Beans

[DonOhio]

I love 'em. My 18 month old daughter loves 'em. Wife doesn't love 'em, won't touch 'em unless they're smothered in sugary sauce (that has it's place but otherwise, blech). She won't even eat refried in Mexican, which to me ceases to be Mexican.

Any recipe ideas that might bring her around?

I'm serious, btw.

[danek]

Maybe start with bean & ham soup: Garbonzos (for texture), Red Kidney (for sweetness), black - rinsed well (for bean-ness)? Keep it thick with lots o' veggies. My .02.

[mretzloff]

What does she not like about the beans? Taste, texture, smell, etc. all need different things to change.

[jlanger]

My bean loving 3 year old loves black bean burgers. Then again I haven't seen a bean dish that she doesn't like, chili, black beans and rice, heck even green string beans.

[Luc]

I love tacos with pinto beans. I'm a huge meat eater but pinto beans in taco? This way!

Huevos Rancheros is my favorite brekkie.

Is it beans only or any Mexican food?

[Mr_Amazing]

Divorce and a custody battle is the only remedy for this situation.

In all seriousness, it might work to find recipes that mask the flavor of the beans. They aren't for everybody and I am pretty picky about the beans I'll eat, but I find that recipes that have a lot of flavor going on tend to help with the beans. It could be a texture thing. Maybe the wife just needs to eat them more often.

One thing that gets me to eat my beans is a Chipotle Burrito. With the rice, salsa, and meat it is hardly noticeable that beans are in them.

[cfriend]

I hear these are good for one's heart.

[Carlin]

I hear these are good for one's heart.

I also keep hearing that it makes one smart.
p

My .02, not a fan of beans, actually I hate them.

[Alacrity59]

How about a simplified humus made from chick peas, a bit of garlic, Lemon juice, and a touch of salt.

[82R100]

I hear these are good for one's heart.

Yeah, I heard that in summer camp. :smile:

[DonOhio]

She loves Mex food, just not the beans in any form. I've tried to pin her down on exactly what it is about them she does not like...she just isn't sure. Possibly frightened by butter beans as a toddler, I suspect.

Some really good sounding recipes here already, I will utilize them for my daughter and myself for sure, thanks gents!

[Luc]

She loves Mex food, just not the beans in any form. I've tried to pin her down on exactly what it is about them she does not like...she just isn't sure. Possibly frightened by butter beans as a toddler, I suspect.

Some really good sounding recipes here already, I will utilize them for my daughter and myself for sure, thanks gents!

All right, all I could find in my Rick Bayless book that looked interesting is beans in soup or Mashed beans cooked in bacon, chile and coriander instead of the regular mashed beans. If the beans are prepared with something else (Bacon/coriander/chile), it might be more tempting as the taste might be a bit masked.

Depending on which bean you use, you get different textures/tastes. Pinto is my favorite(any dish). My other half love black turtle beans, I think they're ok but no more. White beans goes in spaghetti sauce when I do pasta flagole but nowhere else.

[Abdiel]

It's getting winter, nice and cool...good time to pull out the Ribollita. This is a peasant Tuscan vegetable soup using beans and bread. It's a very hearty soup and has enough going on that you can easily slip the beans by her.

You will need-

1 large bunch of the greens of your choice. Kale is most traditonal but anything similar (mustard, turnip, etc. even collards) will work. You can also get away with cabbage but not nearly as flavorful. Cut into bite sized pieces, keep in mind greens will shrink quite a bit when cooked.
1 Leek, cut in half and sliced thin
1 Large red onion, diced
2 carrots, cut in half moons
2 zucchini, cut in half moons
2 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 Canned plum tomatoes, crushed
1 (dry) Cup white or cranberry beans
Good Italian bread torn into small chunks, amount will vary depending on how thick you want to make it. Traditionally it can vary from a vegetable soup with a little bread all the way up to a really thick bread and vegetable stew you can walk on.

Prep-

Pre-soak the beans for 8 hours and cook per package directions, leaving them just a little under done.

Saute the sliced onion and leeks over medium until translucent in a little extra virgin olive oil. Turn heat to high and add all other vegetables except for zucchini. Let them soften for about 5-10 minutes or until the greens have wilted. Then water to cover and the par cooked beans Add salt and pepper to taste and some herbs if you desire but keep it simple, the main flavors should be the vegetables. Leave on higher heat until it just comes to a low simmer and then cook over low heat until tender, about 2 hours. Add the zucchini with about a half hour left. Now add the bread and stir well but be careful not to mush everything up. Cut the heat off and let it stand for 10-20 minutes for the bread to absorb the juices and break down.

Serve with some nice EVOO drizzled over the top. A little grated cheese would not be bad but should be used very sparingly so as not to overpower the vegetables. A little toasted Italian bread that been rubbed with a garlic clove and brushed with EVOO is a great side.

Also this soup is great refrigerator velcro. Green beans? Broccoli? Cauliflower? Just about any vegetable you have on hand that needs to get used up can be chopped and tossed into the soup. It's also great for when you have that little bit of dried pasta in the box that isn't quite enough to make a meal out of. Small shapes (orzo, ditalini, etc) can go right in. Larger ones can be broken up and then tossed in, pastas should get tossed in with about 30 minutes to go, keep in mind this will effect the quantity of water needed.

I do not recommend adding meats or meat broths, as it overpowers the subtle flavors of the vegetables and completely changes the dish.

[Wilpar76]

My wife hates it when I make this, but it really is delicious. My father used to make this for us. Baked Beans and scrambled eggs. As crazy as it sounds, it is delicious, with just a little brown sugar in the beans and some black pepper for the eggs. I also put shredded cheese in mine.

I haven't made this in a while, as my wife can't stand the sight of it. But, I think I just talked it up. I have a can of Campbell's baked beans in the cupboard. :tongue_sm:tongue_sm

[xriley]

How can somebody not like white, navy or pinto beans prepared properly?

Stew with either salt pork or fat back, an onion, maybe a little thyime, for 4-5 hours and then remove a 1/4 to 1/3 of the beans, puree, and then put back into the beans. Seriously, how can someone resist a good simple bean soup?

[FreezerBurns]

She loves Mex food, just not the beans in any form. I've tried to pin her down on exactly what it is about them she does not like...she just isn't sure. Possibly frightened by butter beans as a toddler, I suspect.

Some really good sounding recipes here already, I will utilize them for my daughter and myself for sure, thanks gents!

I posted this recipe somewhere else on here... If she likes Mexican, you might try:

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

In a big bowl combine:
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can of black beans (drained)
2 chopped scallions
1 chopped challet
1 clove chopped garlic (granulated garlic also works)
Handfull of chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
1 or 2 seeded and chopped green chiles (or jalapenos)
Sea salt and pepper

**Vary the amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste of course. Sometimes I'll add some chili powder and ground cumino for a change.

Cover and put it in the fridge for awhile before use.

Use it like any other salsa - on burros, tacos, tostadas, chips, etc.

[auk1124]

Hating beans was not an option in my younger days - would have starved to death if not for Half Runners and cornbread.

Still love em to this day. My wife has a hundred quarts of Half Runners and Kentucky Wonders canned up in the basement.

[Confilo]

Look for Frijoles Negros Cuban Style. Do not use canned bean. One of my ex wives only talk to me when she wants me to send some.

[Captain Flint]

Two words: Cassoulet and feijoada. If she doesn't like that she'll never like beans.

[Venom8431]

If she doesn't like them, I'm not sure a fancy recipe will help. My wife has never enjoyed mushrooms and no matter how I tried to make them pleasing to her palate, it just never worked.

[novice]

For you who want beans and get heirloom beans and find beans you did not know exist, this site is fantastic, I am, obviously, a bean eater:

www.ranchogordo.com

and enjoy beans and more beans and beans.......

[professorchaos]

Bacon. Plenty of bacon. Also, I'd avoid earthy beans like reds and kidneys. The various whites seem a little milder to me. One of my favorite recipes is white beans and shrimp. Cafe Reconcile in New Orleans makes a damn fine one:

http://blog.nola.com/recipes/2007/08/cafe_reconciles_white_beans_an.html


Two words: Cassoulet and feijoada. If she doesn't like that she'll never like beans.

If she doesn't like Cassoulet, abandon all hope.

[MoJoe]

I'd recommend the bean dish that they served in Blazing Saddles. It really seemed to go over very well.

[WhosYerBob]

I'm afraid it's more of a love or hate issue.

Had a girlfriend in high school that I brought home to meet the folks and share dinner with us. Dinner that night was bean chili. The girlfriend stopped cold and didn't know what to say when she was served then blurted out that she'd never had beans, as it was "poor people's food" and not served at her house.

Could have heard a pin drop for a count of ten. Then my mom said "That's what we were having for dinner and you don't have to stay if you don't want to eat it!"

And that was the end of that girlfriend.