Bean by Bean: More Than 175 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans, even Sweet Beans!

This is an outstanding reference book for any cook who wants to explore the World (literally) of bean cookery.I just love beans. And so I loved reading a book by someone who loves beans even more than I do. Some readers may find the author's writing, which weaves in literary references from Jacob and Esau to Jack and his beanstalk--even L.L. Bean makes at least two appearances--ponderous or wordy, but I was amused: Ms. Dragonwagon's excitement about all things bean and her extensive research just spill out all over the pages. If this is not your cup of tea, it's easy enough to skim over the background info and occasional outburst of poem or song and get straight to the many, diverse, recipes and valuable tips: there are plenty of recipes here for everyone.I wish I had this book two decades ago, when I started cooking up a batch of beans weekly and eating them for lunch almost daily (heated in the office microwave!). The book is an excellent reference for such questions as which varieties of beans need to be soaked overnight; how to quick-soak; how to use your slow cooker or pressure-cook beans; and even covers dehydrated beans. Most of the recipes call for canned beans, giving the cook the choice of whether to begin with dried beans.The author provides a truly informative section on the essential, and serious, question of flatulence. I've read several bean books, including "The Bean Bible," and own "Heirloom Beans" (from Rancho Gordo), and all address this issue. However, Ms. Dragonwagon provides more comprehensive information and suggestions than do the others.The ingredients used are almost all available in any grocery store--even my itty-bitty one. Some recipes have long ingredient lists, but they're almost all spices. The author suggests many varieties of beans; however, some which are more obscure may be amazoned, or other types of beans may be substituted. I amazon all of my dried beans from Bob's Red Mill, Arrowhead Mills, or Camellia [black-eyed peas]: that way the beans and lentils are much fresher and much higher quality than those in the Brand X plastic bags that I can buy locally, yet are still incredibly inexpensive.The recipes present an astonishing variety in types of dish and world cuisines: dips and spreads, soups, stews, salads, chilis (9 recipes + 4 variations), curries, beans & grains, tofus, flatbreads, and even desserts. There are a LOT of recipes and every one comes with a headnote that tells us about its origin and/or its special ingredients. Many cuisines are well-represented, from the Middle East to Africa, Asia, India, Europe, and the Americas. Many recipes have a handful of variations. The author is a vegetarian, but thoughtfully includes meat in those bean dishes for which ham hocks, for example, are traditional, or may include meat or fish in a variation. Throughout, she provides excellent "Notes" on ingredients such as chiles, spices, and vegetarian mainstays such as bean-based tofu and tempeh. If a spice or chile is somewhat obscure, she almost always provides substitution and/or sourcing suggestions. She also provides recipes for traditional accompaniments; for example, cornbread for chili, injera wot for Ethiopian stews, Boston brown bread for baked beans, and sauces for falafels. Extensive tables at the back of the book provide excellent reference information for many types of beans. Alas, there are no photographs, which I know is important for many readers. The Kindle format is otherwise excellent, with clickable TOC, index, embedded recipes, and online sources.I highly recommend this book for any cook who wants to learn more about how to incorporate more delicious, inexpensive, and packed-with-nutrition bean dishes in his or her diet.

The author has had a life long interest in Beans and it shows! The recipes are interesting, delicious, and many types from Basic to fancy and lots of variety. A lot of commenters noted the author can be overly wordy and imaginative which is strange for a cookbook. If you don’t like it skip the chapters in the beginning- I feel her recipe intros are very good at describing the unique features of each recipe, as well as encouraging and enticing to make you want to try new things. I have several books on just beans and this is one of my top two favorites. There are no pictures, true, but I feel this book was written by a gifted writer, who is also a long time home chef, and her descriptions do more for me than a picture. Also I’m kind of glad there’s no pictures because this book is just full of great cooking instruction- more room for the important matters. I don’t think I’ll ever catch up to making all the recipes I want to try. It will take me years. And finally, her substitution suggestions are very good. A lot of common beans recipes include ham products. I’m pretty practiced at omitting ingredients and finding substitutes but when it comes to omitting the bacon or smoked pork I feel I’ve never managed to compensate for the lost flavor. This writer has some incredibly good ideas to work around that, and many of them too, and you won’t miss the ham one bit. I dont think she caters to any eating restriction too much- offering something for everyone and always great advice for dietary adaptations. Her substitution advice is the best I’ve ever seen, thorough, and you will certainly become a better life long cook learning from this author, not just picking up some good recipes. The last thing I’ll say about this book is that I love that she doesn’t have ton of recipes on how to “hide” beans by grinding them or mashing them. I have a lot of bean books, and for some reason many of them assume that may not like beans so you may have to sneak them into other foods like cookies or cheesecake. This book assumes you like beans me arent trying to fool anyone. Classic type of recipes where beans are the main focus.

führt hier die Autorin und vermittelt dabei nicht nur faszinierende Rezepte, stets auch in vegetarischer und veganer Version, sondern überträgt auch ihre tiefe Liebe zu diesen charmanten, urgesunden und meistens unterbewerteten Grundnahrungsmitteln auf den Leser. Eine Reise, die ich nur empfehlen kann.Ergänzung Februar 2021: Immer noch mein Lieblingsbuch zum Thema. Dabei habe ich so manche! Und seitdem einiges an Erfahrungen gemacht. Der Begeisterung hat das keinen Abbruch getan, ganz im Gegenteil. Es macht immer wieder Freude, sowohl beim Lesen als auch beim Nachkochen.

Quand ces messieurs et mesdames anglos-saxons comprendront que le visuel est un des cinq sens essentiel en cuisine, ils auront tout compris...Comme souvent, les livres en anglais n'ont (presque) aucunes photos: dur dur de se coller aux recettes en anglais sans l'inspiration des photos...surtout quand l'édition est relativement récente, c'est dommage...A part ça, un vrai recueil de recettes pour accommoder les graines et céréales, assez simples à faire...

This is the best Bean cookbook I have seen. She gives clever, and funny details to bean recipes that add charm. You want to read it as though it were a novel. Mostly vegetarian, you are in charge of what goes into your pot! Highly recommended.

Bean By Bean: A Cookbook: More than 200 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans...Even Sweet Beans!  This book has been a delicous cure for the winter doldrums and has presented beans of all sorts in ways I had not even thought of cooking. It's informative, inventive and downright good eating well worth buying. At present I am cooking my way through the book and so far I look forward to the next recipe; this should be on any cook's shelves it opens a whole new world of twists on beans. Bean By Bean: A Cookbook: More than 200 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans...Even Sweet Beans!

I love this book. The information about Beans is really informative. I love the fact you can make vegetarian or non-vegetarian soups and stews. The first recipe I tried was Tanzanian Black Eyed Pea and Coconut Soup. What I discovered in this recipe is this, if you want a thick soup pour off most of the liquid from the Beans (reserving the liquid) and adding it back in if you want the soup to be thinner. I don't usually add the bananas or coconut chips. Oh, and it's hard to find Zanzibar curry powder, just use regular. DELICIOUS.