This past year, I decided I was going to get really into cooking beans like I used to when I first went vegan (over 10 years ago). This was partly an effort to save money by cooking at home more, and to try and eat healthier with more plant based protein. I found out about Rancho Gordo beans because of this Reddit post, where someone ruins their roommate’s Baldur’s Gate 3 game as revenge for eating their beans, and I had to find out if it was justified or not as someone who has also put hundreds of hours into BG3. It was. Honestly, I have been a terrible roommate in the past and something like this would have shattered me, and taught me a valuable lesson about respecting others’ belongings, ESPECIALLY when it comes to eating their food without asking first.
My favorite beans from them are the cranberry beans, which I use for minestrone soup (the best soup ever). They make the broth so tasty, and go well with a bunch of vegetables and wild rice. I just started using this recipe for another variation of minestrone, which uses farro, and I have made it with chickpeas (original recipe) and cranberry beans (ultimate favorite). Cranberry beans make everything better.
Another soup recipe I really like is one I’ve been calling “pickle soup”. My mom made a bunch of pickles from cucumbers she grew in her garden this year, but I rarely eat pickles. This recipe uses them in the soup, along with potatoes, carrots, and dill. I always add white cannellini beans to make it a bit heartier.
My quick go-to soup for lunches is usually mushrooms, garlic, sometimes tofu, and rice noodles in veggie broth with tamari and chili crisp. I probably eat that a few times a week because it takes like 10-15 minutes to cook, and I have never gotten sick of it.
Alex Powelson 