Georgia has its’ Vidalia Onions. Idaho has its’ potatoes. Even Oklahoma has its’ (controversial vegetable) Watermelons. So it’s hard to believe (especially around this time of year) that Indiana hasn’t made Sweet Corn its’ official vegetable yet. Drive for several hours in any direction and as soon as the buildings disappear, 6′+ giant stalks appear. The ears are enormous and have a taste as sweet as anywhere you will find. I try to incorporate the delicious veggie into at least 2 meals a week while in season. So with that in mind, I made a trip to the downtown Indy Farmers’ Market to find the ingredients for some Sweet Corn and White Bean Chowder.

What you need:

1- Package Hurst’s® HamBeens® Great Northern Bean Soup

4- Cups fresh sweet corn (about 6 large ears)

1- Cup diced onion

1- Cup diced celery

1- Cup diced carrot

1- Cup diced potato

1/2- Cup heavy cream

2- Bay leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

Crumbled bacon (for garnish)

Chopped green onion (for garnish)

1. Place the dry beans into a colander or sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Check for any small stones or debris and discard.  Place the beans in a large (6 quart) soup pot and add 12 cups of water. With the heat on high, bring to a rolling boil, then cover and reduce the heat and simmer the beans for 1 hour.

2. While the beans are cooking, prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion, carrot, celery, and potato all into 1/4″ pieces. Boil the corn for 10 minutes, then remove from the water and allow to cool before cutting the kernels off the cob.

3. After cooking the beans for 1 hour, add the carrot, onion, celery, potato, corn and bay leaf into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil once again, then cover and simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours, or until beans are tender. (***You can also add the used corn cobs back into the pot during this time to extract even more flavor. Just remove prior to the next step.)

4. Once the beans are tender, turn the heat to low and stir in the heavy cream along with Hurst’s ham flavor packet. Remove the bay leaves, then salt and pepper the soup to taste.

5. Sprinkle some of the crisp bacon bits, green onion and a little extra black pepper on top of the chowder. The results combine both the sweet flavor of the corn with the delicious smokey ham flavoring in the bean soup. I like to add a little hot sauce to my bowl and think it finishes the chowder off perfectly… Enjoy!

*This is my submission for this month’s My Legume Love Affair: 14th Helping. Hurst’s Beans is proud to sponsor this monthly event and will provide a bean prize to the winner! Thanks to The Well-Seasoned Cook for hosting this great event in August!

As summer quickly approaches, the idea of eating a warm and hearty soup seems to steer a lot of people away from utilizing beans in their everyday diet. Because they are so easy to add to any soup or stew, it is easy to forget that beans can adapt just as well to chilled dishes. This recipe features the “earthy” flavor of Blackeye Peas with fresh vegetables, and is tossed in a delicious tangy and spicy dressing.

The name “Cowboy Caviar” sums this dish up quite well; it is a refined take on a fairly unrefined product (beans). A web search will produce quite a few versions of the recipe (one of my favorites), but the problem I have found with many of these is the use of canned beans (go figure). The issue is that canned bean products are almost always too mushy and soft. The texture of the fresh vegetables in this case is completely ruined if you use a bean that can’t hold up, especially considering that this dish is always “better the next day”. Use dry beans and not only will the final result be much better, but you can make twice as much for 1/2 the cost…

What you need:

1- Package Hurst’s® Brand Blackeye Peas

1- Cup Diced Tomato. (substitute canned if you need to)

1- Cup Sweet Corn (cut from 2 ears)

1- Cup Green Pepper, diced.

1- Cup Diced Red Onion

1- Jalapeno, stemmed and seeded.

3-4 Cloves Garlic, peeled

4-5 Stalks Green Onion

1/4-1/2 Cup Cilantro

Juice from 1 Lime

1/4- Cup Olive Oil

1/4- Cup Red Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

1. Place Black-eye’s in a colander or sieve and rinse thoroughly. Sort through the beans, check for any debris or dirt and discard. Place rinsed beans in a large soup pot and cover with at least 2″ of water. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat and simmer (covered) for about 2 hrs. Check the tenderness periodically toward the end of the cooking time. When they have cooked through but are still hold their shape, remove from the heat and drain off excess water. Pour the beans into a large mixing bowl to cool off.

2. While the beans are cooking, prepare the vegetables. Cut the fresh corn off the cob and dice the tomato, onion, and green pepper into 1/4″ pieces.

3. In a food processor or blender, add garlic, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, oil and vinegar. Puree mixture for 1-2 minutes.

4. Place chopped vegetables into container with beans. Pour dressing over the top and stir entire mixture to combine. Place in fridgerator for at least 1 hour (the longer the better) before serving to allow time for the flavors to meld.

5. Serve cold with tortilla chips for dipping.

This also makes an excellent side dish for any meal, and is great in a quesadilla or taco too!

We get a lot of inquiries about how to use our beans other than in soup recipes. One of my personal favorites, especially during the warm summer months, is this cold black bean and corn salad. With just a few simple ingredients, it can be the perfect appetizer or side item at your next Mexican fiesta.

What you need:

• 1- package Hurst Black Beans (save the seasoning packet for another time)

• 1- Cup chopped red onion
• 1- Can diced green chilies
• 1- Can corn (drained)
• 1- Tablespoon (or more) of hot sauce
• 1- Clove minced garlic (not pictured)
• 1- Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
• Juice from 1 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse and sort through the black beans, checking for any debris that may be present. Soak the beans in a large bowl of water overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain and place into a large soup pot with 2 quarts (8 cups) of fresh water.

2. Bring the beans to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally. If too much liquid evaporates before they are fully cooked, just add more water as necessary.

3. While the beans are cooking, prepare the other ingredients. Chop 1 cup of red onion (usually 1/2 of a large onion), mince the garlic, cut the lime in half, and give the cilantro a rough chop. To save time later, you can open both the can of corn (drain) and also the can of diced green chilies.

4. Once the beans are fully cooked (tender but not mushy), place them in a colander or sieve and rinse with cold water.

5. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (can be left overnight).

6. Serve with tortilla chips and a cold Mexican beer… ENJOY!

*Note: Many of the recipes online call for canned beans… while that might work well for time constraints, the final product just has a better flavor and texture when using dried beans.