You know how it is. Ever enthralled with the strangeness to be found in the bulk aisle of the health food store, and, more Cancer than Virgo in the kitchen anyway, you can’t help yourself. Set loose amid those bins of seeds and nuts and berries and beans, you take a scoop of this and a bag of that and a haphazard handful of those, until your cart is loaded with a kaleidoscope of uncharted inspiration.

Many soups, casseroles, and salads later, the remnants of your spree go in the dark corner of the pantry, the leftovers shelf. What to do with less than a cup of Calypso beans, tablespoons of dried cranberries, a thimbleful of Glad Corn? Pretzels, dangerously close to their freshness date. And are those jelly beans?

Here’s what I did last week, when the pantry remainders swelled into the kitchen: snack mix. With the beans toasted till they were crisp and airy.

I’m greeting you from the Seed Saver’s Exchange convention in Decorah, Iowa. I made a big batch of this snack mix and gave it out at my exhibit table today — the beans were very popular. In fact, folks picked through the mix to extract the beans.

Since I’m at the conference, this will be the pithy post that you’re always hoping for but never seem to get (even my sentences are long). I’m having a lovely time and meeting all sorts of devoted people. I’ve had several lively conversations with Lynne Rosetto Kasper — she’s engaging and gregarious and a lot of fun. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Deborah Madison, Amy Goldman and Janisse Ray. Soon I’m off to a book signing, dinner, and the a barn dance!

Scroll to the end of the recipe for a few photos of where we’re staying while we’re in Iowa.

The Recipe:
I’ll be the first to admit, it’s a bit debasing, to puff beans like rice cakes and serve them like chips. On the other hand, why not? There are a lot worse things to eat than this high fiber, high protein alternative to fried snack food. Just ‘cause it’s tasty doesn’t mean it’s bad for you.

And the beans still taste like beans. When puffed, they get a bit nuttier and richer, but the heirlooms still maintain their character. Calypso beans stayed sweet and cashew-y, red Charlevoix kept their hint of green pepper, and the Hutterites remain creamy. I toasted them till they were crispy, mixed in other castaways like sweet potato chips and mixed nuts, threw in a bit of agave nectar for sweetness, and shook on some seasonings and cheese.

The fun thing about this recipe, aside from getting to open the pantry and wildly toss in whatever you can find, is that you can flavor them to suit your mood. Need comfort and something familiar? How about a cheesy version. In an exotic frame of mind? Try spicy curry and thai basil. Then there’s the super smoking red pepper medley….

Oh, and I ate the jelly beans….

Heirloom Bean Party Mix with Black Pepper and Parmesan
1 ½ teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
2 cups mixed heirloom beans, cooked (canned is an option too)
2 cups pretzels, broken into pieces
2 cup sweet potato chips
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup sesame oat sticks
½ cup pumpkin seeds
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoons agave syrup
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne or ancho powder (less if desired)
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325.

In a bowl, mix cooked beans with olive oil. Stir to coat beans, then spread them on a cooking tray lined with parchment paper. Place on top rack of oven and bake until dry and puffy, about 40-50 minutes. Check beans every 15 minutes and stir. Move tray between top and middle rack each time you stir them. When roasted, let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine beans, pretzels, potato chips, nuts, seeds and oat sticks. In another bowl, whisk egg white, then add Worcestershire, agave nectar, salt, cumin, ancho, paprika and pepper. Stir briskly till combined. Pour over snack mix and stir to coat. Grate ½ cup Parmesan cheese over snack mix and stir again.

Spread snack mix in large baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325 degrees until mix is toasted and browning, about 35 minutes. Check every 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Can be stored in air tight containers for up to four days. Let snack mix cool completely before putting into storage.

And now for the promised photos. I’ll post more later of the convention goings-on. This cabin, which SSE was kind enough to let Simon and me stay in, was built in the 1870s. The pictures speak for themselves.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.