A Traditional Farm Life - Black Bean and Rice
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends! True to form, I got sidetracked earlier this
week and ended up on a bit of a wild goose chase—all because of a bag of beans.
This was no ordinary bag of beans, of course. Several months ago, after last summer’s
growing season was completed, our friend Kelly Taylor dropped off a brown paper
grocery sack of dry beans, still in their pods, gathered from a planting of
heirloom beans he planted last season.
He acquired the bean seeds on a trip “up North” from a
farmer in Nebraska, who gave him three kinds of heirloom seeds and admonished
him to plant them. He did so around the
edge of an unused corral, so the vines could climb up the fence for
support. They must have done quite well,
because he had enough left over to share.
Hence, also true to form, I’ve had a “homeless” bag of beans
floating around the house for several months now.
What do you do with a big paper bag of beans, anyway? Stick them in the corner and forget about
them, of course.
And then came the day this week I was looking at the Seed
Savers Exchange catalog, admiring their heirloom dry beans and the intriguing
stories about where the varieties came from, wishing I could order some to
plant this spring to help save those rare varieties of seed from
extinction.
Then it hit me: I’ve got a big bag of beans in my bedroom
gathering dust!
Quickly retrieving them from obscurity in my bedroom, I
brought the bag to the dining room table and picked out a pod. The first bean I saw was a black bean with a
cream-colored, angular shaped spot on the end.
Assuming it was a damaged bean, I put it aside and proceeded to shell
the rest of the pod, expecting black beans.
You can imagine my surprise to see they were all “damaged” in exactly
the same way.
The next pod opened held a completely different bean,
beautifully colored. My excitement
increased as each pod I opened seemed to have different coloring and unusual
markings in mottled shades of cream, tan, black, burgundy, and even magenta.
We took bowls from the kitchen cabinet and started sorting
each type of bean, carefully including at least one pod for later reference in
the bowl. By the time we were finished,
we had twelve bowls!
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These twelve bean beauties divided roughly into three
types: the black beans, a larger cream
and burgundy bean with two variations, and the rest were all distinctly
different lima beans. Only one type of
seed matched the pictures in Seed Savers Exchange.
Stumped, I gave Kelly a call in order to figure out what
varieties he had planted. The black and
cream ones were the easiest to confirm.
The farmer called them “Battered Buffalo.” Kelly also mentioned “Snow Caps” and “Hopi
Lima” beans.
The ones I found in Seed Savers were called “Hidatsa Shield
Figure,” (also known as “Snow Caps”), one of the five main types of beans cultivated
by the Hidatsa Indians of the Missouri River Valley in North Dakota.
I have been unable to find named cultivars of the Hopi
Limas, which at first was discouraging, but now appears to be normal. A phone conversation with Dickinson County
Extension Ag Agent Jason Coover confirmed the possibility of a wide spectrum of
color variations from one type of heirloom seed. It appears the genetic
diversity in these old heirloom strains are such that a wide variety of
outcomes are possible, even without cross pollination from other beans nearby.
Needless to say, I can hardly wait until next spring to
plant these seeds in our garden. It will be an even longer wait until next fall
when the plants have died down and seed can be collected. So for now, I will live in anticipation of
the outcome of the golden gift in a brown paper grocery bag.
Until that happy day when “Battered Buffalo’ beans grace our
table, we’ll have to settle for black beans from a plastic bag off the grocery
store shelf. Here’s a very simple recipe
black bean recipe our family enjoys served over rice.
Black Beans and
Rice
1 lb. black beans
6 cups water for
soaking
6 cups water for
cooking
2 tablespoons
chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon taco
seasoning
1 tablespoon Traditional
Farm
Farmhouse Seasoning*
1 lb. of your
favorite rice, prepared
according to package directions
shredded cheese,
sour cream, and
salsa, optional
1. Pick through beans
and remove any stones or bad beans.
Rinse and place in Dutch oven; add 6 cups water, cover, and soak
overnight. (For the quick soak method, bring to a rapid boil and boil for 2
minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let
stand 1 hour.)
2. Drain and rinse
beans, discarding soaking water. Place
beans back in Dutch oven.
3. Add 6 cups fresh
water and seasonings. Bring to a boil
over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and
simmer covered, with lid tilted, 2 hours or until beans are tender. Stir occasionally.
4. Serve in a bowl
over rice with shredded cheese, sour cream, and salsa, if desired.
Yield: 8 servings.
*Traditional Farm Farmhouse Seasoning is our own
special blend available at The Buggy Stop.
Salt and pepper may be substituted to taste.
Copyright © 2016 by Shasta Hamilton
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in
Enterprise, Kansas. She and her husband
own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled
children. You can reach The Buggy Stop
by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com
.
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