An Urban Garden Part 2: The Beans
Every summer I spend way too much money on cranberry beans. If you know me, you might also know that they are my hands-down, number one, absolute favorite bean. I would even go a step further and extend that statement to the entire legume family.
What are cranberry beans you ask? Well, they are not cranberries, nor beans crossed with cranberries, or even sweet or tart, or really very red. The pods are kind of mottled with a cranberry color, which is I suppose where the name comes from? Beats me. Anyway, they are shell beans, just like cannelloni, flageolet, or pintos. They grow in a pod, and you can buy them fresh or dried, but like most things, you can’t beat the fresh version (however, if you do buy dried I highly recommend the excellent Rancho Gordo beans).
They taste incredible: smooth, velvety, creamy, and plump. And they are perfect in nearly any brothy soup. I often use them to make pasta e fagioli or a simple vegetable, farro, and cranberry bean soup. You can cook them with some pancetta and onion and toss them with pasta to make a simple and delicious sauce.
The freshies have a fleeting season–in the Bay Area you can find them in late summer at the farmers’ market. And one thing that I’ve discovered about cranberry beans, is that they freeze remarkably well. So I’ve been known to buy very large bags of beans, and spend a pretty penny on them too, which brings me full circle.
When my mother announced recently that she was growing cranberry beans in her garden, not only was I jealous but also determined to find a way to grow them myself. Which actually turned out to be incredibly easy. All you need to grow beans are some dried beans, soil and a few little pots. I felt like I was back in elementary school, poking seeds into soil-packed egg cartons, watering them religiously, keeping them warm. Anyway, last weekend I planted them, and they are already 6 inches tall!
Here’s how you do it…
Grow Some Beans
Ingredients:
1 small pot for every coupla beans you want to plant (little seedling pots or even an egg carton works fine, but if you use the carton only use one bean per cup)
Some good potting soil
2 dried beans (of your choice, but I recommend the cranberry!) per pot
Water
Plastic wrap
A cake pan or small rimmed tray that will hold all your pots
A warm sunny spot
Preparation:
1. Fill each pot with potting soil.
2. Press a couple of beans just under the surface of the soil, about 1/2-inch down. Water the soil well, and let drain.
3. Set the pots in the pan or tray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set the pots in a warm sunny spot.
4. Water the beans every day and keep checking them. When they start to pop up you can remove the plastic wrap and let them go! Let them grow to about 6–8 inches and then re-pot them into a bigger pot, such as a soil-filled half wine barrel (I haven’t gotten to that part yet).
Good luck and happy gardening!
An update on my tomatoes: They are growing like mad! The Early Girls are taking the lead, but I have to say the Sweet 100s aren’t far behind. They are all doing relatively well, but I seem to have a little tiny itsy-bitsy white bug problem. Not aphids, cause I’ve been flicking those off my beans. Any suggestions?
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Category: Bay Area Bites Food + Drink, gardening and urban farming, recipes, san francisco
About the Author (Author Archive)
My life is, in a lot of ways, devoted to food. I've been a baker, a cook, a bartender, a waiter, a restaurant host, a restaurant critic, a food writer, a caterer, a food stylist, a prop stylist, a hand model, a food photographer, and an editor (all with varying degrees of success). I currently make my living as a cookbook editor and a writer. I'm addicted to cookbooks. I even have a (small) room nearly devoted to them. Well that and my baking table. I love British chefs. They are so where it's at. And they make gorgeous cookbooks. I love Fergus Henderson, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, and Anthony Bourdain (even though he's not a Brit). I cannot wait to eat at Kitchin in Edinburgh. Someday I'd love to meet Ferran Adria. I'm incredibly opinionated about food, and probably a wee bit arrogant (about food that is). I am a huge believer in local, seasonal, sustainable, organic food and a big supporter of small farms and artisan producers. I love farmers' markets, and not just the one at the Ferry Building. I feel very lucky to be able to live in San Francisco, and have access to such an incredible array of artisan foodstuffs, produce, meats and seafoods. I like culinary adventures and I'll try (just about) anything once. Some of my more memorable food adventures: digging a deep BBQ pit and burying a whole pig; roasting a whole pig on a spit; making a paella for 150 people over an open fire on the hottest day of the summer, but really enjoying the frozen margaritas that were handed to me; clam digging on Puget Sound; the Pig Dinner at Manresa; curing my own charcuterie; making beer that was actually quite good; and slinging spirits at St. George. (I'm finally starting to learn more about wine and spirits, in particular, Italian wine and Scotch whisky, two new loves in my life.)Subscribe
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http://www.grubreport.com Stephanie
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http://stephfour.blogspot.com/ Stephanie R.
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Heather
