A Traditional Farm Life - Carol Jean's Beans

A Traditional Farm Life - Carol Jean's Beans

By Shasta Hamilton

Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends!  I’m sure every mother is familiar with the constant battle fought—all too often in vain--to keep children’s rooms passable.  As I waded through the boy’s room to get to their closet earlier this week, our 14 year-old voiced great wit and wisdom concerning his six year-old brother:  “Our chief room picker-upper is also our chief room destroyer.  It’s like being the General of two opposing armies.”

I am pleased to announce great progress is has been made in the campaign in their room this week.  For three nights in a row I have crossed a completely clean floor, to my great relief void of toy tractors and plastic farm animals underfoot.  Glorious victory!

On another front, I have an exciting footnote to my ongoing Native American bean adventure.  A fact finding mission resulted in an hour long phone call with the folks that gave Kelly Taylor the beans he planted last summer, which have in turn planted in me the seed of interest in Native American gardening.  (In fact, I have become so absorbed by this topic my family now lovingly refers to me as a “bean brain.”)

Becoming an investigative journalist has never been part of my plans, but a little detective work yielded the proverbial pot of beans (or is it gold?) at the end of the rainbow.

Knowing Kelly was given his bean seeds at the Pawnee Indian Museum last June, on a whim I gave site director Richard Gould a call.  After briefly explaining my “wild goose chase” and the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the beans, he gave me the phone numbers of two couples with connections to the museum with an interest in growing Native American crops.

My first call was to a couple in Nebraska who live where the Pawnees lived before being removed to “Indian Territory.”  He told an interesting story about the first year they planted a rare variety of Indian corn on the very site near the river where the tribe gardened years ago.  He planted 25 heirloom seeds and fought gophers, birds, and deer before completely chicken wiring in his last two remaining corn plants—which the mice promptly discovered--leaving him only one ear of corn for all his trouble.  Even so, this small yield provided seed for the following more productive years.

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Next I called Dennis and Carol Jean Urie of Republic, Kansas.  Before long it was obvious my search was over—I had actually found the folks who inadvertently “planted the seed” of growing Native American heirloom beans!

They patiently answered all my questions, and I learned quite a bit in the process.  Their passion for preserving Native American food crops is quite contagious.

Through a network of contacts the Uries have nurtured over the years, they have the ability to access an incredible number of Native American heirlooms from a wide spectrum of tribes and areas of the country.  If they don’t have the seed you’re looking for in their personal collection, they probably know someone else in the Native American seed saving world who will.

It turns out my concerns of possible hybridization resulting in the wide variety of colors of beans was unfounded.  Dennis told me the beans self-pollinate and the plant should produce beans looking like the seed planted.  For their purposes, they do not separate the colors at planting time, but enjoy a variety of bean soups from the beautiful cornucopia of colors.  In fact, they market the mixed bean soup mixes at craft shows and hope to develop other markets for these beautiful beans.

I asked Carol Jean if she had a bean recipe she would like to share with you, my (perhaps bean weary) readers.  Without a moment’s hesitation, she dictated her ingredients list.  I’m presenting it to you as a slow cooker recipe, but you may, of course, cook it on the stovetop as well.  In that case simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours with the lid tilted until the beans are tender.  Either way, I think I’ve found the pot of beans at the end of the rainbow!

Carol Jean’s Beans

1 lb. mixed dry soup beans

14 cups water, divided

     sausage or meaty ham bone, optional

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons parsley flakes,

     fresh or dry

2 tablespoons salsa, optional

1 teaspoon fresh garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

(or more to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Sort and rinse beans. Place in slow cooker and add 8 cups water.  Cover and let soak overnight.  Drain, discarding soaking water and return beans to cooker. 

2.  Add 6 cups water and remaining ingredients to slow cooker.  Cover and cook on High 8-9 hours. 

3.  Remove ham bone from cooker; allow to cool.  Cut ham from bone into bite-sized pieces, and stir back into soup.  Taste and correct seasonings as needed.    Yield:  6 servings.

Copyright © 2016 by Shasta Hamilton

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com .  

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