View From The Porch: This will all end in tears, I just know it.

Monday, July 07, 2008

This will all end in tears, I just know it.

So, the Thirteen Bean Soup is underway. I think I've got the "simmer" part down pat with the beans and the ham. In a couple of hours, we''l find out if this is an episode of I Love Lucy or of Julia Child & Company.

20 comments:

Bonnie said...: Shit...even if the soup is successful, it'll end in tears as things progress through your digestive system. I'm glad I'm in another state.; 1:08 PM, July 07, 2008
Tam said...: It is 100% dairy product free!

Don't believe that evil RobertaX woman! Lies, I tell you! Lies!; 1:14 PM, July 07, 2008
Bonnie said...: Dude, it's a SOUP. Made from BEANS. Lactose or not, that's a recipe for disaster...lol.; 1:16 PM, July 07, 2008
Dr. StrangeGun said...: It's not a recipe for disaster, as long as it was properly soaked and rinsed first...; 1:19 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: "Blazing Saddles", the scene around the campfire comes to mind ... and I wouldn't worry about chances of failure as long as you don't burn it.

Gmac; 1:40 PM, July 07, 2008
Robert Langham said...: It will only end in tears if you cut the onions early.; 1:56 PM, July 07, 2008
breda said...: be sure to open all the windows.; 2:34 PM, July 07, 2008
John B said...: I buy the 13 or 15 bean soup at a rate of once a year. Not to eat, I have better sense. I am a teaching auxiliary for our school district. I get some packets of peppers from the pizza place and occasionally some poppy seeds. We then see which ones will grow. Actually I strain out the lentils and split peas as they generally don't grow, and we are trying to encourage the little future agronomists. If the plants aren't trashed in summer school, they generally survive to fall, in fact that's a little ceremony. the kids carry the plants into the class room they will be in next fall. usually someone comes in twice weekly to water & tend.

If nothing else they can always grow pot!

For -ahem- medical purposes only. Personally I have no intention of remaining sober through the next presidential administration.....; 3:20 PM, July 07, 2008
GreatBlueWhale said...: Beano. About the 10th wonder of the modern world.; 4:26 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: GBW,
and you can brew with it.

http://byo.com/mrwizard/1112.html; 4:45 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: Energy crisis averted. News at 11.; 7:51 PM, July 07, 2008
Robert said...: Mmmmm...13 Bean Soup.

Just make sure you stir it often enough; if the stuff on the bottom gets cooked too long and burnt, it will form an inch thick sludge at the bottom of the pot. The rest of the soup will be fine, but its a pain to clean.; 8:03 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: There are Ways to sharply reduce or even eliminate the problematic compounds in bean soups and stews without eliminating the flavors.

Way one is soaking the beans overnight, then discarding the soaking liquid (reserving the beans, obviously) and starting over with fresh water. This is already part of many long-cooking bean recipes, but it's generally not explained why this is traditional, even though most of those recipes work just fine as a dish without the presoak. It works even better if you briefly bring the beans to a boil before starting the soak.

However, this does sacrifice some of the flavor and nutrition.

Way two is just to make the cooking time low and slow, to the tune of FORBLOODYEVER. This is also a traditional part of many bean recipes, and generally preserves more of the flavor. Doing both will cut the flatulence factor most of all.

The problem is certain kinds of complex carbohydrates (oligosaccharides), which cannot be digested by humans and therefore lead to a feast in your gut by the normal flora living there- same reason lactose-intolerant people have the problems they do, the sudden feast of undigested sugar for the gut-dwellers. Soaking leaches them out. Long cooking breaks them down. Fermenting and germination both consume them, which is why there are so many fewer problems with things like miso and sprouts.

This kitchen chemistry lesson brought to you by Harold McGee and thousands of years of productive tradition.; 8:39 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: how on earth do you get 13 different kinds of beans? Did you add coffee, vanilla, and chocolate beans too?; 8:39 PM, July 07, 2008
Don M said...: 13 beans isn't enough for a proper serving....

Oops, never mind.; 8:53 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: Just be careful about lighting your smokes for the next day or two.; 9:59 PM, July 07, 2008
Unknown said...: Whuh...??
Ewww!!
Pass the salt and cornbread, please.; 11:14 PM, July 07, 2008
Anonymous said...: I suggest upgrading to the superior 15 Bean Soup for MOAR power.; 3:04 PM, July 08, 2008
Anonymous said...: Are there Fava beans? And a big Amarone?; 9:16 PM, July 08, 2008
Anonymous said...: "how on earth do you get 13 different kinds of beans?"

N.K. Hurst's 15 Bean Soup. In the dried bean section at your grocer.

(Hurst's beans thread at Roadfood.com.)

My version uses beef broth, with tomato paste and sauteed onion. Simmer forever (add more broth as needed). In the last hour add a can of diced potatoes, a can of corn, and a can of minced tomatoes. Yum.; 2:01 PM, July 10, 2008