Lentis or split peas...

VanTrekker · Apr 9, 2012

I'm simmering some green split peas with red onions and a pinch of dried French onion soup mix and just added in some leftover ham.  Yum! The cost is almost nothing! 4 oz of leftover ham = 50 cents and 16 cents for the split peas makes about 360 or so calories. The next thought is to make some Indian style "dal" out of yellow split peas and simmer it in the crockpot while driving.  (It might be too much for some who don't like that aroma!) The carbs worried me a little bit (diabetes and all).  Out of 27g of carbs, there are 11 grams of fiber.  That leaves a net of 16g...  That's better than bread, at least. Does anyone else in here cook with these tiny, high fiber legumes (some classify split peas in with beans)?  What are your favorite dishes?

sl1966 · Apr 9, 2012

Bey Brad, if you haven't yet tried them. Get yourself a bag of the Anasazi beans. You won't be let down by the taste and what you can do with them.<div> </div><div><a href="http://www.anasazibeans.com/" target="_blank">http://www.anasazibeans.com</a> </div><div> </div>

VanTrekker · Apr 9, 2012

They sound wonderful, particularly the part of the description where it was said they don't contain as much of the gas making chemical... Those split green peas catch up to a person! I looked online and wanted to order a small quantity of the Anasazi beans but the shipping would have been $13 minimum for a few dollars worth of beans.  I'm going to look locally at the fresh food coop and the HyVee stores.  Iowa City is really trendy - we have some fantastic sources for exotic foods fom all over the world (being a huge "melting pot" of cultures)... I am sure we have Anasanzis somewhere around here.  Once they are tried, then I can justify spending some more bucks to order some sent in.  It sounds so delicious! Thanks for the suggestion.  I look forward to trying some.

SoulRaven · Apr 9, 2012

I make a great ham and pinto bean with onion soup... i dont count anything any more, just dont care... As for the gas, hell i am boondocking who is gonna care...?

dragonflyinthesky · Apr 9, 2012

I wonder if the Anasazi beans are the ones you see growing amongst the rock in the Chiracahua's? Did you note the little copywrite sign on the bean bag?  Means they are called something else too I would think. UPDATE don't take me out foraging with you, I just looked up what the beans are I collected in The Dragoons in AZ that I have in a jar.  They are mescal beans probably. Solid reddish orange, closer to red and are toxic. Used in rituals. Pays to not make assumptions that if something looks like something else, you better know the differences. I never would have considered cooking them, I guess because it is ingrained that red often means danger.

sl1966 · Apr 9, 2012

Yeah shipping doesn't make it cost effective at all. Hopefully you can find them at one of your local specialty markets. They're really great. <div> </div><div>I've made them as simply as boiling in a pot, adding a lot of crumbled bacon, minced garlic, seasoned to taste, and served with corn bread. I usually like to make the corn bread from scratch because it tastes better, but a box of jiffy mix does in a snap. </div>

VanTrekker · Apr 10, 2012

Good morning! MMM... Cornbread.  For the first time in many months I had a little bit this morning.  It was pure heaven.  It came from Wal-Mart but was distributed through St. Vincent de Paul charity.  It was worth "spending" 220 calories for the treat.   Dad made some white beans with ham for lunch and I had 3/4 cup (cooked)...  He prepares his food completely without salt.  It was actually pretty tasty although I added a touch of seasoning salt. Beans are great!  Eaten in moderation, they are helping keep some carbs doing vital work (to help recharge some glycogen stores in the muscles), cutting fat, and saving LOTS of money.  I am really surprised how well the body is metabolising them without the sugars going up.  I guess when you don't put a pint of barbecue sauce in the bowl, it's not so bad.   *smile* Crumbled bacon sounds so good!  I put it in a lot of things.  It can be expensive to buy so I like to grab a small clump of it when I got to the salad bar.  It sounds delightful in beans.  I might break down and add a little of the low sugar barbecue sauce in some beans along with crumbled bacon and onion.   Have a good day.  I'll make sure and let you know when I get some of the Anasazi beans. I hear ya, Steve about the gas thing.  I usually do okay till eating the yellow split pea Indian dish called Dal.  All those spices (and a lot of them) really seem to come back to haunt a person.  It might make a good defense mechanism, sort of like a skunk...  <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

SoulRaven · Apr 11, 2012

Check out the new oven discussion... it looks good... Hmmm corn bread... BTW split pea with ham soup any day for me...

VanTrekker · Apr 11, 2012

I'm tempted to get some of the 16 bean soup mix but that's the one that always gave gas trouble.  Is it true you can add a little baking soda to stop the after effects?

sl1966 · Apr 16, 2012

Brad, don't do the baking soda thing. That never works. Instead try adding a bay leaf or a few slices of ginger root to them while cooking. The other thing is if you use dry beans and soak them, toss the soak water out and cook them in fresh water. The other thing you can do is to slow cook them all day. These are simple things you can do to reduce or eliminate the side effects from them.<div> </div>

VanTrekker · Apr 17, 2012

The slow cook thing really helped.  Sunday I put yellow split peas under water and they sat most of the day in the crockpot, unpowered.  I forgot to plug it in...   That was a kind of cool thing because it saved a lot of power.  Most of the "work" was done with room temp water. I slow simmered on low for a few hours and voila - very little gas!  Cooking them fast on the stove yielded different results.   Thanks for the suggestions - I'll save them on the hard drive.  It sounds like there are simple, natural ways to decrease the effects.  I also noticed that eating slowly on an empty stomach helps reduce gas a lot with any foods, even the high fiber ones.

angeli · Apr 17, 2012

You can also try cutting up a potato into quarters, and putting into the pot when you soak the beans overnight.  Discard it in the morning, along with the water.  The potato soaks up the fart juice.  DON'T EAT IT! Thanks.  Now I'm craving split pea soup AND Dal!  Jeez, I gotta stop reading these posts in the middle of the night.

kappydell · Aug 21, 2012

lentlils & rice are a favorite of mine, with or without hamburger. Cook the lentils, add to some tomato sauce and pour over or mix into rice. Sauteed onions on top. Living large!