I boil a tea kettle of water, pour it over the sorted beans, and let them sit for an hour or so before draining and cooking in fresh water.

[soccerluvof4]

Not much of either for us. Bag of white rice, Bag of Brown rise believe the 1lb bags and few cans of beans of different variety's.

[alsoknownasDean]

About 3.2kg of various different pulses, along with a 650g bag of 'soup mix' from Aldi. Oops, I don't eat beans all that often.

I'm moving next month, so there'll be plenty of beans on the menu for a little while. I'll cook up a lentil and vegetable stew tomorrow that might use up 300g of the brown lentils.

[Dicey]

I had to Google "pulses". I kind of thought this was an oblique way of asking how many people we were sheltering under one roof during this quarantine, hahaha! Now I've learned that 2016 was the "Year of the Pulse". Somehow, I missed it. Low Information Diet, I guess.

Back on track, we have a LOT of them. At least three kinds/colors of lentils, a half dozen or more varieties of dried beans, even some freeze-dried green bean snacks, which obviously don't weigh a lot. It's mostly accidental that I have such a variety on hand. We recently renovated and sold a house for profit (i.e. flipped). The new kitchen had extensive pantry cabinetry. When staging the kitchen, I took a bunch of pretty jars I had on hand, filled them with multi-colored pulses from the bulk bins, and arranged them on the pantry shelves. The house sold quickly. I put the pulses into long-term storage containers and moved them to my own larder.

Since I'm now an Instant Google Expert (IGE), I'm not including the weight of the four kinds of rice, six kinds of flour or any of the multitudes of other grains (including ten pounds of quinoa) that also live in my pantry.

So, gee, what should I cook for dinner? I must say having  well-stocked pantry is a great source of stress relief in these crazy times.

Interesting question, @deborah!

[DaMa]

@Dicey, what containers do you use for long term storage?

[Metalcat]

@Dicey, what containers do you use for long term storage?

I know you weren't asking me, but I used large glass jars with rubber seals in the lid threads.

[Dicey]

@Dicey, what containers do you use for long term storage?

I know you weren't asking me, but I used large glass jars with rubber seals in the lid threads.

The jars I used for staging have seals and are pretty, but not space efficient. I typically use canning jars and the kind Malkynn described.

[mspym]

We buy the 1kg bags of dried beans and pulses in addition to misc canned beans--there are certain recipes where we very much prefer the canned texture (and ease). But yes, electric pressure cooker is amazing.

Current pantry stock - red and puy lentils, moong dal, cannelini, black, black-eyed, chickpeas, fava, red kidney. We also have 6 types of rice (basmati, Jasmine, sushi, arborio, brown, black), quinoa, pearl barley, bulgar wheat, and freekah.

[Photograph 51]

I have a whole shelf in the pantry with various types of dried beans.  Any time I can get them at the dent and bent for less than 60 cents per pound, they are hard to pass up.  I probably have about 40 pounds of beans right now.

[APowers]

*Currently*, I have a single large (96oz) jar of beans. I buy beans by the 25lb bag and store in a 5-gallon bucket-- I just happen to be at a low point at the moment. I generally have 10-20lb on hand, at least.

[mountain mustache]

I don't usually keep large amounts of dried beans or rice on hand because I normally eat meat+veggies+fruit....but over the past month I have stocked up whenever I find them because they are cost efficient, and last a long time, and I am trying to eat these types of foods over my normal preferences that are more expensive.
 
I have:

20 pounds rice (10 pounds jasmine, 10 pounds calrose)
5 pounds dried chickpeas
5 pounds dried kidney beans
15 pounds dried pintos
5 pounds dried lentils
2 pounds dried red lentils
5 pounds dried black beans

[blue_green_sparks]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

[OtherJen]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

Is it Rancho Gordo? That is my favorite bean purveyor.

[blue_green_sparks]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

Is it Rancho Gordo? That is my favorite bean purveyor.

North Bay Trading Company...Also got some very high quality 'food that keeps' from a place called Eden Foods. Rancho Gordo website looks great (I am a sucker for heirloom varieties even with my own garden)...I'll give them a try...they are all very busy !!!

[Monerexia]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

[OtherJen]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

Is it Rancho Gordo? That is my favorite bean purveyor.

North Bay Trading Company...Also got some very high quality 'food that keeps' from a place called Eden Foods. Rancho Gordo website looks great (I am a sucker for heirloom varieties even with my own garden)...I'll give them a try...they are all very busy !!!

Eden Foods has good products. I've never heard of North Bay and will check them out. Thanks for the recommendation!

[YYK]

I go through 2kg of beans every two weeks so I have that much on hand when I get back from the store, then have none on hand when I go to the store the next time. I've never bothered stockpiling more food than I can eat between grocery runs. So far I've been to the store twice during the crisis and have been able to finds beans and rice still, though there's little left on the shelves.
I'm rather irritated at the people buying up all the beans and rice who presumably don't even eat beans and rice regularly. It'll just sit on their shelves and get thrown away once this is over.

[Metalcat]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

[Monerexia]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

[APowers]

Went to Costco today to do my normal restock of bulk stuff, and NO BEANS! Oh no! I actually don't know where else I can go to get dried beans for ~50¢/lb. Time to do some research for another source, I guess. :(

[Metalcat]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

Are you not cooking them in a recipe? Just slow cooking them and eating fibrous plain beans?

Yeah, that would suck.

What kind of beans? I'll toss you a good and easy recipe.

[OtherJen]

Went to Costco today to do my normal restock of bulk stuff, and NO BEANS! Oh no! I actually don't know where else I can go to get dried beans for ~50¢/lb. Time to do some research for another source, I guess. :(

Do you have a Mexican grocery store? I'd start there.

[Dicey]

I posted this in couponvan's journal, but thought I'd share it here, as my supplies have now been slightly reduced since my original response.

"A friend...is helping a refugee family of five. She was looking for flour, and I had a 25 lb. bag from Costco in my pantry. I gave her about 15 pounds of it, along with baking soda, baking powder, salt, EVOO, {white} beans, {yellow} lentils, tea, a 6-pack of TP and some random other stuff."

I added the colors because you guys are more likely to care about that, lol. I'm not sure exactly how much flour I gave her, because I was able to use up my supply of Costco Peanut cans and a bunch of the big plastic bags that come with the par-baked pizza crusts I sometimes buy load up on at Grocery Outlet. Extra points for getting those cans out of the cupboard. I usually save them for Christmas cookies, but I'm happy to have them used for this purpose.

And to all you beloved GN's out there, I used the wrong brackets because the correct type turned the rest of my post white. Accidental coding at its finest.

[OtherJen]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

Are you not cooking them in a recipe? Just slow cooking them and eating fibrous plain beans?

Yeah, that would suck.

What kind of beans? I'll toss you a good and easy recipe.

That would definitely be a suboptimal eating experience. Some diced onion and peppers (I like diced bell pepper, poblano, and/or jalapeno), minced garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano in the crockpot would go a long way. Enough salt is also important (but wait until the end and salt to taste). That bean prep is very tasty over rice, with some cheese, avocado, and salsa.

[Metalcat]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

Are you not cooking them in a recipe? Just slow cooking them and eating fibrous plain beans?

Yeah, that would suck.

What kind of beans? I'll toss you a good and easy recipe.

That would definitely be a suboptimal eating experience. Some diced onion and peppers (I like diced bell pepper, poblano, and/or jalapeno), minced garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano in the crockpot would go a long way. Enough salt is also important (but wait until the end and salt to taste). That bean prep is very tasty over rice, with some cheese, avocado, and salsa.

This is my favourite idiot-simple recipe for kidney beans, so easy, so insanely delicious.

[OtherJen]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

Are you not cooking them in a recipe? Just slow cooking them and eating fibrous plain beans?

Yeah, that would suck.

What kind of beans? I'll toss you a good and easy recipe.

That would definitely be a suboptimal eating experience. Some diced onion and peppers (I like diced bell pepper, poblano, and/or jalapeno), minced garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano in the crockpot would go a long way. Enough salt is also important (but wait until the end and salt to taste). That bean prep is very tasty over rice, with some cheese, avocado, and salsa.

This is my favourite idiot-simple recipe for kidney beans, so easy, so insanely delicious.

Yep. It's hard to mess it up, and very tasty and nutritious. It works with pretty much any dry bean; my favorites are pinto and black beans.

[Metalcat]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

Are you not cooking them in a recipe? Just slow cooking them and eating fibrous plain beans?

Yeah, that would suck.

What kind of beans? I'll toss you a good and easy recipe.

That would definitely be a suboptimal eating experience. Some diced onion and peppers (I like diced bell pepper, poblano, and/or jalapeno), minced garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano in the crockpot would go a long way. Enough salt is also important (but wait until the end and salt to taste). That bean prep is very tasty over rice, with some cheese, avocado, and salsa.

This is my favourite idiot-simple recipe for kidney beans, so easy, so insanely delicious.

Yep. It's hard to mess it up, and very tasty and nutritious. It works with pretty much any dry bean; my favorites are pinto and black beans.

Oops, I was actually trying to post an actual recipe, the one you posted is pretty reliable too, but the following is incredible

https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/afghan-kidney-bean-curry/

[mspym]

Malkynn - that recipe looks amazing, thanks for sharing.

[Metalcat]

Malkynn - that recipe looks amazing, thanks for sharing.

It really is exceptionally good. I make tons of far more complicated bean recipes, but this one is something special.

[OtherJen]

I bought a big sack of beans a few months ago, unfortunately eating them is like eating the demolished building in the brownfield.

???

Why??? What are you doing to those beans???

I do not know. I was kind to them, cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. Whenever I see the bag in the pantry I feel fear.

Are you not cooking them in a recipe? Just slow cooking them and eating fibrous plain beans?

Yeah, that would suck.

What kind of beans? I'll toss you a good and easy recipe.

That would definitely be a suboptimal eating experience. Some diced onion and peppers (I like diced bell pepper, poblano, and/or jalapeno), minced garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano in the crockpot would go a long way. Enough salt is also important (but wait until the end and salt to taste). That bean prep is very tasty over rice, with some cheese, avocado, and salsa.

This is my favourite idiot-simple recipe for kidney beans, so easy, so insanely delicious.

Yep. It's hard to mess it up, and very tasty and nutritious. It works with pretty much any dry bean; my favorites are pinto and black beans.

Oops, I was actually trying to post an actual recipe, the one you posted is pretty reliable too, but the following is incredible

https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/afghan-kidney-bean-curry/

Yum. I wonder if I can find dry kidney beans at a local store.

[Dicey]

Oops, I was actually trying to post an actual recipe, the one you posted is pretty reliable too, but the following is incredible

https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/afghan-kidney-bean-curry/

Hey @Malkynn, isn't there some trick to cooking dried kidney beans safely? I'm not overly fond of them and have plenty of other types on hand, so I don't know for sure, but a small hammer in the back of my brain is activating. The recipe does look delicious, BTW. I'm tempted to try it with different large, creamy bean.

[Metalcat]

Oops, I was actually trying to post an actual recipe, the one you posted is pretty reliable too, but the following is incredible

https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/afghan-kidney-bean-curry/

Hey @Malkynn, isn't there some trick to cooking dried kidney beans safely? I'm not overly fond of them and have plenty of other types on hand, so I don't know for sure, but a small hammer in the back of my brain is activating. The recipe does look delicious, BTW. I'm tempted to try it with different large, creamy bean.

I soak them first, I'm not a huge kidney bean fan either, I rarely cook them, but their flavour really does work well with the above recipe. I would be interested to hear how it turns out with a creamy bean though.

[mountain mustache]

I think I've read that with Kidney beans you can't use a crock pot because it doesn't reach the heat needed to cook them safely. Some toxin in them that needs to be cooked at a higher heat. This is just off the top of my head though, I'm sure google has a better answer.

Thanks for the recipe @Malkynn  I'm going to make that this week!

[Queen Frugal]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

Is it Rancho Gordo? That is my favorite bean purveyor.

Love me some Rancho Gordo! The Rio Zape bean is my favorite! I just checked their website. They are out of pretty much everything.

[OtherJen]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

Is it Rancho Gordo? That is my favorite bean purveyor.

Love me some Rancho Gordo! The Rio Zape bean is my favorite! I just checked their website. They are out of pretty much everything.

Rio Zapes are amazing. Hands down, my favorite bean. Eye of the Goat and Good Mother Stallard are also very good.

I'm thrilled that Rancho Gordo has done so well, and now I'm going to ration out my last few pounds of their beans (I usually buy 11 or 12 lbs at a time to hit the free shipping limit).

[Queen Frugal]

To avoid shopping in stores back in Mid March we put in an online order for about 25lbs of different varieties to a specialty merchant that had heirloom and organically grown beans and lentils. I always thought a bean was a bean but these beauties cooked up so fast (without soaking) and taste very good. I plan to continue paying a bit more in the future because a bit more is not that much.

Is it Rancho Gordo? That is my favorite bean purveyor.

Love me some Rancho Gordo! The Rio Zape bean is my favorite! I just checked their website. They are out of pretty much everything.

Rio Zapes are amazing. Hands down, my favorite bean. Eye of the Goat and Good Mother Stallard are also very good.

I'm thrilled that Rancho Gordo has done so well, and now I'm going to ration out my last few pounds of their beans (I usually buy 11 or 12 lbs at a time to hit the free shipping limit).

Eye of the Goat is good too! I'll have to try Good Mother Stallard. I am unfortunately all out of Rancho Gordo beans. It seems I will be out for the foreseeable future.

[mspym]

@Dicey I mostly use dried beans but red kidney are one of the ones I buy canned. I have never yet made a decent batch from dried, and I prefer my guts uncramped so it is worth it to me.

[YYK]

I think I've read that with Kidney beans you can't use a crock pot because it doesn't reach the heat needed to cook them safely. Some toxin in them that needs to be cooked at a higher heat. This is just off the top of my head though, I'm sure google has a better answer.

Kidney beans can be cooked in a slow cooker, but you must first boil them for a good 10-15 minutes to denature the natural bean toxin. Improperly cooked kidney beans can make you very ill. Slow cookers typically don't get hot enough, and temperatures just below the boiling point can even increase the level of toxin. I'd recommend, from personal experience, boiling all types of beans before putting them in a slow cooker as other beans also have this toxin in lower amounts and will upset your gut if they're not properly cooked.