Beans are nutritional perfection. Within their tiny being, beans harbor protein, fiber, and nutrients. They taste great, too! The miraculous bonus: when I run out of veggies out here in the woods, beans count as both a protein and vegetable. Pioneers, cowboys, and adventurers who traveled the great west survived on beans, strong coffee, salt pork, and biscuits. Native North Americans cultivated the “Three Sisters”, corn, beans, and squash.

I keep the pantry stocked with beans. I don’t like canned beans because I have a problem with the BPA in cans, and canned beans just don’t have the same flavor. I keep a few canned varieties around, but I really prefer to cook my own. When the camper is too warm for the oven and I have access to lots of firewood, I especially prefer to cook beans over the campfire in my cast iron Dutch Oven.

Last night I made my favorite, no-fail pinto beans over the fire. I don’t want the pan of beans down in the coals because they will dry out and burn. Instead, I hang them on a tripod over coals that I built up for an hour. I add a 1 lb package of pinto beans, salt, lemon pepper, and bay leaves. I fill the Dutch oven with water, within an inch or two of the top.

Beautiful bed of coals, took nearly and hour to build up.

Keep covered and let the beans simmer for 2-2.5 hours. Longer means softer beans. Then, I take the pot down, stir in chunks of winter squash, and plop in spoonfuls of Jiffy Cornbread mix (batter). Most of the water is absorbed by the beans.  Replace cover and suspend from the tripod for 30 mins. Top with a bit of cheese before eating.

One box of Jiffy Corn Bread mix, fixed according to package directions,  puffs up on top of the beans!

During the cooking time, I added a few more pieces of wood, and I still had great coals after the beans cooked. I put a 1 lb bag of navy beans into my other Dutch oven and left them for another 2.5 hours. By that time, I was ready for bed, so I took the beans off the tripod and set them next to the fire ring. This morning: soft, yummy white beans.

1 lb of beans absorbed lots of water and yielded lots of beans!

I use the white beans to make a sandwich spread or dip with the consistency of hummus. My favorite is to mash-up the beans (no problem because they are soft) and add buffalo sauce as seasoning. Pow!

What will I do with this bounty of beans? Filling up the freezer!

Don the Baptist (DtB) says I am having too much fun out here, which is true. My defense: campfire cooking is also economical. This morning I looked at my yield of white beans that cost 99 cents. Lots of good eating there. I have not had breakfast yet and all this bean talk makes me hungry. However, since I ate beans/cornbread for dinner I should probably NOT eat them for breakfast. Pacing myself.