Cooking up stories: Beans are magical

The other day, my little boy sidled up to me with a wry grin on his face. “Mom,” he said. “I didn't tell you this before, but in school my teacher asked us to make up a poem. So I said, ‘Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat, the more you (fill in the blank).'”

The funny part is not so much that he told me this tall tale, but that my dad had told me the same thing when I was a kid. My dad's story was even better, because he added that his teacher had paddled him, something teachers were allowed to do back in “the olden days.”

When I relayed my dad's version of the story to my little boy, his eyes widened: “So Grandpa Tom is the one who made up that poem?” he asked.

“I doubt it,” I said. “I think it was Shakespeare.”

Well, as we all know, beans are not a magical fruit. But they are an inexpensive, versatile, nutritious legume that can be used in many delicious recipes and served as a main or side dish.

Although there are many varieties, from tiny navy beans to huge fava beans, the pinto bean is a symbol of cultural identity here in the Southwest. On a cattle ranch, in a Hispanic kitchen, or on an American Indian reservation, you're likely to find a pot of beans simmering on the stove or over a campfire.

When I was growing up and company dropped by the house, my dad would jokingly ask our guests: “Want a bean?”

He enjoyed cooking pinto beans outdoors over a mesquite fire, stirring them often and adding slivers of onion, garlic, tomatoes and jalapenos that he'd cut with his pocket knife.

His beans were soupy, although he did not add meat broth as some people do. Instead, he'd just add plenty of water, spices and ham hocks or bacon, and then let the beans simmer slowly for hours.

As they cooked, they created a hearty broth of their own.

Sometimes he served his beans as a side dish to grilled steak, but more often, he served them as a main course with pone bread he had cooked in a cast iron skillet.

His cowboy camp cooking complemented my mom's Tex-Mex cooking. Sometimes she would take leftover beans from the fridge, place them in hot oil in a skillet, and them mash them to make refried beans to serve with arroz con pollo or whatever else she had made for supper.

Other times, she made chili to add to the beans. We usually got about three meals per week out of one pot of pinto beans.

They are easy to prepare, too. First, sort pinto beans, separating plump, pink ones from any that are broken, dark or shriveled. Likewise, discard any small pebbles you may find in the beans.

Next, rinse them in a colander under running water. Then you'll need to soak them, a process that cuts cooking time and allegedly reduces the amount of flatulence that cooked beans can cause.

Place one part beans to three parts water in a large pot and let sit overnight. Or for a quick soak method, bring the beans and water to a boil for two minutes, remove from heat and set aside for one hour. The beans will swell to at least double their size.

To cook a pot of plain ol' pinto beans, drain the soak water. Then add twice that amount of clean water to the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly until the beans are tender.

Depending on a variety of factors, including how fresh the beans are, cooking time may typically vary from one and a half to three hours.

To make pinto bean soup, follow the first recipe below. Serve the soup with corn bread or biscuits. Save the leftovers in the fridge for several days, and follow the next two recipes to get two more meals out of one pot of pinto beans.

Pinto bean soup

2 cups well-sorted and rinsed dry pinto beans

6 cups water

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small can crushed tomatoes

1 jalapeno, diced (or 1 small can diced green chilies)

3 slices bacon

salt and pepper, to taste

dash of Mexican oregano

dash of ground cumin

Sort and clean dry pinto beans. Rinse well under running water. In a large pot, soak beans overnight in three times the amount of water. (Or for a quick soak method, bring beans and water to a boil for two minutes, reduce heat and set aside for one hour.) Discard soak water. Add six cups clean water. Bring beans, bacon, onion and garlic to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently with lid tilted so steam may escape.

Cook for one and a half to three hours, until beans are tender. About an hour before the beans are done, add tomatoes, chilies, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin.

Refried pinto beans

2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Optional: Shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add beans. Mash with potato masher or the back of a fork. Heat, top with shredded cheese and serve. Use as a side dish, as a topping for tostadas, or a filling for burritos.

Easy chili beans

2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 pound ground round

1 / 2 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 16 ounce can red chili sauce

1 / 4 cup picante sauce (such as Pace's)

Optional: Shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat, onion and garlic. Add beans. Add red chili sauce and salsa. Mix and heat well. Serve hot with corn bread or tortillas.

Pinto bean nutrition information and facts

A half cup of pinto beans:

* Counts as two ounces in the MyPyramid.gov Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts Group. For a 2,000 calorie diet, the daily recommendation is about five and a half ounces.

* Is a healthy vegetarian choice that is free of fat, cholesterol and sodium and provides 32 percent of daily recommended amount of fiber.

* Contains just 120 calories, five from fat.

* Provides eight grams of protein.

* Provides 10 percent of the daily recommended value of iron, and two percent of Vitamin C.

Source: mypyramid.gov