Vegan Oven-Baked Beans

On March 27, 2025May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, ColumnLeave a comment

I dare you to make the recipe for baked beans in this week’s Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon and tell me you can’t taste the difference between it and a store-bought can of baked beans. That can might be convenient, but it has nothing on the flavor and texture of beans you bake yourself in the oven. The canned version probably wasn’t even baked; instead, it was boiled or steamed before being tossed in sauce and sealed.

Good baked beans are a multilayer process. The techniques I shared earlier this month for Brined and Seasoned Pot Beans help to speed up the steps and intensify the flavor of the final dish. I pair these with my favorite shortcut when cooking dried beans at home: using one pot of cooked beans as the base for several distinctly different meals.
Learn to make Vegan Oven-Baked Beans

Brined and Seasoned Pot Beans

On March 20, 2025May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, ColumnLeave a comment

When people tell me they never cook dried beans, their most common excuse is that it takes too much time. I get it. When I need a quick dinner, I often pop open a store-bought can of beans. But the more I cook dried beans, the more I savor the improved texture and expanded variety compared with commercially canned beans. The techniques for preparing dried beans that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon play a big part in my preference for home-cooked beans.

I make the best beans when I soak them for at least 6 hours in a cold-water brine and then simmer them on the stovetop. They keep their plump shape and have a consistent, creamy interior once cooked. I sometimes quick-soak them in warm brine or cook them in a pressure cooker, but only when I don’t mind that the skins will split.
Learn to make Brined and Seasoned Pot Beans

Zesty Baked Chickpea Snacks

On February 27, 2025May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, ColumnLeave a comment

Shell beans and other legumes form such a versatile and nutritious food group that we should all be eating more of them. They go in everything, whether blended into smooth, creamy hummus; softened in hearty soups; or left whole and slightly chewy in salads. It was only a few years ago that I discovered they also can become crunchy homemade garnishes and snacks ready for all sorts of seasonings, as I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

I’ll be using a variation on this week’s recipe to demonstrate the magic that happens when you toast, grind, and bloom spices in my free Seeds of Flavor workshop at Free the Seeds this weekend. Join me Saturday, March 1, in Kalispell in Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building. The free daylong event will be packed with workshops, a giant seed giveaway, booths hosted by local farmers and organizations, and a special keynote speaker to celebrate a decade of this fabulous educational and family-friendly gathering. Find all the info you need (like the full workshop schedule) on the website of the event’s organizer, Land to Hand Montana.
Learn to make Zesty Baked Chickpea Snacks

Mason Jar Gifts: Mixed-Bean Soup

On December 8, 2022May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, Column, soups2 Comments

Every December, I share ideas and recipes that make delicious food gifts. These ideas have ranged from tags and bags to suggestions for food gifts that include homemade treats, kitchen tools, and of course my books.

This year, I’ve added to the food gift ideas with a meal-in-a-jar recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It was surprisingly straightforward to adapt one of my favorite fresh soup recipes so that it could be gifted in a jar, ready to by pulled from the cupboard and made on a chilly night with minimal added ingredients. It still packs all of the flavor of the fresh recipe without relying on salt-heavy bouillon cubes or store-bought seasoning blends. It’s also easy to scale up or down for larger or smaller households and to make multiple jars to cover everyone on your gifting list.
Learn to make Mixed-Bean Soup as a mason jar gift

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

On March 24, 2022May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, Column1 Comment

Red beans and rice can be a simple comfort food, relying on browned onions and meat for its main flavor, but I take it much further in the vegetarian version I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. My favorite version of this quintessential Southern dish has a long ingredient list packed with flavor.

If you tend to believe that a recipe with more than a handful of ingredients is too complicated to make, look at this one again: You’re essentially dumping everything into a pot, cooking it, and serving it over steamed rice. And if you’re missing something on the list, you can pretty much cook the beans with as many of the ingredients as you do have and end up with a delicious meal.

There is one shortcut I use to shorten the ingredient list: If I’m cooking dried beans, I preseason them with many of the flavorings and then just add the final ingredients when I make the dish as a quick midweek meal.
Learn to make Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice