Here is a quick cheat sheet to help you get started with cooking various kinds of dried beans, grains and rices. I will be adding more types in the future, as well as recipes to make with these.
DRIED BEANS
How to cook Black Beans – Rinse 1 cup (1/2 pound) of black beans in cold water. Put the rinsed black beans peas into a pot. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour to 2.5 hours, until desired tenderness is reached. After 1 hour of simmering, lift the lid and test the bean’s tenderness by poking with a fork. If they are not tender enough, then put the lid back on and check about every half hour. Black beans can be tricky to cook and there is no exact time to cook them, so you just have to keep checking on them until they are fully cooked with the right amount of tenderness. Shorter cooking times will produce firmer black beans and longer cooking times will produce soft and mushy black beans.
How to cook Green Split Peas – Rinse 1 cup (1/2 pound) of green split peas in cold water. Put the rinsed green split peas into a pot. Add 2.5 to 3 cups of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 to 40 minutes, until desired tenderness is reached. Shorter cooking times will produce firmer green split peas and longer cooking times will produce soft and mushy green split peas.
How to cook Lentils, Green or Brown – Rinse 1 cup (1/2 pound) of lentils in cold water. Put the rinsed lentils into a pot. Add 3 – 4 cups of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until desired tenderness is reached. Shorter cooking times will produce firmer lentils and longer cooking times will produce soft and mushy lentils.
How to cook Lentils, Red – Rinse 1 cup (1/2 pound) of lentils in cold water. Put the rinsed lentils into a pot. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 15 minutes, until desired tenderness is reached. Shorter cooking times will produce firmer lentils and longer cooking times will produce soft and mushy lentils.
How to cook Navy Beans – Rinse 1 cup (1/2 pound) of navy beans in cold water. Put the rinsed navy beans peas into a pot. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1.5 hours to 2 hours, until desired tenderness is reached. Shorter cooking times will produce firmer navy beans and longer cooking times will produce soft and mushy navy beans.
How to cook Pink Beans – Rinse 1 cup (1/2 pound) of pink beans in cold water. Put the rinsed pink beans peas into a pot. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1.5 hours to 2 hours, until desired tenderness is reached. Shorter cooking times will produce firmer pink beans and longer cooking times will produce soft and mushy pink beans.
GRAINS
How to cook Quinoa – Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in cold water. Put the rinsed quinoa into a pot. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. In that time all of the water should be absorbed. Remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes.
RICES
How to cook White Rice – Rinse 1 cup of white rice in cold water. Put the rinsed white rice into a pot. Add 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, stir to combine, then bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes.
How to cook Brown Rice – Rinse 1 cup of white rice in cold water. Put the rinsed white rice into a pot. Add 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, stir to combine, then bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes.
