lima beans | Squash and Awe

Maybe it needs a better name, but for now, it will have to do. As I savor the last bite, I am filled and satisfied with this now much more nutritious dish. Holiday visitors passed through the kitchen as I was making the chili, and it seemed to be an unlikely recipe to most. My invented recipe intrigued an eight year old who dreams of being on a “kid chef” show on the Food Network. He watched me like a hawk. The recipe is made in a slow cooker, and can be adapted to all tastes.

This time of year, I often collect a nice amount of the heirloom Christmas lima bean. I am frequently pressing these beans into the hands of school kids in hopes that they plant them here in Hawaii. They should be grown in everyone’s home garden, school gardens, and on fences, banana trees, bamboo…you get the idea. They are perfect for Hawaii’s long, come and go seasons. It creates a pretty vine, and the bees love the delicate bloom. I’ve sung it’s praises before, and I am at it again. Plus the bean is big and very flavorful.

Above is an image that shows how they catch the morning light in the garden. In the photo, they are covering an unsightly windbreak that I made two years ago out of bamboo threaded through shipping pallets that were placed on their side. It has held up, and become a beautiful area that is also effective against the wind tunnel effect. I bought the first lot from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds three years ago, and since then, I have supplied half of the state of Hawaii with them, and also included them in many special meals. It was the best $2.50 I have ever spent in the garden!

But back to the chili. Lima beans make a lovely chili bean, especially these lovely burgundy speckled ones, and the spice of homegrown chili peppers mixed with sweet pumpkins is a wonderful, and thrifty match for my eat what you grow style.

So the concept is the take away here. Here is what I did: I picked, shucked and rinsed the lima beans, harvested a few chili peppers and selected a nice aged pumpkin. I soaked the beans for a couple hours, then decided just to cook them on low overnight in the slow cooker. I could have added a wedge of onion to the water that covered the beans, but I forgot. By morning, the home cooking filled my tiny abode. I had 1/4 of the crock pot filled with dried beans and then filled the entire crock with water.

In the morning, I drained the beans, saving the cooking liquid on the side. I did this by simply setting a colander inside a large bowl. I returned the beans to the 4 qt slow cooker, and added 1/2 a chopped onion, 2 packets of chili seasoning, 1.5 lbs of hamburger, one can of tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste, plus three cloves of garlic. Then I chopped about 1.5 pounds of pumpkin, salt and pepper. I also added about 3 cups of the bean cooking broth back into the cooker. Normally, I would add my fresh chili peppers, but this one was made with little kids in mind.

When I make this again for myself, I am going to make a meatless version. The lima beans and pumpkin make a satisfying chili, and the meat just isn’t necessary. The beans were already cooked, so it was a matter of waiting for the pumpkin to cook. This gave me plenty of time to shuck more beans for later cooking and planting, as well as give me some time to turn the home garden upside down section by section, in my December garden overhaul.

By 4 in the afternoon, I couldn’t wait any longer, and snuck a small sample bowl…and then another. I was waiting for the pumpkin to be tender. By this time, I was hungry, and this really hit the spot. I could have easily added more of the bean broth to thin it out a bit. I added some more salt at the end of the cooking. I smeared it with some sour cream and piled it on top of basmati brown rice. There were zero complaints about either the limas or the pumpkin.

I decided to cook up some of my heirloom Christmas lima beans and make a casserole. With a lot of work to do in preparation for the National Heirloom Expo, I need my energy. I had the food processor out with the shred blade on, as I was already making my pipinola (chayote) kraut. I was also sitting on several pounds of zucchini from a farm trade that I made with our local CSA. I decided to just keep shredding and make a taco seasoned dish that I could use throughout the week. Here is what I did: I had cooked the Christmas lima beans on low overnight in the crockpot with water enough to cover, and 1/2 of a Sweet Onion. I was already planning on using the beans, so I thought that all I needed was some more vegetables.I shredded one half of a large Hawaiian Sweet Onion, One large Zucchini, one pipinola(chayote squash) 2 orange habanero peppers, and 5 pickled hot peppers. I then poured the shredded veg into a bowl, and pulsed 2-3 cups of the now room temperature cooked lima beans. I added them to the bowl, and added two packages of taco seasoning, a sprinkle of sea salt, and a cup of breadcrumbs. I mixed it all together and pressed it into a 9×9 square pan, baking it at 350 degrees for an hour.

I’ve been making homemade kraut for several weeks now, as a means of capturing the harvests that come and go at both the farm and garden. The salty zing of the sea salt brine is welcomed after a hot day in the field. I thought, why not? Add it to the taco. I am happy to learn that this one taco casserole makes two completely different dining experiences. Fresh out of the oven, it is warm and comforting, with melted cheese and steamed rice for an evening meal, but the next day, it is bright and light as a chilled lunchtime taco with the ice cold kraut.

Since I am doing a lot of physical labor, I need a lot of food energy to get me through the day, so this homegrown, healthy taco had enough staying power to keep me going. Granted, my farmer portion was probably a bit larger than many would make. Overall, it was a simple feast made out of farm and garden goods. I will certainly make it again soon.

Try experimenting, I am sure carrots or pumpkin would be equally nice additions to the taco. Just think in terms of a meat loaf minus the meat. You can add two beaten eggs to the mix as well, or add chopped boiled eggs if you are a hungry one like me. As for the kraut, I have made a wide variety of them in my initial experimentation. It is all based around what is in arms reach. I have a few chili peppers producing now, and I always keep fennel fronds near. Though I am not a seaweed (limu) collector, I support those few that do here in Hawaii. I have been using seaweed as the majority of the salt in the recipe, topping off jars with just a bit more salt for fermentation. If you haven’t read it, you may enjoy my earlier post on my summer fermentation trials with pipinola (chayote)