From: red_trek@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Cooking times for beans and grains
Date: 24 Jan 93 16:35:46 GMT
Organization: Carnegie Mellon Computer Club

This file, like the preceding nine recipes, is typed w/o permission
from the NAVS guide "Vegetarianism:  Answers to the most commonly
asked questions".

COOKING TIMES/PROPORTIONS FOR GRAINS AND DRIED BEANS


Grain/bean              Water           Cooking Time    Yield
----------              -----           ------------    -----
(1 dry cup)             (In cups)       (In minutes)    (In cups)

Barley (whole)          3               75              3.5
Brown rice              2               60              3
Buckwheat               2               15              2.5
Bulghur wheat           2               15-20           2.5
Cracked wheat           2               25              2.33
Millet                  3               45              3.5
Cornmeal                4               25              3
Wild rice               3               60+             4
Black beans             4               90              2
Black-eyed peas         3               60              2
Chick peas              4               180             2
G. Northern beans       3.5             120             2
Kidney beans            3               90              2
Lentils/split peas      3               60              2.25
Lima beans              2               90              1.25
Baby limas              2               90              1.75
Pinto beans             3               150             2
Red beans               3               180             2
White beans             3               90              2
Soybeans                4               180+            2
Soy grits               2               15              2

Soaking beans in water overnight will reduce cooking time.  Beans
will be more tender if you add a drop of vinegar or lemon juice to
the cooking water.  To turn a pot of beans into stew, add chopped
vegetables and herbs for the last half-hour of cooking.  For an
easy meal, combine cooked grains and beans with herbs and steamed,
stir-fired or raw vegetables.  Or serve beans on a bed of lettuce
and rice.  Garnish with tomato, carrots, scallions, etc.  There
are many possible combinations, so be creative and have fun.

[Information and recipeces for this booklet were adapted from
"A Taste of Vegetarianism," a forthcoming NAVS publication by
Victoria Moran, and "VEgetarian Cooking for a Better World," by
Muriel C. Gold.]

-----------------
[Andrea's comment:  This posting, while pretty accurate, should
not be considered a bible.  I have cooked some perfectly decent,
very tender brown lentils, for instance, in less than 40 minutes.
Red lentils and green lentils--avaiable at health food stores--
can be cooked in 15 minutes.  After you gain experience working
with beans, you will start to have a better feel for how much
cooking time to leave.  A general tip:  save lentils, split peas
and mung beans for during the week, when you have less time to
cook.  Cook a big pot of slow-cooking beans over the weekend,
when you're at home to keep an eye on them, then stretch it out
over the next week as leftovers.  Keep it interesting by adding
new vegetables, or other leftover bean dishes, etc. each time you
prepare it again.  If it starts to get boring, freeze what's left.]
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg