Jan 28, 2010


Lynn Shwadchuk focuses on beans at the latest Country Know-how workshop, a very tasty affair.

Anyone who questions the validity and versatility of cooking with beans definitely would have reconsidered their stance after attending the most recent Country Know-how workshop that took place at Oso Hall on January 23 and focused on cooking with beans.

Lynn Shwadchuk led the workshop and she began by discussing the benefits of eating beans as a regular part of one’s diet. Not only are they are inexpensive, easy to prepare, store and freeze but they are also exceptionally diverse and contain all the right proteins and minerals one needs to keep healthy.

Lynn also touched on topic of flatulence, mostly a myth and which she stressed usually results either from beans that are undercooked or from forgetting to discard the water the beans are either cooked or and canned in.

Beans, though they can be eaten alone, are often accompanied with a carbohydrate and Lynn demonstrated how easy it is to prepare some of her favorite bean-friendly carb-accompaniments such as authentic Mexican corn tortillas made from store bought Maseca. Lynn mixed up the dough and participants took turns pressing the flour in an authentic tortilla press and frying them in a cast iron pan for just seconds per side.

Next Lynn demonstrated how to make Chapattis, a flat Indian bread made from store-bought Golden Temple durum atta flour which is mixed with water into a dough that is rolled out thinly, cut into circles and fried in a pan.

The tour de force came later when Lynn pulled from the oven an assortment of roughly 10 different bean dishes, all her own recipes that she prepared in advance and served hot with the freshly made breads.

Participants dipped and scooped, sampling the wide variety of colourful bean dishes that included black bean soup, red lentil curry, Lynn’s “red soup” made with beets and red kidney beans. One dish that everyone loved was “black and orange” made with beluga lentils and which tasted very much like turkey stuffing. Another favorite was the cold quinoa and chickpea salad.

After getting their fill, participants then learned how to make falafel (which Lynn calls her junk food), using a prepared dry chick pea mix called Cedar falafel mix. She also whipped up some hummus in a food processor and proceeded to make delicious hummus sandwiches with her own home-made pickles.

For anyone in doubt of the latent creative cooking possibilities of dried beans, I would recommend giving at least one of Lynn’s bean recipes a try. All of her recipes can be found at her website 10in10diet.com where she shares her personal eating habits with those interested in eating healthful and tasty meals that are inexpensive, easy to prepare and good for the planet.

Lynn will be teaching a workshop called "Retreat from Industrial Food" April 9-11 at Wintergreen Studios on Canoe Lake Road. For more information visit http://www.10in10diet.com/10-in-10-diet-workshops.php.

The next Country Know how workshop will be held on Monday, February 1 from 2-4PM at the farm of Laurie Brownlee and Pat Furlong in Elphin where the topic will be raising chickens. You may call them for directions at 613-278-2868.

Black and Orange

This lentil stew has the flavors of the poultry stuffing I grew up loving. Spooning it over smooth mashed root veggies makes for a real comfort food.

Sauté in oil:

1 diced onion, 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Add:

3 cups boiling water 1 veggie bouillon cube 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp sage 1 tsp salt ground pepper, bay leaf 2/3 cup black (Beluga, or French) lentils (green lentils would do, since black are sort of hard to find) 1/3 cup red lentils – key to making a smooth, yummy gravy-like stew, because black (and green) lentils hold their shape like beans.

Simmmer 30 minutes or more, until it gets quite thick on the bottom and when you stir it, it’s nice and thick. 

Boil in a medium to large pot:

1 small rutabaga, no more than 1/2 inch thick 1 large sweet potato in bigger chunks 2 medium white potatoes, peeled and quartered When the rutabaga is soft, drain and mash with: 1/4 cup butter 1 tbsp brown sugar

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