Boiling a big pot of beans for a long time not only uses a lot of energy and water, but might even use more beans than each person really needs for the meal. If you grind the beans into a flour when they are dry, it not only stretches the beans more, but is a lot easier to cook with.
Just take two or three teaspoonfuls of the bean flour and add it to cold water (temperature important - it will make dumplings otherwise), then bring it to a boil in whatever you are making. You can do this to add protein to your sauces. Please start small when using bean flour, there are a lot more beans in a spoonful than at first might appear.
Once you are comfortable with using the bean flour, you can experiment with different beans to get differing amounts of protein, and different textures and flavors. (example: different bean flours in salsa makes a healthy snack). It will save money and make a healthier dish!
By Bonnie from Spokane, WA
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Can you please explain more? I'm being dense tonight.
#1-you say mix it with cold water,then bring it to a boil with what you are making. Does that mean to mix it with a small amount of cold water,then add the cold water to whatever you are boiling? Or do you add it to cold water,bring it to a boil,then add it to what you are cooking?
#2- "Please start small..". Why? Do you mean because it will change the thickness,texture or taste? Or does it do what beans naturally do to some people?I'd particularly like to know that answer before I tried to feed it to the 4 men in my house! LOL!
#3- you mention adding it to salsa - does that mean you don't have to cook it? Can you just add it to cold food?
I grew up in Arizona & have had recipes from the Native Americans, using dried mesquite tree beans. I've wanted to try them myself, except my mom really grossed me out last time I visited & mentioned this. She told me how they had discovered that most mesquite beans have a tiny worm in them that was planted in the blossom & hatched inside the bean. I suppose that would really up the protein count, but I haven't been brave enough to try it cause I don't know if I could gag it down with the image of a squirmy worm in my food! LOL! This would be safer & more digestable!
Judy, the reason beans give you gas is because your not getting enough fiber. Beans (and other high fiber legumes) bind with old bile (your body recycles bile) and clean it out of your body.
Hi, what are you using to grind large beans like kidney or black beans? Can you adjust the coarseness of the beans with your grinder?
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