Ends & Bits: Little House-Inspired Bean Soup

Refrigerator empty? Cupboards bare? Need to stretch the wilty remains of last week’s grocery run until next payday? Toss all those little ends and bits in a pan and make something delicious! This series explores the skill set of just “throwing together” a meal by looking at what you have available to work with and going from there. This takes a willingness to experiment and a bit of a knack for knowing what will taste delicious together. It also helps to have plenty of practice and exposure to a wide varieties of recipes with potential variations. It is in this spirit that we run our regular Ends & Bits series.

Hi, my name is Andrea and I'm obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie series. I own all the books and two complete spinoff series; I've been marathon-ing the show on DVD from the library; I even own the goddamn cookbook.

I have literally read this cover-to-cover.

I tend to re-read the original series just about once a year, and so a couple days ago, I finished The Long Winter for the umpteenth time, in which the whole town is snowed in for like 7 months straight and the trains stop running and everybody pretty much almost starves. But early on in the book, it talks about how Ma makes bean soup and how very tasty and warming it is when it's so very cold outside.

Meanwhile, back in real life, for various reasons, the darling husband and I are trying to see if we can make it until next week without going grocery shopping, which means we're digging into the bottoms of the cabinets and fridge to use all the stuff we've been pushing aside because there were other, easier things to cook. And yesterday, I found half a bag of dried beans that have probably been in the cabinet for over a year, and it all clicked: I would follow the example of Ma Ingalls, make do with what we have, and whip up some tasty bean soup.

This recipe is not directly from the Little House Cookbook, mostly because they had rather less on hand than I do and their bean soup would have been pretty terribly bland, and also because I don't have salt pork. (Is that even a thing anymore?) Rather, it is simply bean-based and inspired by the use-up-and-make-do-with-what-you-have attitude so often found in the Little House series.

I started with half a bag (so, about a pound) of dried great northern beans, which I put in a bowl of water yesterday evening to soak overnight. Then just after lunchtime today, I dumped them in the colander, rinsed them well, and into the Crock Pot they went. I added a bunch of water, three chicken bouillon cubes, three chopped carrots, a chopped onion, some salt and pepper, and a couple tablespoons of my secret ingredient:

That's right: bacon fat. And yes, I have an entire pint jar of it. And you know what? I make no apologies. It is endlessly useful. I really don't understand why people don't bat an eye at butter, but pull out a jar of bacon fat, and suddenly they're looking at you like you've got an extra arm. It's all fat, people. You don't eat it by the spoonful, you put a moderate amount into a dish to give it the desired flavor, texture, and richness. A little bit ain't gonna kill you.

Anyway, putting my soapbox aside for the moment; if you don't keep a jar of bacon fat on hand, you should immediately begin doing so. (If nothing else, it's boss for frying eggs in.) In the meantime, you can fry up some actual bacon, or if you've got some ham on hand, chop that up and toss it in instead. If you don't have either of those things, this probably just won't work. You could maybe use butter instead, but it wouldn't have the same flavor, and you'd probably have to add a bunch of extra salt, and it still wouldn't be as good. Just get some bacon.

I tossed all those in the Crock Pot, turned it on low, and let it do its thing until I got home from work at about 9:30 tonight, at which point I dished myself up a bowl.

Aww, yeah.

It was delicious. It was hot and filling, and between the bacon fat and the bouillon cubes, it tasted plenty meaty, despite having no actual meat in the soup. I'd initially thought celery would be a nice addition (I didn't have any), but upon tasting it, I think the carrots and onions stand up just fine on their own. The one thing I thought of afterward that would have been a fantastic addition was some cornbread to pour it all over; I think I'll whip up a batch tomorrow to go with the leftovers (of which there are plenty). Ma Ingalls, I think, would approve.

Little House-inspired Bean Soup

Prep/Cook time: 3.5 hours minimum (not counting time to soak beans)

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

(US Customary)

• 1 lb. dried beans (I suggest navy or great northern)*
• 1 medium onion
• 3 medium carrots
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 Tbsp. bacon fat
• salt and pepper to taste

Special Equipment: Slow cooker.

Directions:

Soak the beans according to package directions. (Some beans have a "quick soak" option, but I've never had much luck with that; I really recommend overnight if at all possible.) When beans are done soaking, rinse well and place in slow cooker. Chop carrots and onion and add to beans. Add 6-8 cups of water, bouillon cubes, bacon fat, and salt and pepper. Cook on high 3-5 hours or low 6-8 hours. Stir well and serve (preferably over cornbread!).

_{*You can also use canned beans and forget about the soaking, but I honestly don't know how many cans would equal the amount of dried I used, so you're on your own converting it all.}