Bean Soaking...But Why?

In the past few months, we've decided to go off of our addiction to canned beans. Convenience is the grand poohba of motherhood, but the risks of consuming BPA is totally not worth it in this case. Yes, I know, there are BPA-free cans now...I'm getting to it. DRY BEANS ARE DELICIOUS. Soaking and cooking dry beans means you'll get a wonderful bite and an awesome (salt and other preservative-free) taste.

So how does it work? I rate it a 2 on the annoying scale. Save your tomato sauce jars for this one. Also, it's important to mention that I don't have the patience to tend to the needs of each bean species so instead I use this very method for all beans.

1. Fill a clean jar 1/4 of the way with desired bean. 
2. Fill to the jar neck with water. Cap it. Let it sit overnight or more. 
3. Once the beans have had a nice sit, drain and rinse until the water runs clear. Pick out the gross dark ones and compost 'em. Put rinsed beans in a pot with a few cups of water (it doesn't really matter how much water as long as the beans are covered liberally) 
4. Place on a cold stove, ramp the heat up to high. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for an hour or so. Boom. And I don't mean flatulence. 

I like to taste test along the way until I get the texture I'm after. So as not to be caught off guard, I soak all of my beans at the beginning of the week (I pick out all of my recipes and shop for them during

the weekend...more on that later).

I love beans and I think they get a lousy rap. Maybe because of all of the farting. But farting can be fun?

Happy Week!
Love,
Jes