To Our Customers

Greetings from JACK AND THE BEAN SOUP!  I realize that since I do not get to talk with most of you in person, I'd like to share some of the suggestions that we give people at the Farmers Market that we go to every weekend in Tucson, AZ.

 

Ideas in Bean Soup Creativity

 

There are a million ways to use your soup, BUT, if you get tired of it, just freeze it into smaller containers (or zip lock freezer bags) and then you can take them to work for lunch or just pull them out for a quick dinner.

 

Black Beans

• Black beans make the most wonderful black bean burritos with your leftovers.  Just take some beans out with a slotted spoon and put them on a nice fresh tortilla with some sour cream, salsa, and cheese....delicious!  (The Anasazi is another bean that is great for burritos.)
   

• If you have a favorite salsa, you can always add this spicy touch!  Take some of your black beans out of the crock pot with a slotted spoon (use a little of the broth) and then add the salsa (Pico de Gallo is my favorite) and chill.  Fantastic cold black bean salad, or use it as a dip.
   

• How about a BIG baked potato, filled with beans, salsa, cheese and a dollop of sour cream???  Maybe a little guacamole? CARB-ALICIOS!
   

• For an awesome supper or use of leftovers serve our black beans over rice, add some grated cheese along with perhaps some chopped bell pepper, onions and a dollop of sour cream.  A delicious complete protein meal oozing with goodness!
   

Autumn Blend Lentils

• Autumn Blend Lentils are a combination of all the beautifully colored lentils of Mother Nature.  It is delicious, thick and hearty.  Last week, I spread some of the Autumn Blend Lentils on a fresh mesquite flour tortilla.  WOW!!!
   

• For an additional splash of color add some finely chopped carrots to the lentils while they are cooking.
   

Red Lentils

• The Red Lentils are still probably one of our best selling soups.  It looks like it was puréed.  It is great by itself or you can serve it over some organic brown rice.
   

• One of my customers from the market gave me this great idea.  She gets a bag of organic spinach or kale, chops it into very small bits and adds it to her Red Lentils about the last hour of cooking.  As it gets thicker it is also a great dip!

Great Northern Beans

• The Great Northern beans are a natural for ham.  I suggest using lean meat and cut away any excess fat.  Also, you can use chicken broth, etc., but I suggest using the NO SALT broth, since there is some garlic salt in our spices.
   

• The bottom line is, you can add things to your soups but they are perfect just the way they are.  My husband Jack (yes, his name is really Jack) says "We are really selling the spices and we just throw the beans in for free!"

Chestnut Lima Beans

• Chestnut Limas are huge when cooked.  They look a bit like an Anasazi bean on steriods.  Nice texture and flavor.  We usually put out a sign when we sample these at the Market..."NOT YOUR MOTHER'S LIMAS!".  Some people have a very bad childhood flashback when the word LIMA BEAN is mentioned.  The Chestnut Lima has been a great therapy for those folks.  They are now living a productive life, AND eating lima beans.

Yellow Split Peas

• Yellow Split Pea is another surprising soup.  I'm not a fan of the "green stuff" but I love the Yellow Split Pea Soup.  You have to try it to believe it.
   

Rattlesnake Bean

• The Rattlesnake beans are like a gourmet Pinto Bean.  They are a bit larger and darker than the Pinto, as well as being a relative fo the Pinto (second cousin once removed, I believe).  They grow up a twisted pod, so they're called a Rattlesnake.  NO, NO, NO, there is NO Rattlesnake MEAT in soup.

Moqui Mix

• The Moqui Mix is one of our most popular soups.  It is for the confused and undecided.  It has a mixture of beans, and it is beautiful and delicious.  When you want variety, this is the one.

 

I will share more "recipes" on the website.  If you have some you would like to share, you can email me.

I will probably do categories for vegetarian, vegan and "meat added" since I have some great ones that customers have give me over the years.  So stay tuned in for more great ideas and suggestions for using Jack and the Bean Soups!

I always use a crock pot to cook my beans.  That way, I can go play and come home to a house filled with delicious aromas, with dinner all ready to serve. 

If you choose to slave over a hot stove all day, just give your shopping list to a friend and stay home watching your favorite soap opera, or settling down to a few chapters of a good book. 

If you want to go golfing, to a movie, out to lunch, OR WORK, I suggest that you invest in at least a 4-quart crock pot.   You will learn to love it and thank me profusely.  As a bonus, cooking your beans with a crock pot is simpler and easier than having to monitor the water level of the beans when cooking them on the stove.

I do not soak my beans before cooking.  I know, some of you insist on it, so go ahead.  I find that if I had to remember to soak them, rinse them, boil them for 10 minutes, pour off the water, bring them to a boil, simmer....what the heck?

It's WAY to much trouble!  And by the way, are you aware that there are new crock pot liners?  They look like plastic bags, but you can use them in your crock pot ~ and it makes clean up a breeze!

I get the greatest ideas from my customers!  I always tell them "I'm not a cook!"  When sampling soups at the market, they are strictly vegetarian, vegan.  No meat, no added sugar, no MSG, no wheat or dairy, and they are gluten - free.  That makes the soups perfectly safe for most everyone. 

People always ask "Can I add some chicken, beef, pork or ????"  Of COURSE you can.  Cook your meat, then add it to your soups.  If you're grilling for dinner one night, add a little extra meat on the grill that you can use to shred the next day to enhance your soup recipe. 

Valerie Smith

 

 

 

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