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Janet Bostwick

On Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:20:46 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

>Janet Bostwick > wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:42:29 +0000 (UTC),
>
>>(Steve Pope) wrote:
>>
>>>Julie Bove > wrote:
>>>
>>>>"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in message
>>>
>>>>> sure. use a different base or none at all. or use an additional meat
>>>>> in the preparation. one recipe I saw used chorizo plus the bacon. A
>>>>> recipe like this is cook's choice. On the other hand, I'm not sure
>>>>> how much chicken is in chicken base.
>>>>> Janet US
>>>
>>>>Thanks! I have some kind of vegetable broth thing in the cupboard. Not
>>>>sure how old it is or the form it takes. I have never used it. That might
>>>>work. I will for sure be making this next week!
>>>
>>>Vegetable stock made from scratch is best, however "Imagine" brand
>>>vegetable broth is acceptable. Some off-the-shelf vegetable
>>>broths are not very good at all, and/or incredibly high sodium,
>>>so be cautious.
>
>>This recipe is using a paste base because the beans already have
>>enough liquid. I suppose you could start out using a liquid instead
>>of water, but there is the school of thought that says that adding
>>salt at the beginning of cooking beans toughens them and they never
>>get tender.
>
>Right.
>
>I normally cook beans to tenderness without adding other
>ingredients, except for a little salt close to the end.
>And I almost always discard the bean liquid once they are cooked.
>Charro beans may be one situation where you want to keep
>some of it, but you certainly don't need to keep all the
>bean liquid.
>
>
>Steve
The beans are not swimming in liquid. When served, you get maybe a
tablespoon of liquid in your bowl. I cooked uncovered the last few
minutes to get the liquid where I wanted it. I'm certainly not going
to throw away all the nutrients and flavor. You are probably cooking
in too much liquid.
Janet US