Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Week 3: Christmas Lima Beans

As seen in my most recent post, I placed a sizable order to North Bay Trading Company, which arrived this past week.  Staring at 32 different choices of what to try this week was a bit daunting.  And exhilarating.

After staring at the choices for longer than I had time to do so, I picked "Christmas Lima Beans".  They are beautiful beans!  



They are also Beans of Unusual Size:



I sorted, rinsed and then soaked overnight, at which point they became ginormous, and changed color slightly:



Not entirely certain what I was going to make with them yet, I decided to plainly cook them...after draining them from soaking overnight, I placed them in a pot, covered with a couple inches of water.  I added a bay leaf and brought them to a boil.  Then I lowered the heat and they simmered ~hour, until soft.  I took them off the heat, added ~2 teaspoons of salt and let them sit ~10-15 minutes.  Finally, I drained them (as I was certain I didn't need the soup-liquid).

They changed color once again, but were still beautiful.  And delicious.  They're nearly meaty, yet creamy, in texture with a nutty / chestnut flavor.  Did I mention they're delicious?



Well, that's all well and good, and I am certain I could eat the entire pound one by one as a snack, but that's not going to feed my family...so...  After searching, I had found a recipe on Culinate out of the book Heirloom Beans by Vanessa Barrington and Steve Sando.  The only problem is...I don't like beets.  Or at least not much.  And my husband feels even stronger against beets than I do.  But, I was intrigued with the idea of the recipe.  However, as I went the more it morphed from the original (for instance, after a taste-test, I can't imagine adding the dressing to my version) and into what follows, which is probably influenced by my Texan youth and love of guacamole...


Christmas Lima Bean, Quinoa and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 3 cups cooked, well-drained, Christmas Lima Beans
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 10-15 grape tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 avocados, peeled, seeded & chopped
  • salt, to taste

Procedure:
  1. Cook your quinoa (I use my rice cooker)
  2. Cook your Christmas Lima Beans, plainly (see above)
  3. Chop your red onion, grape tomatoes and avocado
  4. Mix all ingredients.
  5. Salt to taste.
Notes:
  • I am serving it with a green salad and corn chips.



Also, the three cups I put in this left me with ~3+ more!  Woo-hoo!! Some to snack on make something else with!


Have a great week!

4 comments:

  1. I'm sorry that I'm stalking you... this looks delicious! Do you think it would work with cous cous instead of quinoa?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apologies for the delayed response, Rummi! And you're suppose to stalk a blog :)

      I absolutely believe this would work with cous cous!

      Delete
  2. B.O.U.S.s? I don't think they exist.

    ReplyDelete