How to Cook Dried Beans in the Slow Cooker

I have been wanting to cook more of my own beans lately. Mark Bittman’s book Food Matters inspired me, with his descriptions of how nutritious and tasty beans can be when you cook them yourself. Dried beans are supposed to have a better flavor and texture than canned beans, and you can control the salt [...]

How to Make Croquettes

I have been making croquettes — or little fried cakes — for a long time now. They are always popular, and for me they are comfort food. I usually make them with mashed potatoes or beans. It didn’t occur to me that I could use another vegetable until I found Mark Bittman’s recipe for spinach [...]

Baked Beans for President’s Day

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I don’t make baked beans too much. To tell the truth, it’s not one of my favorite dishes. But a lot of people love them, especially on patriotic holidays, like President’s Day, and I always think something is much better homemade than out of a can. Here is a fairly simple, vegetarian baked [...]

Hoppin’ John

Despite saying that I wasn’t going to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day this year, I broke down and made the traditional Southern dish of hoppin’ john. (I skipped the collards, though.) And I have to say, it was fantastic. As a bonus, I’ll have good luck this year due to eating black-eyed peas.
I [...]

Bean Cakes, a Versatile Classic

Bean cakes — or croquettes, if you want to get all French about it — are a wonderfully versatile dish. They work equally well as a side at breakfast, as an appetizer with a dipping sauce, on a sandwich or in a tortilla. Use any kind of beans you like, and vary the flavorings to [...]

Black Bean Salsa

Oscar night usually lends itself well to fun menus — movie-themed snack foods that can be eaten in front of the TV while ultra-thin stars parade down the red carpet. But this year I just wasn’t inspired. What kind of menu can you build around something called The Departed? I hadn’t even seen any of [...]

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos

Burritos are probably the easiest weekday dinner to throw together, and are especially good for using up bits and pieces hanging around the kitchen, such as the stray vegetable, chile, bit of cheese and leftover beans. I try to make healthier burritos than the kind you get in Mexican restaurants, with many more vegetables and [...]

Hearty Three-Bean Soup

A Nor’easter is blowing through our area, just in time for Thanksgiving travel. It’s cold, windy and rainy — a perfect night for soup.
As you may have noticed, I make a lot of soups and pasta dishes at home. We go out to eat one to three times a week, and we really enjoy discovering [...]

Not Really Refried Beans

It is really useful to have a recipe for refried beans in your repertoire. Not only is this a good way to use up leftover cooked beans, but it also works fine with canned beans. Refried beans make a tasty side dish but can also be used to stuff burritos, as a filling for a [...]

Sausage, Beans & Greens Stew

Sausage and beans, beans and greens — both are classic combinations. This simple, one-pot, weeknight supper combines them all. This dish took less than 30 minutes to make and was a big hit at the table.
Sausage, Beans and Greens Stew
Serves: 2
Time to make: ~30 minutes

1 tbsp. olive oil
½ medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Italian [...]