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My wife and I eat for both health and flavor, and she believes that we should eat a half-cup of beans every day because of the protein, fiber (people need 30 grams per day) and trace minerals. We almost never achieve that goal, though I'm sure we eat beans more often than most people. For variety, she experiments with all kinds of beans, and her Anasazi chili beans dish is extraordinary, in my opinion. Here's how she does it. ANASAZI CHILI BEANS Step 1. SOAK. Put a 16-oz bag of organic Anasazi beans in a 4-qt pot. Examine beans to remove any extra matter. Add filtered water to 3 inches above beans. Soak 4 to 12 hours (or boil beans for 3 minutes and soak for 1 hour). Drain off water. Step 2. ADD INGREDIENTS. Add filtered water again (or stock) to 2 inches above beans. Add 1 large onion chopped, 5 bay leaves, ½ bulb fennel chopped, a few grinds black pepper, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tbs medium Chimayo pure roasted ground chile powder, large pinch dried lemon grass, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, 6 carrots chunked, 3 cloves fresh garlic minced. Kathleen also adds these (optional) for extra flavor and to reduce gas (I didn't say eliminate!): 1 stick kombu (dried seaweed), ½ tsp ajwain seeds crushed, 2 pinches epazote crushed (remove large pieces after cooking, like bay leaves). Step 3. COOK. Simmer and stir occasionally until tender (2-4 hours). When done, add salt to taste (adding salt before cooking makes beans tough). To thicken cooked beans, use hand blender (or spoon) to smash some of the beans, stir and then cook an additional 15 minutes. Serve or refrigerate. Step 4. GARNISH. Warm the beans and put into individual serving bowls. For each bowl, crumble 1 tbs organic Swiss cheese onto beans (feta or goat cheese also work well). Add some chopped yellow bell pepper for color, texture and sweetness. Top generously with chopped fresh baby arugula greens. Finish with a handful of fat-free herbed croutons. The "secret ingredient" is the pure Chimayo chile powder. Chimayo chiles are grown only in the Chimayo Valley in New Mexico and give this dish a unique richness. Organic ingredients aren’t required, but Kathleen prefers them whenever possible because they’re grown in richer soil (more nutrients) without pesticides. She says it's OK to get creative and substitute your preferred ingredients to achieve a different flavor. If you can’t find an ingredient in your grocery store, check a health food store or these web sites: - For organic beans and grains... http://www.arrowheadmills.com - For spices... http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html - For chimayo chile... http://www.nativeseeds.org/v2/default.php You may find that preparing this dish is a learning experience. It’s what Emeril calls "labor of love" food, because it takes time to prepare. It's the sort of thing you'd do on the weekend, make a lot of it and serve it during the coming week. When you eat your first spoonful with all those different flavors, you'll be glad you made the journey.
Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com
Dennis E. Coates is CEO of Performance Support Systems, author of MindFrames, a brain-based personality assessment system (www.initforlife.com) and co-founder of the Train-to-Ingrain alliance (www.train-to-ingrain.com, info@train-to-ingrain.com, 800-488-6463), which delivers a reinforcement-centered approach to learning and development that achieves permanent, measurable improvements in workplace behavior and positive impacts on business results.
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