Beans.
Beans are amazing. They provide nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which supply other plants with essential nutrients, thus their role as one of the “Three Sisters” in Latin and Native American cultures where they are grown with maize and squash. They are high in starch, protein and dietary fiber and are an excellent source of iron, potassium, selenium, molybdenum, thiamine, vitamin B6, and folic acid. When eaten in combination with corn, all the essential amino acids are present to make a complete protein.
Beans also cause gas(a great source of humor…or so they say). This is due to hard-to-digest complex sugars(trisaccharides). Beans also contain a toxin, lectin phytohaemagglutinin, and phytic acid, which can cause stomach irritation. Although, phytic acid can help reduce the risk of cancers, especially colon cancer. It’s a good thing the preparation of the beans, if done correctly, can take care of these things.
To properly prepare beans, first soak overnight in a bowl in either the fridge or on the countertop(for extra long soaking place beans in fridge to prevent souring). Pour enough water in the bowl so that it extends above the beans about 2 inches. If you can, switch out the water at least once to remove some of the trisaccharides. The next day, or after about 8 hours, it is time to cook!
Strain and rinse the beans then place in new water, be sure to pour enough water to extend above the beans around 2 inches. Boil the beans furiously for 10 minutes with the lid off. Scrape off the foam that forms. The foam is the gas inducing trisaccharides. Then season, cover, and simmer.
To further reduce torturing friends and relatives with unnatural gas, you can add kombu or epazote into the beans. Kombu is a seaweed that is used heavily in asian cultures and epazote is an herb that is used in many Latin cultures. Both aid in digestion and help to reduce gas. I am using epazote because as it happens it grows like a weed in most parts the United States, Central, and South America. However, after a few unsuccessful outings to Prospect Park, I was only able to find epazote at a local Mexican restaurant, Chavella’s. Usually you can find epazote at most Mexican bodegas. When seraching in the natural environment for epazote, follow your nose. Epazote has a strong turpentine-like aroma.
Besides the epazote (the dried bunch of herbs in the pic above), I typically season black beans with garlic, onion, bay leaves, salt, and chilis. This time I used wild scallions from prospect park instead of traditional onions. Use each ingredient at your own discretion and be sure to experiment!
Besides Wikipedia I obtained my “bean” info from The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood and from Alana, one of the chefs from the Jivamukti Cafe.
