Red beans and Rice

As most of you know that have been around this blog know I grew up right outside of New Orleans. 

A  consistent crop that has been featured on this blog many times are red beans. Red beans are a Monday tradition in New Orleans. I grew up on Camelia brand red beans,  a Louisiana brand of dried red beans still on the shelf today. They were put on to soak on Sunday and soaked all night. Monday was ALWAYS wash day. So these beans simmered low and slow on the back of the stove all day and you had supper for Monday night. I still cook red beans and rice on Mondays many weeks. Throughout New Orleans to this day even in the finest restaurants you will find Monday red beans. 

Recently someone on the forum asked for the recipe and I could not believe I had never posted it. SO here it is. 

Mama's Red Beans

1 pound red beans ( soaked all night)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Large onion chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

6 cups chicken broth 

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

1 Tablespoon parsley

1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (I prefer Tony's)

1 pound sliced andouille sausage ( or smoked sausage or leftover ham)

Rinse beans and drain. Put olive oil in large cast iron pot. Saute onions and garlic in oil for about 4 minutes. Add beans, chicken broth, sliced sausage, seasoning and bay leaves.  I simmer slowly on the back of my stove for about 4 to 5 hours adding water as needed and stirring regularly. Remove bay leaves and serve hot over rice.

I like to serve with hot corn bread on the side. 

 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

The Bean Patch

I think I will remember this year as the year of the beans. Lord we have picked the beans this year! Beans are a great homestead food. Cheap and easy to grow and high in protein. They are an excellent way to stretch your meat stores as well using just a small amount of smoked meat as flavoring and even eating them over rice. 

Of course we have our favorites like most gardeners. Above is the Jade bean that you have heard me mention so often. We have 80 quart jars now in the pantry and have started selling the remaining harvests to the local produce man to take to the farmers market. This does help to defray the costs of what few seeds we do buy each year. We will retain enough seeds to replant next year.

We also grow the Louisiana Red Bean started from grocery store stock and the Lina Sisco Bird Egg. I am going to lump these two together because they are in the same family of beans. The Red Beans above will start to yellow when ready. Once the pods yellow they are ready to pick or you can wait and pick them as dry beans. I pick them as they turn yellow then pull up the plants to make way for the fall garden crops. 

The Lina Sisco Bird Eggs are also a horticulture type bean and the pods also turn yellow but develop purple streaks through both the pods and the beans.  Once you see those purple streaks they are ready to pick. Also an open pollinated heirloom the seeds are also saved from these. You cannot plant these two beans in the same garden or they will cross pollinate and they will all be red beans. Ask me how I know this : )

Both can be canned or frozen and when cooked down make a thick and rich gravy. These are some of our favorite beans to add a little sausage or pork too and simmer on low all day.

You can see the Lina Sisco beans above and the purple streaking on the shells and beans.

Above are the red beans when the outer pod turns yellow.

But the bean inside will eventually turn a deep red as it ages. 

Red Beans I prefer to freeze. Lina Sisco Horticulture Beans pictured above I prefer to can. My family likes these straight out of the jar cooked with a little onion and bacon for flavoring.  

These are purple hull peas. Like field peas these are a warm weather, drought tolerant crop that will grow in many different soil types. This is a southern staple. The produce man did manage to con me out of a few to take to the farmers market. I guess they are hard to find up here and he always turns up in the summer looking for those southern crops out of my garden that are hard to find this far north. Purple hull peas and fresh young okra are both southern crops that I have brought north with me. They do as well in these Missouri hills as they did in southern Louisiana or the Mississippi Delta of my youth.     

Purple hull peas when picked young and tender will turn your fingers purple when you shell them. Thus I have been walking around for several weeks now with purple fingers. 

These are what are called Pink Eyed Purple Hulls. Notice the pink coloration around the eyes of the pea. I personally think as field peas or crowder peas go this is the best tasting of them. I also plant field peas as green manure and cover crops to enrich my soil. Just a foot note the goats love them also and they make great goat food through the summer.    

They can be canned in jars, frozen or dried. They can be cooked with onions and meat as flavoring or used in a traditionally southern dish called Hoppin John along with okra. My mother also made a pea salad that was good. 

 We will not put any more peas up after these buckets that Baby O and I picked yesterday. We have started pulling the plants and feeding them to the goats to make way for another crop. If we have room after the corn we may plant some specifically for goat food going into the fall and early winter months to avoid feeding hay too early.

 With red beans still on the bush and horticulture beans still in the garden also, my bean shelling days will continue for quite a few weeks. But sometimes I look forward to the chance to sit on the porch and just do a mundane task as shelling beans and enjoying the weather. It's a good thinking and praying job.

Is any one else's bean field as healthy as mine this year?

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

2011 Vegetable Selection ( Part 2)

Crookneck Squash Blossoms 2010

Vegetable selections for 2011 are complete and seeds ordered and received awaiting planting. With rain all last week and cool temperatures on the horizons we are just waiting for a good day of dry weather when the soil is not too wet to be worked.  The gardens have all been worked now and just wait to be planted. My cool weather crops of potatoes onions peas lettuce spinach beets and mustard are planted and up. Now we turn toward June and the planting of the warm weather crops.

Boiling potatoes

These are also called waxy potatoes. They come in a variety of shapes and can be long or round. They have a thin, smooth skin and an almost waxy flesh. They are relatively high in moisture and sugar, but low in starch. They are ideal for soups, casseroles, potato salad, roasting, and barbecuing because of their tendency to hold their shape. You can mash them, but instead of smooth and creamy, the results tend to be thick and lumpy. This year we are planting the variety Red Pontiac which we acquired locally. This is the variety I can for new potatoes in jars. In the winter they are added to green beans or cooked with butter, garlic and parsley. Sometimes added to soups and stews as they are dug small.

Baking Potatoes

These are also called starchy potatoes. They tend to be long and have a coarse, cork-like skin. They are high in starch, with a dry, mealy texture. But, they turn light and fluffy when cooked. They are ideal for baking, mashing and French fries. They are light and fluffy baked, light and creamy mashed. I do not can these but rather they are eaten fresh nor do I try to store these as I do not have a root cellar. This year we are planting the variety Norgold  which we also acquired locally.

Green Onions

Every year we plant onions but the last 2 years are different in that I have started planting my own onions from seeds as opposed to purchasing sets or bunches. In starting my own seed I have onions available earlier than they might normally be letting me have more control over when I plant as well as doing better. last year I planted both purchased onion sets and my own homegrown onions side by side. The ones I grew from seeds grew better and bigger than the ones purchased. This year for green onions I planted He Shi-Ko bunching from Bakers Creek as well as Evergreen Bunching from Ferry Morse. I freeze these in bags for cooking.

Bulb Onions

This year for Bulb onions I planted Australian Brown. It is my first year to grow this variety and the seeds were purchased from Bakers Creek. This onion is known for producing well in short seasons and being a good keeper. I like to chop these and put in bags for the freezer. It is so convenient to just be able to take the frozen onions and throw in whatever I am cooking. No chopping or cleaning.

Red Beans

Growing up in Louisiana Red beans are a staple. When I moved North and shopped for red beans all I found was pinto beans and there is a difference. The Louisiana Red Bean cooks down to a thick Gravy which is eaten over rice. I used to ship my beans in dried then decided to try growing a pack of the dried beans. Well every bean came up and now I save my seeds and grow my own red beans every year from the original pack of dried beans I had shipped from New Orleans years ago. I pick them and freeze them to eat all winter. Simmered on the back of the stove all day with onions and sliced sausage and then served over a bed of fluffy rice. Tastes like Home ! 

Squash

 Every year I grow plain old yellow crookneck squash. Prolific and easy to grow. Best when picked young and if you happen to miss one the chickens and hogs love them. As a matter of fact we have been known to plant extra just for them. Great just cooked down with a little onion and maybe a little bacon bits. We have also discovered they are great on the grill. Also great in casseroles. I blanch and freeze my squash for winter use in casseroles.   The seeds are easy to save and I have been saving these seeds for probably 15 years.

Horticulture Beans

Before I moved north I had never heard of Horticulture Beans. O Wise One's family introduced me to these beans and I have been growing them ever since. They are like Louisiana Red Beans in that they cook down into a thick gravy but are just not red. They have a great taste and I got my start years ago from Seed Savers Exchange. I plant my own saved seeds from the variety Dragon's Tongue. They can be picked as a shell bean or left to dry. I have done both. My favorite way to preserve these is to can them but I have also frozen them. I cook them down to serve with a little onion and maybe a slice of bacon. These beans truly have an incredible flavor.

Pumpkins

Last year was my first year of growing this variety of pumpkin called Long Island Cheese. I am hooked.  This pumpkin was easy to grow and produced more pumpkins than I will ever use. I put pumpkin puree in the freezer for pies and muffins, canned pumpkin in jars for baking, decorated pumpkins for Halloween for both me and my daughter and the chickens ate pumpkin all the way to Christmas from the leftovers. Not to mention that everyone ate themselves sick on roasted pumpkin seeds. This year we are planting these in a garden all by themselves with the field corn. We plan to use them as animal feed as well as human consumption as the chickens loved them. Anything I can produce to help keep my feed bill down I am all for.  The original seed for these came from Seed Savers Exchange.  

Musk Melon
This year we will again be planting the variety Pride Of Wisconsin melon. This variety has performed well in the past and keeps us in melons all summer with the rinds feeding the pigs and chickens. This is also an heirloom variety originally obtained from Seed Savers Exchange.

Pear Tomatoes

Every year I plant the yellow pear tomatoes. I have been growing these for so long I don't even remember the variety. The kids love them and I plant a vine or two near the yard or front porch. The kids are known to carry these in their pockets and munch on them regularly. We eat them in salads and I have even pickled the green ones. Again an heirloom originally obtained years ago from Seed Savers Exchange. 

Lettuce

Lettuce season has begun for us and we are enjoying salads regularly. My standby for lettuce is the Black Seeded Simpson purchased every year fro the local hardware store. I plant it in intervals about every two weeks and harvest lettuce clear into hot weather. Once it bolts I cut it and give to the pigs and chickens.

Well that pretty well sums up our main garden crops. A few other crops will be added during the season such as mustard, spinach, turnips and this year we are adding field corn and field peas and sunflowers as animal feed. With the price of grain continuing to rise we are research things to feed our animals that we can produce ourselves.

But that's a post for another day.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

Louisiana Red Beans

Todays project is Louisiana Red Beans. When I first moved to Missouri one of the first things I missed about Louisiana was red beans. A traditional dish that I had grown up on served with spicy sausage and eaten over rice. The local grocery stores had pinto beans but not these beans. The difference is the thick gravy that these cooked down into. So in desperation  I knew I had two choices. I could pay to ship them in or try to grow my own. After trying many different seeds and coming up short I had a brainstorm and had a family member bring me some on a visit and then planted them. Eureka! I had Louisiana Red Beans! Straight off the grocery store shelf!!! Then I just saved the seeds. As you can see in the picture above they are a bush bean and you know they  are ready when the pods turn yellow and the beans inside are a red color.

As you can see they look very similar in appearance to the pinto bean but the difference is the taste and consistency.

  

You can put red beans in jars and can them but my favorite way to preserve them is to simply blanch them

then put them in bags and freeze them.

 Once blanched they are allowed to cool and drain well then put on large trays and  frozen.

 Then vacuum sealed and put in the freezer.

 When prepared I simply add chopped onions, garlic and usually homemade sausage or tasso which is a smoked seasoning meat and simmer slowly on the back of the stove in my cast iron pot until the beans are soft and there is a thick gravy.The trick is low and slow on the cooking.

Served hot over rice with a side of crunchy corn bread hot out of the skillet, some sliced tomatoes, fresh cucumbers and smothered squash  may just be a meal fit for a king. A southern one anyway: )

Well I am off to shell red beans.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Canning Red Beans

Normally every year I show pictures of trays of red beans frozen and ready to be put in vacuum bags for the freezer. 

This has been my preferred way of preserving this bean. But freezer space has been at a premium lately so I decided to try canning them instead.  Last week I canned the last of the red beans for this season. 

I am so glad I did try this new way because we love the outcome. Since they were not really fresh but rather dry from the pods I canned them like dry beans. 

I poured boiling water over them and soaked them out then filled my jars. Then I added a small amount of canning salt and boiling water and then removed the air bubbles and capped them off.  

I processed them for 1 hour and 30 minutes each batch in my pressure canner.  They cooked down to a beautiful deep red color with a thick bean gravy. 

This has turned into almost a convenience food for us. We simply open a jar and throw them in the crock pot on low to warm with some frozen ham chunks or sausage and some onions and garlic. They are ready in just a couple hours being precooked like that. I put up 35 jars and wished I had planted and put up more. I don't think I will ever freeze them again now that we have tasted them canned. 

The story behind these beans was that when I first moved here almost 2 decades ago from the south I could not find the traditional Red Camellia dried red beans that are available around New Orleans where I grew up. These are not the pinto beans that most are familiar with. Unable to find seeds I simply ordered a couple pounds of these Louisiana Red beans from an online grocer and planted them the next year in my garden. And I have been growing them ever since and saving the seeds. So yes my start of these beans came from a grocery store. They cook down slow and rich into a thick bean and gravy that I serve over rice with warm cornbread on the side.  Beans are a great source of protein if you are trying to cut back on meat consumption for health reasons. We tend to eat lots of beans  because they are easy to grow and preserve.  They can be canned in jars, frozen or simply dried on the bush and then stored dried. It is a great way to stretch your meat by just adding a small amount of meat to the pot for flavoring. I always save my ham bones for the bean pot. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Red Beans

As the temperatures have soared the red beans have struggled to fill out. But with supplemental watering they have done well. The beans now are just drying.

Above you can see the 3 100 ft. rows of red beans as the bushes start to yellow and dry at the end of their life cycle. As the bean pods turn yellow I take it as a sign to pick them. I could leave them to dry on the bush and eat them as dried beans but prefer this type of bean picked as a shell bean and frozen or canned. We picked a 5 gallon bucket off each row last week and left that many more to pick at a later date so that they could finish drying.   

3  5 gallon buckets of beans took me all day to shell. Once shelled they were washed and blanched for 3 minutes. Then cooled and placed on cookie sheets to freeze. 

Once frozen they were bagged 

Each bag contains 2 1/2 cups of shelled beans which is the average cooking of red beans for Louisianan red beans and rice for our family.

We bagged 8 bags with atleast 10 bags more still in the field. 

The great thing about these beans is that they cook down into a heavy red gravy. I grew up on these and you can find them sold in the French Quarter restaurants of New Orleans every Monday served over rice with a hearty helping of corn bread. Maybe some fried okra on the side. I cook mine with smoked sausage, onions and a Cajun seasoning meat called tasso. Cooked long and slow in a thick bottomed pot. A link to the home I have left and my past. With about 10 bags left in the freezer from last year and an additional 20 from this year that should hold me for another year. 

Blessings from The Holler 

The Canned Quilter