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National Bean Day
Discover a world of hearty goodness, as these tiny powerhouses pack a punch of protein and flavor, making every meal satisfying.
Beans are a common food around the globe and for good reason: theyโre rich in fiber, protein, and can be delicious. You might think of beans only as an ingredient in chili con carne or baked beans, but theyโre not limited to these applications – in Japan, for instance, red beans are commonly used in desserts.
There are also various Chinese sweets that also incorporate either red beans or mung beans. That, of course, excludes things like soya beans which are used both fresh (as edamame) as well as in various sauces and condiments ranging from soya sauce to miso and various fermented condiments found throughout southeast Asia and northeast India.
Tempeh and tofu are also made from soya bean and that just goes to show how versatile and essential beans are to various cuisines worldwide. So whether youโre indulging in a nice steamy bowl of chili or a Japanese sweet, there are numerous ways to celebrate humble beans.
History of National Bean Day
The day commemorates the death of the geneticist Gregor Mendel, whose experiments with breeding pea plants formed the basis of modern genetics. From what we could find, it would appear that Paula Bowen is the creator of National Bean Day.
Her main reasons were that there arenโt many holidays to celebrate around the time that National Bean Day has typically been celebrated. Plus she thought that the world needed a day to honor Mr. Bean. Her father was a pinto bean farmer, so sheโs pretty familiar with beans in general and no doubt was raised on them. Beans are also healthy and common in many cuisines throughout the world, so weโre not at all surprised that thereโs a day dedicated to their celebration.
Electronic greeting card websites seem to have a lot of references to National Bean Day, but weโre not sure if it actually means that e-card companies actually invented National Bean Day or if theyโve just been the most effective at capitalizing on it. Small matter though – if you hate beans and donโt want to have anything to do with them on National Bean Day, you can still send greeting cards to your friends to mark the occasion. Some people think that itโs actually called โNational Bean Dayโ, but thereโs no congressional record nor any presidential proclamation for such a day. So itโs safe to assume that itโs not an officially recognized occasion.
How to celebrate National Bean Day
Beans are one of the most versatile food items. The best day to celebrate National Bean Day would be to involve beans in all of your meals for the day, particularly in places where you wouldnโt necessarily expect them. Start the day with a traditional full English breakfast, which includes baked beans and toast among all of the other things, then have an ordinary lunch followed by red bean ice cream or red bean mochi, and for dinner prepare some meal which involves beans – chili, black beans and rice, white bean soup, North Indian rajma, or any other bean specialty.
Since we want to encourage you to celebrate National Bean Day,, weโre including a bean recipe to help stir your creativity. Olan is a traditional mildly-spiced vegetarian curry that comes from the south Indian state of Kerala and it includes not just beans but also coconut milk and pumpkin. You could have it on its own with rice or even rotis, but itโs equally delicious as part of a larger meal. So hereโs the recipe, itโs actually really simple to make:
- 1/2 cup dried red cowpeas (or any other red beans – thereโs no reason why you couldnโt use kidney beans), soaked overnight in water
- 3 cups thin coconut milk
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
- 2 green chilies, slit
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups pumpkin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 6 sliced shallots
- 6 curry leaves (you can find them in an Indian grocer, or if you canโt just leave them out if you have to)
Cook the beans in the thin coconut milk with green chillies, cumin, and salt in a medium saucepan for 25-30 minutes (until theyโre soft). Add the pumpkin and cook for another five minutes, then stir in the thick coconut milk, remove from heat, and keep aside. Heat the oil in a small skillet and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, sputter, and fly all over your kitchen, add the shallots and curry leaves. Fry until theyโre light brown. Stir in the seasoned oil with the pumpkin-bean curry and itโs ready to eat. Happy National Bean Day!
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