Bird Egg Shell Beans

One of my favorite farmers market discoveries is bird egg shell beans.  Cooked with bacon, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and a little butter, these beans make a truly wonderful side dish.

Look for long green or yellow bean pods tinged with pink spots and streaks.  Inside, the creamy colored beans are also streaked with pink accents.   

Start by shelling the beans - the pods will open under gentle pressure and the beans will pop right out. 

You'll also need some chopped bacon (I like the thick kind), water, diced onions, salt, pepper, minced jalapeno, and minced garlic.

In a large skillet, cook the chopped bacon.  No need to add oil to the pan, the bacon will render its own fat.

When the bacon is brown and the bottom of the skillet has developed a nice layer of "fond" (the brown bits stuck to the pan), remove the bacon, keeping the rendered bacon fat in the pan.

That fond equals lots of great flavor.  

Add the onion, jalapeno, and salt & pepper to the pan.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions turn translucent.

Then add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes until very fragrant.

See how all the fond has released from the bottom of the pan?  It's now flavoring the onions and garlic.

Add the water, beans, and cooked bacon to the pan.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer; cover and cook for 30-40 minutes until the beans are tender. 

Uncover beans when tender and continue simmering and stirring every few minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Turn off the heat and stir in a little butter.  

Serve hot.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• rondeau https://amzn.to/3fGeelN

• my favorite chopping knife https://amzn.to/2LoC4V4

---

Bird Egg Shell Beans

makes 6 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound shelled bird egg beans

• 1/4 pound thick bacon, roughly chopped

• 1 cup diced onion

• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is brown; remove bacon and keep drippings in pan.

2. In the same skillet, saute onion, jalapeno, and S&P in rendered bacon fat, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, then add garlic and saute for a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant.

3. Add beans, water, and reserved bacon to skillet and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes until beans are tender.

4. Remove cover and increase heat to medium, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is absorbed; add butter and stir until melted.

5. Taste carefully and add more salt if needed (I need to add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt).

Skinny Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Question - if you lighten up traditional potato soup, you can add extra toppings, right?  Right! And the fact that this recipe is fast and easy to make means you can sit down to a piping hot bowl of homemade soup in less than an hour.

Start by cooking chopped cauliflower in chicken stock until it's tender.  The smaller you chop the cauliflower, the faster it will cook.  

The cauliflower does not need to be completely covered with chicken stock - we're going to cover the pan and take full advantage of the power of hot steam.  Total cooking time should be about 10 minutes.

Add leftover cooked Idaho potatoes and ground black pepper (hold off on adding any salt at this time).  The potatoes can be boiled, steamed, mashed, baked - just be sure to peel them so the finished color of the soup stays light and bright (you know, for optimal eye appeal).  

I know some people think you should use white pepper in light colored soups, but I'm not fond of the flavor and I really like to see the specks of black pepper in my soup.  That's just me.  You do you.  

Add milk and plain Greek yogurt.  You can substitute sour cream or creme fraiche, but Greek yogurt adds a ton of protein.  

Turn off the heat and grab your handy-dandy immersion blender, aka stick blender.  You could use a food processor or traditional blender as well, but you have to be careful not to over-process the mixture to prevent the potatoes from developing a glue-like texture. 

Blend until smooth-ish - I like my soup to retain a little texture, and actually, a lump or two doesn't bother me at all.  Turn the heat back on and heat the soup for a few more minutes until hot.  Important, taste at this point and add salt if necessary, being mindful of the salt content of whatever toppings you plan to add.

Now for the fun part, garnish with plenty of traditional baked potato toppings like, chives, bacon, cheese - whatever floats your boat.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• immersion blender https://amzn.to/33EyFtE

• chicken base https://amzn.to/2WKgmSe

• nakiri knife https://amzn.to/2vGiyPE

• rondeau https://amzn.to/2xiWNWM

---

Skinny Loaded Baked Potato Soup

makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds chopped cauliflower

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 1 1/4 pounds leftover peeled and cooked Idaho potatoes, cubed

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream or creme fraiche)

• Kosher salt to taste

• garnish: chopped chives, shredded cheddar, cooked bacon, etc

Directions

1. In a 5 or 6-quart casserole over medium heat, cook cauliflower in chicken stock, covered, until the cauliflower is tender.

2. Add cooked potatoes, black pepper, milk, and Greek yogurt.

3. Turn off heat and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.

4. Turn heat back on and heat soup for a few minutes until hot.

5. Taste soup and add salt if necessary, being mindful of the salt content of the toppings you plan to garnish with.

6. Garnish and serve.