Expanded Food Storage--Refried Beans

We eat a lot of refried beans here, so the majority of the beans we store are pinto beans.  It's the New Mexican heritage coming through; my ancestors were in Santa Fe and Albuquerque before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.  And I grew up learning to make the food my mother made, who made the food her mother made.  We have a lot of tortillas and beans.

For years I tried to make refried beans the way my mom did.  Soaking the beans several hours or overnight, cooking, invariably burning when a baby's diaper exploded all over creation or a toddler expressed a sudden desire to become a graffiti artist with a Sharpie.  Sometimes the beans just wouldn't soften and be as smooth as I thought they should be, so I tried adding butter or cheese.  That sometimes helped, but it sure added calories and expense as well.

About ten years ago, I decided to try pressure canning dry beans.  They are absolutely fabulous.  We won't eat anything else.  The stuff that comes from cans looks more like dog food now.  Beans must absolutely be pressure canned.  They are a low-acid food, and using a water bath creates conditions ripe for the growth of botulism, a pretty deadly condition now, even with all the benefits of modern medicine.  Don't do it, even if the Amish or your grandmother or great-grandmother did. 

For awhile, I did what lots of friendly folks on the internet recommended and canned beans dry, without any prior soaking.  The Cooperative Extension offices state that this is not a safe practice, but do not state why, at least as far as I have been able to find in my research.  However, in my experience, no matter how careful I was, I had a very high seal failure rate with canning dry beans.  Every jar was carefully checked before I put it on the shelves.  But invariably, one-quarter to one-third of the seals would have failed by the time I was ready to use the beans, usually within a couple of months.  Pre-collapse it was a waste of time and money.  Post-collapse it could be a lot worse.

The process for pressure canning beans is quite simple.

• Soak the beans overnight (about 1/2 pound per quart), removing any discolored or shriveled beans.  OR
• Put the beans in a large pot and cover with boiling water.  Boil for two minutes, remove from heat, and let sit for one hour.  
• Drain and rinse beans very well.  Beans are notorious for having little bits of dirt in them.  Soil is what harbors the bacteria that causes botulism.  
• Regardless of what soaking method you have used, put the beans in a large pot, cover with fresh water, and boil for 30 minutes.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon salt per pint, 1 teaspoon salt per quart.  This is optional, but highly recommended, unless you're on a salt-restricted diet.  It is not necessary for safe canning.
• Drain beans and fill jars with beans and clean boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace.
• Remove bubbles, wipe rims, and apply lids.
• Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes, according to directions for your canner and any adjustments that need to be made for altitude. 

When you're ready to use your beans, simply open the jar, bring to a boil for ten minutes (which is what should be done for all home pressure-canned foods, and even commercially canned foods, just to be safe), and drain off and reserve some of the cooking water.  Mash for perfect refried beans, adding in reserved water until you reach your desired consistency.

This same canning process works for any dried bean.

The advantages of home canning dry beans now are the usual--getting your family used to eating beans, no preservatives, you know what's in it, having a convenience food, yada, yada, yada.  The advantages post-collapse are even more significant.  Beans take a whole lot of time and water and fuel to prepare.  Preparing them by canning saves all three, all of which are going to become a whole lot more valuable to all of us.

Links to related posts:
Baking with Beans
Beans in Food Storage
Refried Beans
Bean Flour   
Pinto Bean Fudge  

For further information:
https://www.clemson.edu/extension/food/canning/canning-tips/30canning-drying-legumes.html  LINK
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_peas_shelled.html

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com   

12 april 2021

Spanish Rice

One of the best things about the internet is being able to find recipes for everything.  And so it was, about ten years ago, when I'd already spent a few years trying to wing it in the kitchen making my own Spanish rice.  And failing to some degree every time.  I finally set aside my pride and went to the internet.

And there it was.  The perfect recipe.  Easy.  Only five ingredients.  And it could be made entirely from food storage.  What's not to love?

And when you combine this recipe with previously posted recipes for tortillas, refried beans, and salsa, you have the basics of a Mexican dinner.  Throw in a little cheese (freeze-dried, or what you've been able to keep in a root cellar) and perhaps a garden salad, and you're set.  And just in time for Cinco de Mayo, though why that's important to celebrate in this country, I haven't yet quite figured out.

Spanish Rice
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chopped onions (or 1 heaping teaspoon dehydrated onions reconstituted in 2 tablespoons water)
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth (or 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon in 2 cups water)
1 cup chunky salsa

Saute the onions in oil.  Add the rice and cook until lightly browned.  Add the broth and salsa and bring to a a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.

Links to related posts:
Flour tortillas   
Refried beans   
Salsa   

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com   

20 june 2024