Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit...

Beans are my one true love, and I hope that they will become yours, too!

The rallying cry of growing up vegetarian is to ask for beans, no beef, on your Taco Bell Mexican pizza. When I was in college in Austin, to partake in the amazing Mexican food culture, I learned early on to ask for frijoles para carne at food trucks. I relished the delish combination of spicy salsas, crunchy onion, and radishes, but I always looked forward most to my one true love: beans <3

Beans come in all vibes and flavors - just like you and me

Beans are the ultimate superfood to me - they are good sources of iron, fiber, and help me overcome the ever looming pressure of protein anxiety. I have always hated eating leftovers -- I’ve never been able to meal prep. The moment that something is cooked, and in my fridge, it becomes the last thing on Earth that I would want to eat.

The one exception to this has become a pot of cooked beans for the week. I know what you’re thinking; I sound like I’m going to tell you to make something like “leeky gochujang miso beans and greens”! But, I actually want to show you how infinitely riffable and delicious a pot of beans can be. Every food influencer and New York Times recipe will insist that you need to simmer a pot of beans for hours on end, stuffed to the brim with aromatics, but beans can be easy, nutritious, and approachable.

Making beans from scratch can also help alleviate people’s digestion fears about beans. Soaking removes some of the indigestible sugars (oligosaccharides) that cause gas in the digestive system. When these sugars enter the intestine, they are broken down by bacteria, which produce gas. When you drain and rinse the beans, you make them easier to digest.

The hack here is to finally embrace the Instant Pot. The IP achieves perfectly creamy beans every time, in a fraction of time that simmering can take.

Black Beans Routine

1. Soak for ~around 8 hours. I usually do this overnight or through the course of a workday

2. Strain and rinse the beans

   • If you choose not to cook them that day, you can store them strained and rinsed in a container in the fridge

3. Fill with about an inch of water above the beans

4. Add seasonings and aromatics of your choice.

   • Add LOTS of salt! Pasta water levels

5. Pressure cook for 8 minutes

6. KEY: Let it naturally release! It should take about ~20 to 30 minutes

If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can simmer the beans. Bring everything up to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. It will likely take somewhere between 1-1.5 hours, and you’ll have to monitor the water level throughout the cooking process.

Keep warm in the insta-pot, just like you keep warm in a hot tub after a long day

Seasonings and aromatics

1. Blank canvas : bay leaf, roughly chopped onion

2. Mexican: Smoked paprika, mexican oregano, bay leaf, a dried guajillo pepper, 1-2 garlic cloves

3. Caribbean: Allspice, thyme, scallions, scotch bonnet

4. Italian: Garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, olive oil

Beans can take on lots of flavors. I do recommend not adding any acids to the cooking liquid, as it can prevent beans from getting as soft. Things like lime and tomato, should be added afterwards.

The Black Bean Meal Plan

All of these recipes can be made using the Mexican or blank canvas formulas.

Black Bean Burgers

This is my favorite go-to recipe to make when camping. So many black bean burgers online require so many useless ingredients and overly complicated forms of binding everything together. Here’s my formula

1. 2 cups of black beans

2. 1/2 cup of rolled oats

3. The juice of a chipotle in adobo pepper

4. (optional) sautéed onions and shiitake mushrooms

Mash all of these ingredients together and let it sit for about 15 minutes. This really allows it to come together -- it is much more likely to fall apart without it.

From there, heat a cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat. Add a thin layer of neutral oil, form and place patties directly on the pan.

When crispy on that side, flip the patty over with a wide metal spatula, and add a slice of cheddar cheese. Cover the pan, and let the cheese melt. Your black bean patty is ready!

Toppings I like to add

• Lettuce

• Tomato

• Onions — I like both a big slice and fried onions from a jar

• Pickles and pickled jalapeños

• Kewpie mayo

Sometimes beans are broken in half. But you gotta just go with the flow!

“Refried” Black Bean Tacos

My most favorite way to eat my pot of beans is in “refried” form. I put refried in quotes because I don’t actually fry them, but I immersion blend them to my preferred consistency. I usually like to drain most of the liquid and save it. I use the liquid to thin out the refried beans, or use it as a broth for other things in my week

A go-to meal for me is to eat these on charred corn tortillas, with some kind of taco filling, topped with cabbage, cilantro, and chopped white onion.

Here are some ideas for your tacos

1. Tofu scramble

   1. Crumble tofu onto a sheet pan, and drizzle it with olive oil, salt, and smoked paprika. Bake at 450 until cwispy

   2. Sauté onions until soft with chili pepper and cumin powder. Add tomato paste, cook down, and deglaze with some of your bean juice

   3. Toss your tofu into this sauce.

2. Fajita veggies

   1. Peppers and onions on a very hot pan until charred! The key to a really nice charred vegetable is to mix it less than you would normally think

3. Street corn

   1. Frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe’s, 1/2 parts kewpie mayo, to 1/2 parts greek yogurt, cotija cheese, grated garlic, and cilantro

4. Roasted cauliflower

   1. Roasted on a sheet pan with chili pepper and cumin powder, until browned on the edges - cut them into various sizes, so some of them are softer than others, providing fun texture

Beans about to face their immersion blended demise

Breakfast Bean Bowl

This is the quick breakfast/brunch vibe of your dreams. I love to eat this when I know I need a particularly nourishing morning meal that can sustain me for hours.

I like to put a base of beans at the bottom of the bowl, and add a little bit of the bean juice so that it is brothy and soupy, to soak up all the flavors.

The formula

1. Toast a frozen hash brown (or roast potatoes in anyway that you like)

2. Cut up tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cabbage, and cilantro.

3. Top your bowl with your veggies, a dollop of yogurt, your potatoes, and a few healthy dashes of your favorite hot sauce.

I am allergic to eggs, but a fried egg here would be perfect as well.

People who bean together - stay together

I hope you enjoyed this meal plan, and I hope you and I can find real kinship in the bean. 🫘