Cooking Vanessa's Beans at Frankie's Place

Reading Frankie's Place: A Love Story, by Jim Sterba (NY: Grove Press, 2003) makes you feel like you are visiting friends at their summer camp on Maine's Mount Desert island. Sterba's book is an atmospheric account of his courtship of, marriage to and many felicitous summers spent with fellow author Frances "Frankie" FitzGerald.  Sterba is a former NY Times and Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent and FitzGerald is a Pulitzer Prize winning nonfiction writer, both of whom found love later in their busy, globe-hopping lives.

The book revolves around the slower pace of summers spent at Frankie's place, a family-and mosquito-shared cabin in the woods near the shore. It might be summer, but there is still a schedule to adhere to: Frankie is an advocate of morning dips in Maine's icy waters, calisthenics and excessively long hikes, which Sterba loving refers to as FitzGerald Survival School. There is also much writing to be done (Frankie likes a manual typewriter for that task), reading, sailing, mushroom hunting, mussel gathering and other foraging/shopping for provisions.

There's also an amusing chapter about the author's search for WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) on this island historically populated with many of these folks. He researches the subject at the library, at a private swimming club, and in other prowlings around the village of Northeast Harbor. They elude him, particularly the wily subspecies, the High WASP, until a chat with a friend clues him in to the fact that he married one. Oh.

Punctuating all the prose is Sterba's recipes - offered in somewhat slapdash prose style, with plenty of room for variations according to what the pair might have rustled up from the ocean, container garden or woods. I have festooned my copy of the book with lots of bookmarks to hold my place for various recipes, but one dish called out to me immediately. Sterba describes a warm bean salad that he first tried at a friend's wedding. He pestered the caterer like a good newspaperman until she gave up her secrets and so I offer to you my own adapted version that made us all very full and happy at Chez Crispy Cook.

Vanessa's Beans (or Frankie's n' Beans)
 -adapted from a recipe in Jim Sterba's Frankie's Place: A Love Story

1 (l lb.) bag dried small white navy beans (I used red kidney beans)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 quartered onion
3 cloves peeled garlic
2 bay leaves

Other aromatics of your choice (I threw in celery trimmings, carrot peels, onion skins, and parsley stems from my soup stock stash in the freezer). Sterba recommends sliced ginger, bacon, rosemary and thyme branches)
2 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and chives)

1 cup chopped red and yellow bell peppers (I used the trimmings from chopping up pepper squares to grill on skewers during our first spring barbeque)

Salt and pepper to taste

The night before, cover beans with cold water and let sit out at room temperature to soak overnight. Change water 2-3 times.

The next day, drain beans and place in a large, heavy soup pot with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, onion, garlic, bay leaves and vegetable broth. I added in the soup trimmings as noted above to further enrich my bean broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer along merrily until beans are to desired softness (about 1-1/2 hours).

Drain off and reserve bean broth. Let beans cool a bit, and then fish out all the large bits of veggie detritus (onion skins, celery stubs, parsley stems, bay leaves, carrot peels, herb branches). The garlic should have become quite soft so you can just "moosh" that in, to use a favorite Sterba cooking term.

Mix up a vinaigrette with 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs, and peppers. Add in some of the reserved bean broth (about 1/2 cup). Let stand for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gently dress the beans and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Vanessa's Beans are some good frugal eating and I even have leftover bean broth to use in other recipes (I'm thinking about some pasta fazool later on). I have sampled and made many other bean salads, but I think the key here is that the beans are warm and infused with so many aromatic flavorings in their cooking liquid that they really melt in your mouth. 

One serving of this lovely dish is being sent over to my friend Simona at Briciole for her semi-annual Novel Food event, where you will find lots of other interesting posts about various books and the recipes inspired by them after her March 18 deadline. 

A second serving of Vanessa's Beans is being sent to another blogger compadre, Heather of Girlichef, who is guest hosting My Legume Love Affair #45. This monthly blog event celebrates legumes in all their glory and is the brainchild of Susan the Well Seasoned Cook.

My Legume Love Affair #20 Roundup

So many legumes, so little time.....

I knew I was taking on a popular event when I offered to host My Legume Love Affair #20, but the number and range of leguminous submissions was truly astounding. Two years ago, Susan, the Well-Seasoned Cook, created this wonderful monthly food blogging event that educates us all about the world of legumes and how to cook them.

For this 20th helping of MLLA there were a fantastic number of entries from many different countries and my hat's off to all the bloggers who introduced me to various aspects of Indian cuisine and cooking techniques. I have bookmarked at least a month's worth of recipes to cook up in my own kitchen sometime soon.

As far as a favorite legume, chickpeas (garbanzos, ceci beans, etc.) seem to have won the popularity contest. I counted 26 recipes containing this favored legume out of the 62 different posts from 44 bloggers for this event. The legume spectrum included green beans, red kidney beans, variously colored lentils and chickpeas, lima beans, pinto beans, pigeon peas, soybeans, peanuts, mung beans, black beans, adzuki beans, cranberry beans, horsegram, green peas, black-eyed peas, hyacinth or field beans, and split peas.

Without further ado, let's dive in and see what we all cooked up:

Coming to us from her home in the United Arab Emirates, Priya sent in three recipes from her blog Enveetu's Kitchen: a recipe for Oats-Fiber Adai , one for Minty Peas Rice and one for Sprouted Green Gram Pakoda. Priya also maintains a second blog to chart her healthier eating habits, A Healthier Me, and sent in a third recipe for Mixed Bean Salad.


Here's a legume I never heard of before: Horsegram. Asha at Foodie's Hope in North Carolina tells us how to cook up a South Indian kurma using this unusual legume, which also goes by the name of Kollu, Kulith, Uluvalu and also Hurulikalu, and can be sought out at Indian markets.

Cranberry beans make an appearance here at MLLA #20 in Ginny of Just Get Floury's warming pot of Pasta e Fagioli (pronounced Pasta Fazool by my Eye-talian-American friends and family). Just the ticket on a cold winter's night.

MLLA Founder Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, made an alternate version of this classic soup, adapted from a recipe from Italian cooking legend Marcella Hazan.

Nithu was very busy in her kitchen this month. She cooked up some Hot n' Sour Field Beans, also known as Mochai or Hyacinth Beans, on her lovely blog, Nithu's Kitchen. She also submitted four other artistically presented dishes of Spicy Chickpea, Tomato, Carrot & Peas Soup , a Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach and Lima Bean Soup and Mixed Vegetables and Fruits Salad.



Kits Chow in Vancouver, Canada tried out a new veggie burger recipe using split peas and some Vietnamese and Korean influences in her Veggie Sandwich. She made a huge batch; some burgers to eat now and some to freeze for later use as appetizers and sandwiches.

Azuki beans are the mainstay of this tasty salad which Brii serves as an appetizer or in larger portions as a main dish. Her Briiblog in English is not only a wonderful source of herbal information and recipes, but she shares her awesome photography of the Italian mountains around Lake Garda throughout the seasons.

Red Lentils shine in Andrea's Gorgeous Tarka Dhal submitted by Food Matters: Maninas. Scrumptious!

Darker Bengal gram was used in a similar spicy, yummy curry recipe on Denufood's blog. She tells us that the Bengal gram variety comes in a few more colors than regular gram or chickpeas, and has more fiber to boot.

Coming to us from her kitchen and garden in Italy, Graziana of Erbe in Cucina made a tempting batch of Baked Hot Tortillas.


Inspired by a restaurant dinner, Food and Laughter cooked up a colorful pot of Zuni Stew for her family.


Jagruti sent in bowls of Black Eye Bean and Bell Pepper Soup and Creamy Daal Makhni from her UK-based blog, Joy of Cooking.


Here at the Crispy Cook, I baked a batch of Chickpea Buns, spiced up with some whole cumin seeds.


Kamala of Cook at Ease took a traditional South Indian stir-fry recipe but prepared her Green Beans Poriyal in a very modern and healthy way using her microwave.


Sadhana made a batch of Spicy Baked Peanuts on her blog A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine and then sent in a second MLLA entry of Mixed Beans and Rice. One can never have too many recipes for rice and beans, I say!

Lentils star in A Tutta Cucina's pasta dish, Pasticcio di Lenticchie e Pancetta. If you brush up on your Italian you will enjoy this recipe coming to us from a fine home cook living on the shores of Lake Garda in northern Italy.

Zesty South Indian Kitchen chose red kidney beans for her most-loved legume this month and teaches us how to make Rajma Curry.


Smitha offers culinary history insights on an ancient dessert, Gattakki Payasa, a porridge of broken rice, channa dal (split chickpeas), jaggery, cardamom, coconut and ghee. Her blog, Kannada Cuisine, focuses on the cooking of the Southern Indian state of Karnataka.

Be sure to check in at the Veggie Hut In Dublin, Ireland for recipes for Chana Dal Dilpasand and Chola Bhatura. I just want to dive into her stunning blog header photo of a bounty of fresh vegetables.


Elisabeth of With Jam and Bread was inspired by North African cooking for her Chickpea Stew with Flatbread. This contribution to MLLA #20 is her first blogging event. Welcome and well done, Elisabeth!


Blogging from France, Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes sent along two pretty, leguminous offerings: Avocado Hummus and these wonderful heart-shaped Baked Red Kidney Bean & Brown Rice Patties:


We can enjoy some dessert with Asankhana's Moong Dal Halwa and enjoy some photos of her family's trip to the Surajkund Mela, a traditional Indian arts and crafts festival held each Spring. She also sent in a recipe for Spiced Vegetable Couscous so we had a savory legume entry too!

Chickpeas are the highlighted legume in Relishing Recipes' refreshing and beautifully presented meal featuring her version of Punjabi Chole.

Deepti sent in three glorious MLLA submissions from her North Carolina-based blog A Hint of Spice. We can all revel in her Falafel Inspired Soup (chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic and spices), Aloo Chana Chaat (potato-chickpea curry) and Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad.


The Desi Soccer Mom, Jaya, introduces us to cooking with carrot greens in her creation of moong dal (split yellow lentils).

You can't help but smile when you see Padhu's Kitchen's take on Red Beans Rice, Indian Style. She has some other whimsical presentations on her blog, which is all about easy to cook recipes, served up with style!


Nayna offered up a spicy bowl of Black Eyed Beans in Tomato Gravy also known as Lobia, as her contribution from her blog Simply.Food.

Ruchikacooks teaches us how to make Navarathna Korma, an Indian gravy, made of nine nuts and legumes and vegetables, giving different tastes with each bite.
A Punjabi dal from Northwestern India was on the menu at One Hot Stove. Nupur used black urad dal (split black lentils) and chana dal (split chick peas) for this homey dish.

Lakshmi provided a whole meal with three legume recipes for us to savor from her new blog Palate Desires: Easy, Pea-sy, Feta-Rotini, Crunchy Green Beans (the crunch comes from grated coconut), and Sweet Red Bean Porridge.


Sra of When My Soup Came Alive created a tempting couscous dish topped with spicy chickpeas in tomato sauce.

Yellow lentils, or moong dal, play a starring role in eCurry's Dal Palak, or Lentils with Spinach. This one pot dish is perfect with roti or rice according to eCurry blogger Soma.

Coming to us from her kitchen in China, PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds teaches us how to make Soya Crisps. These healthy nibbles are made of soaked soybeans, tossed with oil and turmeric and then crisped up in the microwave. I tried this recipe out myself with a thawed package of frozen, blanched green soybeans from our summer garden and they were very good, though my old microwave needed a little longer cooking time to make them crispy.

Sayantani of A Homemaker's Diary in India tried out a new recipe for her family, Moroccan Harira Soup with Harissa Paste. She managed to fit two legumes in this spicy Middle Eastern soup, red lentils and chick peas!

Brand new blogger Kiran of Sumadhura brings us a recipe for Khatta Meetha Chana Daal Rasam, or Sweet and Sour Chickpea Soup. Welcome to the world of blogging and to My Legume Love Affair, Kiran!

Another new blogger entered MLLA #20 as her first blogging event with a recipe for Chickpea Salad with Feta. Welcome Aileen from New Jersey, USA with her blog 400 Calories or Less!

Nisha's Kitchen offers up a different take on Fresh Chickpea Salad using freshly shelled chickpeas cooked up with grated coconut, curry leaves, and other seasonings. Sounds delicious!

Annarasa cooked up some dried pinto beans for Home Made Refried Beans and then put them to work as her base layer in her Festive Seven Layer Dip. Bean heaven!

Lisa's Kitchen in Toronto cooked up Chickpeas, Kidney Beans and Lentils in a Spicy Tomato Sauce. Her vegetarian blog is the cohost of the monthly No Croutons Required Soup and Salad event which is a lot of culinary fun.

Usha Nandini's Recipes sent in three dishes to tempt us with: Black-Eyed Peas, Pasta and Tofu Soup (2 legumes nestling in one pot!), Peanut & Tomato Chutney and Baked Falafel in Pita Sandwich. Thank you three times Usha!

Suma sprouted up some greengram (also known as mung beans) and made a scrumptious Greengram Sprouts Salad on her blog Veggie Platter.

As her contribution to our tasty virtual feast of legumes, Salt and Spice made up a pot of Mixed Vegetables with Dal, using toor dal (pigeon peas) from her no doubt heavenly-smelling kitchen.

Saveur lets us know about her favorite spread, Peanut Butter Hummus, on her Canadian blog The TasteSpace.

Rounding out our leguminous love, Usha from My Spicy Kitchen chose to divulge her ninth-month affair with a new love (hold your breath, here it comes) Mr. Chickpea! (now, exhale and relax). She made a spicy, garlicky salad with the new found object of her desire.

It was so inspiring to host this wonderful 20th helping of My Legume Love Affair. So many people allowed us to sample their home cooking and I am sincerely grateful to each participant who took the time to cook, fuss over their photo and blog about their sweet and savory dishes. Thank you all for joining in this 20th helping of MLLA. And thanks to our wonderful founder, Susan, of The Well-Seasoned Cook, for starting us on this path to share our recipes and findings about our shared passion for legumes.

And now to announce the winner of Susan's prize of The Pasta Bible, the randomly generated winner is: Kiran of Sumadhura. She will also receive the Hurst Bean Package. Congratulations Kiran!

I think I got everyone included in this MLLA roundup, but if I inadvertently left anyone out, please leave a comment below and I'll amend this post to fit you in. And now I pass the MLLA torch on to Superchef at Mirch Masala who will be our gracious hostess for the 21st helping of My Legume Love Affair during the month of March 2010.