Thoughts From a Rice & Beans Newbie

My Rice & Beans Month Experience^TM hasn't yet started, and I'm already doing it wrong.

My brain has been veering between trepidation ("Am I really going to do this?"), justification ("Vanilla Bean has 'bean' right in the name. Therefore I can eat fists-full of ice cream."), excitement ("This is going to be a really powerful experience!"), and fear ("No seriously...am I really going to do this?").

Fear, thy name is Lima Beans.
This mental mishmash has just gotten worse over the last few days. I've found myself freaked out about cooking. I’ve been preemptively saddened by the tragic loss of delicious trans-fats. I've been consumed by assumed legalism: Am I "allowed" to eat Rice Chex? How many additional vegetables, spices, or foodstuffs can I cook with before it becomes "cheating"? Will whatever the "-A-Roni" is in "Rice-A-Roni" condemn me?

"The San Fransisco Treat," you say?
But as I said, I'm doing this wrong. The energy I've spent mentally kvetching has been a complete waste. Fear, guilt, shame, and legalism are absolutely not what this month is about. It is about the intentionality of using my mental energy to draw closer to God, and to become increasingly and tangibly aware of His vulnerable children around the world. And it is incredibly powerful and comforting to know that I won’t be alone in all of this.

Don’t be afraid to admit to the fear, tedium, stress, and irritation this month will bring—just don’t dwell on it. Dwell on Him. And remember: we’re all in this together.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have 45 minutes left before March 1, and I have a half a pizza left in the fridge to finish.

Recipes

We'd love to hear from you if you have any Rice and Beans recipes to share! Whether it's something you made up, found online, in a cookbook or passed down from your great grandmother's sister's best friend send them our way!

You can submit them by sending them to recipes@eatriceandbeans.com. Feel free to include any pictures, feedback, alterations or thoughts from your family, we'd love to hear it all.

Cooking With Kabang

Ever wondered what it looks like to cook rice and beans in northern Uganda? Follow Kabang into the cooking hut at Amazing Grace Children's Home to see where the magic happens! As you prepare for Rice & Beans Month this March, be encouraged that your participation means a lot to these amazing kids.



Special thanks to Nate Grubbs for putting this video together!

And a big thank you to Kabang for sharing this recipe with all us! If you have any rice and beans recipes to share, please send them over to info@EatRiceAndBeans.com so we can post them here on the blog.

Download and print our R&B planning guide

Our friend Nate created this nice little planning guide to help you see how much you currently spend on your food and how much you'll save during March.

Click on the image above and print it out to use and fill out during the next month! For those of you currently receiving the Lahash magazine "Hope Is Alive" you can find this on pages 14 and 15 of our February issue.

Join the Facebook Event Page!

Hi friends - make sure you check out our Facebook event page. Sign up and invite your friends!

5 Tips for a good Rice & Beans experience!

These are some things I learned last year - hope they are helpful!

1. Prepare your kitchen - Before March 1st actually rolls around, make sure you buy the right items and know how to cook rice and beans. Don't let the month sneak up on ya!
2. Buy in bulk and soak - Stoves are shrinking in the United States and fridges are growing. We are preparing less from scratch and more from processed food packages from factories. But in order to have a successful and thrifty month - I recommend buying rice and beans in bulk. You'll then need to soak the dry beans overnight. A little extra time - but it reduces the strain on your wallet instead of buying canned beans.
3. Rinse your beans - Many fear the dreaded effect of the mighty bean - intestinal gas. My wife and I heard from a friend last year that if you rinse your beans after soaking, and then again after boiling - you'll eleminate most of the intestinal gas. The reality is for Erin and I we don't encounter any gas now with this method.
4. Do it in community - You'll do much better if you have friends or family along for the journey. If you really are stepping out entirely alone - join us online on our Facebook group and Facebook Event Page!
5. Remember why you do it - When you get those cravings as you are detoxing from your modern diet full of unhealthy addictions - watch the video of Sauda. The BBC just posted an article about rising food costs worldwide. Remember those that are vulnerable. Remember the poor and hungry that you will impact with your choices.

Sauda's Story - Your Impact last year on a girl in Tanzania

This March, Lahash is inviting you participate with us in Rice & Beans Month. Here is the story of how the life of one girl was impacted in Dodoma, Tanzania. For more information visit EatRiceAndBeans.com.

Dried Beans 101

For any of you that are new to dried beans or could use a refresher, below are some basic tips on cooking dried beans from an Oregonian article.

• Rinse dried beans and pick through them, discarding any shriveled, wizened, broken or generally icky-looking beans, and any dirt clods or stones (yes, it is common to find at least one pebble in a package of dried beans).
• The purpose of soaking beans is to reduce the substance that causes gas. After you soak the beans, be sure to discard the soaking water and rinse the beans thoroughly.
• There are two ways to soak beans. For the overnight method, soak 1 pound of beans in 10 cups of cold water for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours in a cool place. If it's hot in your kitchen, refrigerate the beans so they don't start to ferment.
• To "quick soak" the beans, place them in a pot, cover with several inches of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand for one hour. Drain off the liquid, rinse and proceed with cooking the beans.
• When cooking beans, cover them by at least 3 inches with cold water. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then reduce to a simmer and let the beans cook for one or two hours, or until tender.
• Conventional wisdom says not to add salt to beans while they cook because it can toughen the skin, making it take longer for the beans to become tender. However, the prevailing wisdom says it's not salt but acid that's the culprit, so add any vinegar, wine, lemon or tomatoes when the beans are almost done.
• To freeze the beans, pack them in containers, such as canning jars, in portions you're most likely to use. You don't want to have to defrost 6 cups of beans when you only need 2 cups. Portions of 1 1/2 cups are convenient because they can be used in place of 15-ounce cans. Cover the beans in cooking liquid to keep them from drying out, seal, label and freeze.
• To defrost frozen beans, put them in the fridge the night before you need them. Alternatively, you can defrost them in the microwave or under cold running water.