Navy beans

Beans are not all alike. Each has its own unique flavor and personality. This week's dinner menu at home features navy bean. When uncooked, this bean is white and small, about the same size as red bean. Once cooked, it becomes milky in color, with a smooth and very mild flavor. It just naturally reminds one of chicken, turkey white meat, and a mix of herbs, particularly basil and marjoram. So, this week we try out some navy bean dishes. In the casserole recipe, I tried the combination of turkey white meat, navy beans and sweet peas. The sweet peas give some pockets of sweetness to the otherwise starchy and meaty theme. In one of the soup recipes, I used navy beans with cabbage and apple to get a more complex taste for the soup. In another soup recipe, I combined navy beans with wheat berries, tofu, and enoki mushrooms, decorated with slices of sweet beef.

Recipe 1: Turkey and navy bean casserole (for 2-3)

- 6-8 oz cooked turkey white meat, cut to 1/2" cubes
- 3/4 to 1 cup cooked navy beans
- about 1/3 cup of liquid from cooking the beans

- 1/4 medium onion, finely chopped

- 1/3 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed

- 1/2 can of 96% fat free cream of mushroom condensed soup
- 1 tablespoon dried herbs mix of basil, rosemary, thyme, savory, marjoram

Procedure:
1. In a 750ml baking dish, mix turkey meat, navy beans, onion, sweet peas, dried herbs and the bean water together in a baking pan. Set aside in the fridge until 1 hour before meal.
2. Spread the cream of mushroom soup on top of the ingredients. Cover dish with foil. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes. Then turn oven up to 450F and allow to cook for 5 minutes (or until the liquid below the condensed soup starts to bubble). Serve right away.

Recipe 2: Navy bean ham casserole (for 1)

Ingredients:
- 3 to 4 oz ham, cut to thin slices of 1" long
- 3-6 TB very well cooked navy bean (equal portion to ham, by volume)
- 1 TB sweet peas
- 1 TB cubed rutabagas from can
- 1/3 package of silken tofu (equal to twice the portion of ham)
- 1/2 can cream of chicken

Procedure:
Mix everything and bake at 150F for 30-45 minutes.


Recipe 3: Navy bean soup (for 2-3)

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup navy beans, cooked
- 1/4 cup wild rice
- 6 oz turkey white meat, cut to thin strips
- 1/2 onion, cut to 1/2" cubes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried herbs mix of basil, savory, marjoram

- 1/4 teaspoon rosemary

- 1 cup cabbage, shredded

- 1/4 of a medium apple, cut to 1/4" cubes
- 4 cups ham stock

Procedure:

In a sauce pan, cook wild rice, navy beans, onion, garlic and cabbage in ham stock for about 30 minutes, or until wild rice is done (opened up). Add dried herbs, rosemary, turkey meat and apple. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn heat off and let sit on stove top for 30 minutes. Reheat to serve.

Recipe 4: Another navy bean soup (for 2)

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup cooked navy beans
- 1/4 cup cooked red wheat berries
- 1/4 package of silken tofu
- 1 Thai eggplant, chopped
- 1/4 carrot, chopped
- 1 cup of leaves of celery
- 1 pack enoki mushrooms, about 4-6 oz, rinsed
- 1-2 oz beef slices stir-fried in sweet flour paste
- 4 cups meat stock (salty)

Procedure:
In a sauce pan, heat the navy beans, wheat berries, eggplant, carrot in the meat stock until boiling. Add celery leaves and tofu. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then add enoki mushrooms, and turn heat to medium. Once the mushrooms are soft (about 1 minute), the soup is ready. Serve hot, topped with beef slices.