So, Ludgate Farms currently offers a shelf full of dried beans that are grown locally! This is relatively recent news to me, though I know that it might not be news to all other greenbladers.  Though I know I appear ridiculous to many people because of my pleasure in seeing locally grown beans, I still do feel happy seeing locally grown beans.  I feel this way because the other local protein sources - milk, eggs, and meat - bring me to a state of ethical, fiscal and health (health-cal? :p) confusion when I think about them for too long.  I like eating legumes. They are healthy. They are affordable, and they aren't factory farmed. I don't even need to refrigerate them. This is especially awesome because I share a fridge with three other people. They are also kindof 'seasonal' all year because drying them preserves them so well.  These are all reasons why I like eating legumes and am happy to find a local grower of them.

People often say that there is an educational aspect of eating locally. I think this is very true when it comes to beans, because they seem to be a very time consuming thing to cook, and connote blandness to many people.  People also frequently just don't know how to use them. I don't think they have to have these downsides. There are ways to make cooking beans less time consuming and very tasty.  Plus, their health benefits and affordability almost make them worth eating regardless. Because there are a few varieties of beans that are locally available, I want to try to outline how they can be used. I'll also write the things I've learned about cooking beans in general.

The types of beans I've seen are pinto beans, navy beans, red beans, and black beans. I've decided that for my first round of bean cooking I will use the pinto beans for refried beans, the navy beans to make homemade baked beans, and the red and black beans together for chili. The general characteristics of the beans are:

Pinto: earthy. Good for refried beans. I don't think I know of any other ways to cook these, but I also think that I don't love pinto beans so very much that this bothers me. :p

Navy beans: creamy textured 'white bean' that allegedly make very good baked beans and are also good for a lot of mediterranean-type, italian-type tomato-y bean dishes.

Black beans: Useful in my world for huevos rancheros, refried black beans, black bean soup, and chili.

Red beans: Can be used for some indian dishes, or spiced for new orleans-y red beans and rice.
The combination of red beans, black beans, corn and bell pepper also makes for really delicious and pretty chili.

When cooking dry beans, there are a few things I've learned. 
1.) You can cook a ton of beans at once (like a whole bag, or 1/2 a bag) without seasonings and then freeze them.  Then you can use them in recipes as you need. Doing this both saves time and breaks up the cooking.
2.) It's best to do a lot of the bean cooking before you get  hungry!
3.) Cook large amounts, but don't try to eat the same meal too many times in a row.  Freeze whatever you do not want to eat for later. Sometimes I will even have more than one kind of bean dish in the freezer.


(a work in progress...)