I’m not exactly why I grow beans specifically for drying. It takes up tons of space and water. They take forever to dry, THEN you have to shell them by hand as quickly as you can before the vines and leaves get moldy. They are much cheaper at the store, so why do it? The warm flavor and smooth texture of these beautiful, home-grown and hand-harvested Cranberry Beans will show you why.

Cranberry Beans & Rice

1 C dried cranberry beans
1¾ C veggie or chicken stock
1 C stewed tomatoes, drained & chopped
¾ C water
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
½ t salt
¼ t Tabasco sauce
4 oz thick cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 cloves of garlic, minced
4 C cooked whole grain rice
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the beans in a medium-sized bowl, cover with boiling water and let stand for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine stock, tomatoes, water, Worcestershire, bay leaves, salt and Tabasco in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Drain the beans and add them to the mixture. Stir in the bacon, onion and garlic. Toss in ¼ teaspoon of pepper flakes if you like a some heat.

Cover the pot and move to the oven. Bake until beans are tender, 1½ hours. Let the dish stand for 10 minutes before serving over the rice. Great for weekend guests. Serves 6.

The Walla Walla onions in your box are a wonderful, sweet, NW native. Similar to Vidalias if you are from the southern US. They don’t keep especially well so I recommend this recipe as a way to use them up quickly.

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ C ricotta cheese, room temp
½ C cream cheese, room temp
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
¼ C gorgonzola, crumbled
¼ C dried currants

Preheat oven to 375° F. Heat olive oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add onions and sauté until onions start to lightly caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add chopped thyme and garlic. Continue sautéing until onions are more golden and caramelized, about 8 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, mix ricotta and cream cheese together until smooth. Set aside. Remove puff pastry from refrigerator and quickly roll out into 9″x13″-inch rectangle. With sharp knife score a line about ½-inch from edge all around border of pastry, making sure not to cut all the way through. This creates a puffy border.

Spread the cheese mixture evenly between the score lines. Cover with the onion mixture, again spreading evenly between the score lines. Sprinkle the blue cheese and currants over the onions.
Bake at 375° F for about 35 minutes, until puff pastry is golden on top and crispy and golden on the bottom. Remove from oven and cut into 2′ squares. Eat it while hot, or at room temperature.