I’ve been obsessing over these beans from Rancho Gordo that my friend turned me on to. I love beans, and while they don’t fit into a paleo diet that I try to follow, I have decided that I am going to fit them into my diet. They have tons of nutrition and help me incorporate vegetarian meals into my life. They’re also delicious- rich and creamy and versatile. For some reason I think beans get a bad rap, like they aren’t a special meal, but these beautiful beans, to me, feel very special.

We were traveling about a month ago, a road trip down the coast to see Ethan and enjoy a few days off before Thanksgiving. The only down side to travel is that, while my eating has improved generally, I still eat far less veggies and far more processed foods than my body is used to (not to mention the alcohol intake) when I’m not home. On our 5 hour drive back to Sacramento, I started thinking about what I could make that would fit the following needs: lots of veggies, a vegetarian main course, and I didn’t want to go to the store. The recipe below met those needs.

• 1 Lb. Rancho Gordo Christmas Lima beans
• 1 med yellow onion
• Spoonful minced garlic (or a few cloves chopped)
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1c. shredded carrot
• 2 handfulls herbes de provence (about 2.5 T.)
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 bunch of dino kale, chopped
• 1/4 head of green cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 c. dried mushrooms, reconstituted in a mug of boiling water
• 4c. vegetable broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes

Soak the beans over night (I did a quick soak in the pressure cooker since I wasn’t home the night before). While they soak, sauté the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and dried herbs in a skillet with some olive oil. Dump the soaking liquid from the beans and return the beans to the pressure cooker. Add the sautéed veggies and everything else with a good amount of salt and pepper. Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. If the beans aren’t done, you can cook for another 5 minutes. If you want to thicken the liquids, set the cooker to sauté and cook till it’s the consistency you like, stirring often.

This was everything I wanted that night, and everyone who got to try them loved them too. I’ve made beans a number of times over the last month, but these were my favorite! ❤️