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I have 15 POUNDS of pinto beans in my house right now. I’ll have a steady supply of bean dip in my kitchen for the next several years.
Thanks, mom and dad!
My parents like to go on long road trips around the U.S. in their Airstream trailer.
When they were traveling through New Mexico, they bought me 5 pounds of beans from Akin Farms, in a town called Estancia. Check out the website: Just Pinto Beans.
When mom and dad were in Colorado, they bought me another 10 pounds of pintos from Adobe Milling, in the town of Dove Creek. Here’s my mom’s picture:
STEP 1: COOK THE BEANS
I like to cook 3 cups of beans at a time. 3 cups dry beans yields about 9 cups (4 1/2 pints) cooked beans.
For each batch of bean dip, set aside 2 cups (1 pint) cooked beans. I like to make a triple batch of dip at one time. I freeze the remaining beans in 1 cup wide mouth jars. Load up on those jars!
- Soak the beans in a large pot of water for at least 8 hours, then rinse.
- Cook the beans in a crock pot on high for 6-8 hours with some chili powder and chopped jalapeno, garlic and onion.
- If you don’t have a crock pot, simmer the beans on the stove for a couple hours. Here is a handy bean cooking reference.
STEP 2: ASSEMBLE INGREDIENTS
For this recipe, I used my hummus recipe as a template. For me, “hummus style” means using raw garlic, tahini and fresh-squeezed citrus.
For one batch of Pinto Bean Dip…
Use 2 cups pinto beans.
Prepare:
1-2 cloves garlic…minced
1 small wedge onion…chopped
1 lime…juiced
Set aside:
1 T tahini (sesame butter)
1 t nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt
1 t cumin (absent for the picture…oops!)
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t fajita or taco seasoning blend
1/8 t ground chipotle (very spicy!)
STEP 3: PUREE AND PORTION
Use a small food processor to puree all ingredients until smooth. Add a little water if needed to thin.
Portion the dip in 1/2 cup or 1 cup jars. A single batch will make a little more than 3 half cup servings. A triple batch yields 11 half cup servings. Refrigerate or freeze.
So…I have the Curry Lovers set of spices from the Savory Spice Shop (Bend, Oregon) that I need to get using. I don’t want stale spices! I got to thinking– what better way to work them into my cooking repertoire than to “curry up” some split pea soup? Here’s my yummy creation…
Curried Split Pea Soup
CHOP THESE VEGGIES:
1 onion
2 carrots
6 garlic cloves (minced)
*1/2 of a cauliflower
*3 Yukon Gold Potatoes
(*A variation of this recipe is to omit the potatoes, increase the cauliflower to a full head, and add a yellow pepper.)
COMBINE THESE SPICES:
dash garlic powder
dash celery salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t turmeric
1 t sage
1 t parsley
1 t thyme
1 t Garam Masala (Mine is from the bulk section of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op. It contains cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, pepper, and coriander)
1 t Savory Spice Shop’s Thai Green Curry powder (use your choice of dried curry powder)
1 T nutritional yeast
RINSE:
1 1/2 C green split peas
SET ASIDE:
Coconut oil
1/2 t fenugreek
6 C water
4 t Vogue Instant VegeBase (Low Sodium)
Large soup pot
Vitamix Blender
ASSEMBLY:
Heat 1/2 T coconut oil and 1/2 t fenugreek in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the veggies and sizzle for a few minutes. Stir in the spices and wait several more minutes. Add the split peas, water, and VegeBase. Heat to a boil. Simmer covered for at least 1 hour, then turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaf.
Now…my preference with split pea soup is to puree part of the soup in my Vitamix blender. (I just like the texture of the peas better that way.)
Here is the half that stays chunky…
Chunky Curried Split Pea Soup
Here is the blended half…
Smooth Curried Split Pea Soup
And here is the combination…
Half smooth, half chunky Curried Split Pea Soup
This recipe makes about 12 cups and is quite mild on the spicy index.
I don’t think I could ever tire of soup! 🙂
NSNG = No Sugar No Grains
Freeheel Vegan 