2021 Little Easy Bean Network - Bean Lovers Come Discover Something New !

[flowerbug]

For the most part, older soybeans rotate into my SHTF stock, along with other dry legumes. To my shame, as a soybean advocate, I have not yet attempted to make tofu, miso, or other processed soybean products myself. A situation I intend to address this winter, when I will be buying equipment to start testing some of my soybeans as tofu, and as roasted & ground soy grits. The latter were used as part of a multi-grain hot cereal that we make & added to bread recipes, until the local health food center stopped carrying it.

for tofu you don't need any special equipment other than a blender (the finer you can grind the soybeans the more you can extract from them) and some cheese cloth. most kitchens already have a thermometer. a good pan is nice, the one i was using stunk and we have better pans now except i stopped making soymilk after a few years before we got the new pans.

while it was good to grow my own beans and to learn how to make soymilk and then tofu i decided i could also live without. having better equipment for the tofu making part would have been nicer but if i wasn't sure i was going to be making a lot of it if there wasn't a need to get fancy until i knew i was and i'm glad i saved the money and just got by with the cheesecloth and weight. Mom won't eat it, i'd rather put my time into things we both will eat for sure. i can eat tofu any time. but in general beans serve the same purpose and Mom loves those. she will eat edamame here or there, but this year for some reason she'd not eat them - i was like, ok, more for me. we didn't have many this year so it was her only chance. i don't think it broke her heart. next year i bet if i just call them shelly beans she'd eat them and say she likes them. probably the word edamame freaked her out.

 

[flowerbug]

The clear high performers were Viola and Dapple Grey. They performed similarly in total mass, but Viola outpaced Dapple Grey in the number of beans due to its smaller seed size. We loved the unique appearance of each of these beans but I would say Dapple Grey may be the most striking in appearance. Viola easily wins the best plant appearance due to it's beautiful purple flowers, stems, and pods. It was also the first to flower.

did you happen to try any Viola as a snap bean?

 

[flowerbug]

It turns out I kinda love soy and I'm kicking myself for avoiding it for so long. I buy extra firm tofu in 4 lb blocks and they don't last long. I've also been experimenting with miso. I like tempeh a lot in concept, especially as a more intact whole food, but use more tofu in practice because it just goes in everything. I'd theoretically like to make tofu and then find a way to also eat the leftover okara but I haven't made it that far. Maybe you could toast that and use it like the grits? Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes for you!

i didn't know there was a name for the leftovers from making soy milk/tofu but what i used to do with okara was put a little cinamon and sugar on it and have it for breakfast. the worm farm also greatly enjoyed any i would spare for them. i think it would go as a filler in any baked item.

i never had any negative reactions to soy products. MSG can do some strange things to my brain (including migraines) so i don't eat a lot of it but it is in some of the foods we eat (most common source is Cream of Mushroom canned soup or some dry spice blends used for soups) but they get dilluted enough that it doesn't bother me.

 

[jbosmith]

i didn't know there was a name for the leftovers from making soy milk/tofu but what i used to do with okara was put a little cinamon and sugar on it and have it for breakfast. the worm farm also greatly enjoyed any i would spare for them. i think it would go as a filler in any baked item.

i never had any negative reactions to soy products. MSG can do some strange things to my brain (including migraines) so i don't eat a lot of it but it is in some of the foods we eat (most common source is Cream of Mushroom canned soup or some dry spice blends used for soups) but they get dilluted enough that it doesn't bother me.

I admittedly looked up 'okara' because I knew there was a word but couldn't think of it

My 15 years ago self didn't know there was a difference between natural glutamate and MSG. There's too many websites out there claiming they're all the same.

 

[flowerbug]

a picture of some Monster Children beans in the sun since it came out today. the red color and pattern i've been after for quite a few years. the more orange colored ones are still nice to see too.

and since i had the camera out and the sun was cooperating i took a few pictures of the beans that Russ sent and i'm just calling these Santa beans for now.

 

[heirloomgal]

Those white ones with the purple speckles are something 🥰

Are the Mrociumiere in the last photo crossed? They look like normal Mrociumiere to me?

 

[heirloomgal]

I ordered a bean called 'Nonna Agnes' this year and it came in today. When I opened the package I was surprised how much they look like 'Meerbarbe'. I would never be able to tell these two apart. Is there any chance that this bean somehow acquired two different 2 names?

 

[flowerbug]

I ordered a bean called 'Nonna Agnes' this year and it came in today. When I opened the package I was surprised how much they look like 'Meerbarbe'. I would never be able to tell these two apart. Is there any chance that this bean somehow acquired two different 2 names?

yes i think that can happen. i grew Nona Agnes last year, i wondered if Blaugraue was a relative when i saw the color range of the results. since both are pole beans i'm not looking to grow them too often again.

 

[flowerbug]

Those white ones with the purple speckles are something 🥰

yes they are. we'll see if they're stable and viable here to give them a name. Russ said he doesn't want the name on the package he sent used because he wants it for some other bean so i'll have to come up with one on my own.

Are the Mrociumiere in the last photo crossed? They look like normal Mrociumiere to me?

i have not yet grown Mrociumere. i'll probably request a sample next spring so i have that as a base line to compare against. at the moment the beans in that picture were titled something else and i can't use that name either. i'll assume that Russ knew what M looked like and segregated them out for a reason. purty for sure.

 

[BeanWonderin]

did you happen to try any Viola as a snap bean?

I do think I munched a few and thought they were pretty good. Tender and good flavor. I appreciate multi-purpose beans!