Tag Archives: Cool Beans

The Best Southern Baked Beans

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These beans may not look like much, but they are some of the tastiest I have ever made or had.
These beans may not look like much, but they are some of the tastiest I have ever made or had.

This is one of those times when a photo just doesn’t do justice to a dish.

But trust me when I say that these “Southern Baked Beans” are one of the very best bean dishes I’ve ever tasted.

And they are a cinch to make.

This keeper of a recipe is from “Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes” (Ten Speed Press, 2020) by Joe Yonan, the food and dining editor of The Washington Post.

I am not the biggest fan of traditional baked beans. They’re just way too sweet, and frankly, I’d rather save the sugary part of my meal for dessert.

What makes these Southern baked beans so miraculous is that they are not cloying at all, but deeply, profoundly savory with just a whisper of natural fruity sweetness from tomato paste. In fact, it’s rather astonishing the depth and complexity they take on, given how few ingredients are used.

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The Salve Of Kidney Bean and Mushroom Bourguignon

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A hearty, vegetarian take on French bourguignon.
A hearty, vegetarian take on French bourguignon.

“We’ll always have Paris.”

Not.

While Rick and Ilsa of “Casablanca” may always have the memories of that magical city they met in, my husband’s and mine will have to wait.

Although I’ve traveled to Paris a couple of times, he never had. This was to be the year that we got serious about planning our first trip to Europe together. But so much for that. A killer virus, planes grounded to a halt, and the unbelievable complexities of going anywhere — even the corner store — put an end to that trip for the foreseeable future.

That’s why discovering this recipe for “Kidney Bean and Mushroom Bourguignon” was such a gift.

It’s from the cookbook, “Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy. This vegetarian cookbook that explores the wide, wonderful world of beans is by Joe Yonan, the food and dining editor of the Washington Post.

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Mustard, Mustard — Everywhere: French Green Lentils with A Trio of Mustards

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Dig into this triple-mustard delight.
Dig into this triple-mustard delight.

If there is one thing that is always in my fridge, it is jars of mustard. That’s plural, because there is always more than one.

Dijon, stone-ground, brown, and yellow — it’s usually all there, to smear on sandwiches and sausages, to whisk into vinaigrettes, to flavor pork roasts, and to stir into velvety pan sauces for chicken.

As a bona fide mustard fiend, it’s no surprise that a recipe for “French Green Lentils with A Trio of Mustards” caught my eye — big-time. That’s because it incorporates not one, not two, but three types of mustard, as in Dijon, mustard seeds, and fresh mustard greens. How genius is that?

The recipe is from the wonderful new cookbook, “Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

This authoritative bean bible is by Joe Yonan, James Beard Award-winning the food and dining editor of the Washington Post.

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