Mushroom Herb Blends

Original Herb Blends
Mushroom Herb Blends

Mushroom & Herb Blends
Cooking videos

Videos
About the Herbs
Endorsements
History

Recipes for Beautiful Beans Seasoning

A FINE POT OF BEANS

A good natural foods store should offer a heady palette of beans, and many supermarkets are following suit. Beans all respond to the same basic treatment, but each will yield its distinctive character to the result. To start, it's always a good idea to look through them for stones, discolored beans, and anything else you don't want to eat. Then soak them, and drain.

Sauté onion gently in olive oil until translucent; stir in the other vegetables and seasonings, and sweat, covered, for 10-15 minutes. You then have two choices: 1. Add drained beaus, cover with water or stock, and simmer together 1-2 hours until soft; or, 2. Cook the beans separately with the stock only until almost soft, adding the vegetables for the last half hour or so. I usually cook them together, which means the flavor of the other vegetables will be leached out into the beans. But you may want the vegetables to retain their own flavor; in that _case, add them later. Use cooked beans in other recipes or eat them straight, garnished with sour cream, cilantro, grated cheese, salsa, chutneys, fresh sweet corn or roasted peppers. Eat them with cornbread or polenta, baked with Beautiful Beans Herbs. Enjoy them often; they're good for you!

Ingredients:
3 cups red, kidney, bayo, pinto, speckled, black, Anasazi, or even lima or white beans, soaked 8 hours or overnight in cold water
Approximately 5 cups water or stock 1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Beautiful Beans Herbs
l Green bell pepper, diced
l Stalk celery, diced or sliced fine
1 or 2 Carrots, sliced fine
3 Cloves minced or crushed garlic a bay leaf
1 Tsp. salt, and black pepper to taste

Chilies, as you wish:
An inch from a serrano, ja la peno, or a dried Ancho (rusty and shiny) will give added fire; an Anaheim (long, green and shiny), finely-sliced, adds bite and depth, but not too much heat.

Thumbnail Image 1

BEAUTIFUL BEANS REFRIED BEANS

Refried beans are simple to do, and a natural place to start with Mexican-style cuisine, since they find their way into many other dishes. They can be reheated again and again, to stuff burritos, tostadas, and enchiladas. Surrounded on a platter by salsas, olives, sour cream and guacamole, they are the basis for a colorful tray of dips for crisp tortilla chips. Wrapped in a tortilla with grated cheese and salsa, quickly warmed in microwave or stovetop frypan, they will fuel a Little-Leaguer through any windy spring game (spectators, too).

2 cups raw pinto or red beans (soaked in cold water at least 2 hours or overnight)
1 Tbsp. BEAUTIFUL BEANS HERBS
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. Beautiful Beans Herbs
More salt to taste
Fresh cilantro (optional)

 Start by soaking beans; drain them and cover with more water, salt, and BEAUTIFUL BEANS HERBS. In a heavy 2-qt pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until very soft. Drain and mash them smooth.
Meanwhile, saute' the onion over low heat in olive oil, covered and stirring, until reduced and golden. Add garlic, green pepper, and HERBS; cover and cook another 10 minutes. Mix in the mashed beans, add salt and pepper to taste. Add a handful of fresh cilantro as well. If you like them hotter, use more HERBS, chopped fresh chilis, dried chili flakes, or some salsa.
*A spoonful of BEAUTIFUL BEANS HERBS will enrich the flavor of commercial refried beans, too, on days when there's no time to start from scratch.
Thumbnail Image 1

YUMMY COOKED SALSA

Use this lovely salsa/sauce in eggs, burritos, on baked potatoes with sour cream, in all bean soups or chilis, with baked or grilled fish, chicken or meats--anything needing a flavor flash. Or, use as the sauce for hearty enchiladas.

1 large onion, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. BEAUTIFUL BEANS HERBS
3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, or
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
Apprx. 1/2 cup of water, to desired thickness
1/4 cup of red wine

 In a heavy medium saucepan, saute' the onion gently in olive oil until translucent. Add the other ingredients and simmer at least 1/2 hour. If you like cilantro, add a fresh and loosely-chopped handful when hot or cooled.
Thumbnail Image 1

GARNET YAM BAKE with ANAHEIM PEPPERS

Yams are lovely in color and texture, perfect as a background for bright spicy peppers. They are also very nutritious, and indispensable to vegetarians. Try this easy and satisfying combination. Serves six.

Remove tops and seeds from one red and one long green Anaheim pepper. Blacken them over or under a flame, then cover in a bowl and ignore for fifteen minutes. Scrub three medium garnet yams (about 3 pounds} and remove any blemishes, or peel them completely. Sweet potatoes are fine too. Cut in one-inch chunks. Finely slice one yellow onion, and spread into the bottom of a well-buttered baking pan. Remove blackened skin from peppers, slice finely, and mix in a bowl with yams, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 Tbsp. Beautiful Beans Herbs. Spread over the onions, pour on one cup chicken stock, and bake covered for one hour at 350°. Or microwave at full power for 17 minutes or until soft.

A nutty brown-rice pilaf is a fine companion.

For a yummy soup, puree the cooked vegetables, add 4 cups chicken stock, and some heavy cream or milk. Garnish with finely-diced red pepper and/or parsley.
Thumbnail Image 1

FAST and EASY EVERYDAY USES
for BEAUTIFUL BEANS HERBS

  • Beautiful Beans guacamole: mash avocados and mix with lime juice, garlic, minced red onion, chopped jalapeiños, salt, fresh tomatoes and Beautiful Beans Herbs, about a teaspoon per cup of guacamole.

  • Use instead of your regular chili powder in home­made or canned chili.

  • For tacos, add one tablespoon per pound of ground or shredded beef or chicken.

  • In homemade or commercial salsa, add one table­spoon per quart.

  • Favorite quesadillas: Sprinkle on cheese as it melts on a tortilla, top with a slice of fresh tomato and salsa.

  • Sprinkle on meats, poultry or fish before broiling for a pungent Southwest border taste.

  • Add a tablespoon of Beautiful Beans Herbs to your favorite cornbread recipe, or to polenta.

    • Thumbnail Image 1

    FOR THE COOK WHO LOVES TO CREATE IN THE KITCHEN

    Good Thyme Herb Blends are your partner in the adventure of color, fragrance, and savor.

    FOR THE COOK WITH LESS TIME

    Good Thyme Herb Blends were created to make great seasoning quick and easy.

    FOR THE PROFESSIONAL

    Good Thyme Herb Blends are seasoned performers, blended from experience and created for results.

    FOR ANY COOK

    Your food is more than a statement of style; it's comfort, nourishment, and well-being. Season it right with Good Thyme Herb Blends.

    Call or e-mail us to swap recipes and ideas. Look for the free recipe on each product page.
    Good Thyme Herb Company, Post Office Box 975,
    Mendocino, California 95460
    Phone: (707) 964-0509
    e-mail: herbs@goodthyme.com