So, everybody says that eating whole grains and beans is a good idea, and I agree. But cooking them can be a pain and can take a long time. Here's my method:
Whole grains -- Use a steamer! I use an Oster 6 Qt Steamer (less than $30 at Target). The steamer is cheap, easy, and the grains come out great. It took me about ten years to try a steamer, because I had a rice cooker that worked OK, but the steamer is much, much better. The grain isn't actually steamed, it is boiled, but the steam boils it nice and slow. You put the grain and liquid into a container that comes with the steamer, and put the container in the steamer. The steam circulates around the grain container and boils the liquid gently from all directions. It takes about 80 minutes to cook, but the steamer has a timer and can run mostly unattended. I put in 2.5 cups of grain and 4 cups of water or broth. I use chicken broth from Trader Joe's pretty often. I generally have to add additional water to the steamer base to get through 80 minutes, but that's really not a problem. I get grains from the bulk food section at Whole Foods -- they range from $.69 to $2.69 a pound. I cook hulled barley (my favorite), Kamut (also a favorite), wheat berries, and brown rice. All easy. I also cook quinoa, which is great, but it cooks faster (I cook it on the stove with 2 parts liquid to 1 part grain -- slow boil -- about 20 minutes). The 2.5 cups of grain makes enough to last me a week.
OK. Now for the beans. The best method I've found is the old pressure cooker my mom-in-law gave us 20 years ago. Nothing fancy (Fagor is not required). I start soaking a pound of beans in the morning. At dinnertime, I rinse the beans, add enough water to cover the beans by an inch or two, add some salt, and about two tablespoons of olive oil. I set the pressure for 10 pounds, turn the stove on, and wait for the pressure to kick in (on my pressure cooker, the top weight starts to jiggle and rattle in about 5 minutes). Then I turn the heat down to low and set a timer for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, I turn the stove off. After leaving the pot on the stove for about an hour for the pressure cooker to cool down and decompress, the beans are done. I frequently forget and come back a couple of hours later -- no problem. This method works for pinto beans, kidney beans, small red beans, small white beans, etc. (however, look somewhere else for a cooking method for Roman beans -- they get mushy -- and lentils are different, too).
For me, the important part about both of these methods is that the actual hands-on time is minimal. It takes 5 minutes to set up the steamer, and about 15 minutes to do the beans. I don't have to hang around the kitchen or worry about burning the food or burning down the house. Of course, the actual cooking time is more like an hour and a half for both the grains and the beans, so I just cook them when I'm doing chores anyway. I've tried a slew of other methods, but nothing has worked better for me than steamer and pressure cooker [I've ruled out basic rice cookers, slow cookers, pot-on-a-stovetop]. I'm generally pressed for time, so the methods that take just a few minutes of hands-on time are ideal. Plus, the results are generally perfect!
If you've got a little extra time, throw in some halved garlic cloves or some sliced onion for extra flavor.
[Credit: The steamer recipe is from Diana Mirkin @ -- I don't know her personally, but her recipes are great.]
Enjoy!
--Carl
Whole grains -- Use a steamer! I use an Oster 6 Qt Steamer (less than $30 at Target). The steamer is cheap, easy, and the grains come out great. It took me about ten years to try a steamer, because I had a rice cooker that worked OK, but the steamer is much, much better. The grain isn't actually steamed, it is boiled, but the steam boils it nice and slow. You put the grain and liquid into a container that comes with the steamer, and put the container in the steamer. The steam circulates around the grain container and boils the liquid gently from all directions. It takes about 80 minutes to cook, but the steamer has a timer and can run mostly unattended. I put in 2.5 cups of grain and 4 cups of water or broth. I use chicken broth from Trader Joe's pretty often. I generally have to add additional water to the steamer base to get through 80 minutes, but that's really not a problem. I get grains from the bulk food section at Whole Foods -- they range from $.69 to $2.69 a pound. I cook hulled barley (my favorite), Kamut (also a favorite), wheat berries, and brown rice. All easy. I also cook quinoa, which is great, but it cooks faster (I cook it on the stove with 2 parts liquid to 1 part grain -- slow boil -- about 20 minutes). The 2.5 cups of grain makes enough to last me a week.
OK. Now for the beans. The best method I've found is the old pressure cooker my mom-in-law gave us 20 years ago. Nothing fancy (Fagor is not required). I start soaking a pound of beans in the morning. At dinnertime, I rinse the beans, add enough water to cover the beans by an inch or two, add some salt, and about two tablespoons of olive oil. I set the pressure for 10 pounds, turn the stove on, and wait for the pressure to kick in (on my pressure cooker, the top weight starts to jiggle and rattle in about 5 minutes). Then I turn the heat down to low and set a timer for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, I turn the stove off. After leaving the pot on the stove for about an hour for the pressure cooker to cool down and decompress, the beans are done. I frequently forget and come back a couple of hours later -- no problem. This method works for pinto beans, kidney beans, small red beans, small white beans, etc. (however, look somewhere else for a cooking method for Roman beans -- they get mushy -- and lentils are different, too).
For me, the important part about both of these methods is that the actual hands-on time is minimal. It takes 5 minutes to set up the steamer, and about 15 minutes to do the beans. I don't have to hang around the kitchen or worry about burning the food or burning down the house. Of course, the actual cooking time is more like an hour and a half for both the grains and the beans, so I just cook them when I'm doing chores anyway. I've tried a slew of other methods, but nothing has worked better for me than steamer and pressure cooker [I've ruled out basic rice cookers, slow cookers, pot-on-a-stovetop]. I'm generally pressed for time, so the methods that take just a few minutes of hands-on time are ideal. Plus, the results are generally perfect!
If you've got a little extra time, throw in some halved garlic cloves or some sliced onion for extra flavor.
[Credit: The steamer recipe is from Diana Mirkin @ -- I don't know her personally, but her recipes are great.]
Enjoy!
--Carl
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