Easy, Breezy, Intuitive Cooking

and, a case for beans

I did not like beans as a kid. It was my only real food aversion, and even today I can’t fully explain why. My mom would make a separate pot of chili for me (same spices, same meat, no beans). Thankfully, I grew out of it in early adulthood. I credit my first taste of Sea Island Red Peas, or our late friend Pableaux Johnson’s Red Beans & Rice.

my February cookbook read

This month’s New Year’s Resolution read, Make More with Less by Kitty Coles, has been collecting dust on my bedside table for over a year and I’m so glad I finally opened it. Kitty, like me, is a recipe developer, food and prop stylist. She has spent years writing recipes and cookbooks for other people, and this book is about how she cooks when it’s not for work. It speaks to me on many levels.

The premise is simple: shop a few good ingredients, cook from what you have, waste less. But what stayed with me more than the thrift is a feeling she evokes of cooking with ease.

“beans for the week”, ready to be put into play

The recipes are brothy and rustic, elegant in their simplicity. They lean heavily on beans, potatoes, sturdy greens, good olive oil, good bread. I’ve made a handful of the recipes now and each one delivers (her Lemon Roasted Potatoes are divine).

Yes, the book is frugal (and delightfully British) in spirit, but I found it almost aspirational in its assertion that we can throw together “bits and bobs” from the kitchen and create something fantastic.

After reading her chapter on beans, I decided it was time to embrace them at home. I was drawn to the idea of cooking a large batch at the start of the week (what she calls “Beans for the Week”) and see how many different ways we could use them.

if you like beans, Rancho Gordo has the good goods

I ordered some beautiful California Corona beans from Rancho Gordo. After an overnight soak, they simmered in water for about 2 hours with what I had on hand: celery ends, scallion ends, smashed garlic, rosemary, fennel seed. When the beans were tender—enormous and creamy—I removed the aromatics and stored the beans in their cooking liquid. So far they’ve found their way into beef stew and chicken soup. Mike likes them as a hearty base to a quick salad with canned tuna, celery, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little grated garlic. Tonight, they became the base for some simple seared salmon (recipe follows).

This week’s recipe is the kind of dinner I want you to feel confident making. Not because it’s complicated, but because it isn’t. It leans heavily on the pantry: beans, a jar of artichokes, a spoonful of pesto, good olive oil. A piece of protein will anchor it; shrimp, chicken, pork would all work great here.

It’s intuitive cooking. Start with what you have, taste and season as you go, and trust yourself. Affordable, easy-breezy, and deeply satisfying results.

the recipe: Simple Salmon with Brothy Beans and Artichokes

This is a pantry-forward dinner that rewards you for keeping a few good things on hand. The beans can be homemade or canned. The pesto can be your own or from a jar. The artichokes are unapologetically storebought (who has time for turning artichokes!). The whole thing comes together quickly but tastes like it took much longer.