Cranberry Beans with Cauliflower and Maifun Brown Rice Noodles (No Added Fat)

It's been about a month since I cooked with cranberry beans. Before going to bed last night, I decided to soak about a cup of the beans and make something in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. This evening, my wife recommended that I use cauliflower tonight. I was thinking, on my daughter's request, of using Jade pearl rice, but instead thought I'd create a main dish with thin maifun rice noodles as the noodles help tie dishes together and soak up excess moisture. Here is what I did:


Ingredients

• 1 cup cranberry beans soaked overnight (I soaked for about 19 hours but could have soaked for less) and rinsed a few times during the day
• Enough water to just cover beans (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
• Vegan bouillon cube
• Approx. 2 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (approx. a bit less than half of a medium head of cauliflower)
• Medium tomato cut into 3/4" cubes (approx. 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup bell pepper slices approx. 1/4" x 3/4"
• 1/2 t salt (I used kala namak - black salt)
• 1/4 t black sesame seeds
• 1/4 t dried tarragon
• 1/2 cup red (or other) onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes (approx. half a medium onion)
• 2 ounces thin Maifun brown rice noodles

Process

1. I drained and rinsed the beans, put them in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, covered with water, added the bouillon cube, and then cooked on high pressure for 30m (easy via the "Beans" button).
2. While the beans were cooking, I put the noodles in a large bowl and covered with boiling water.
3. When I was ready to continue, I slowly let out any remaining pressure and added the cauliflower, tomato, bell pepper, and seasonings, and cooked for 1 minute on high pressure.
4. When I was ready to serve, I let out remaining pressure slowly, drained the noodles, and added them, plus the onion, to the other ingredients, and served.

Results

Dinner was good. I knew some hot spice would be good, and my wife and I added hot sauce at the table. My Dad didn't eat with us today - I should have added garlic, which would have been welcome with this dish.

Ideas for the future

Garlic and jalapeno or other hot pepper would go well, as would ginger. The cauliflower, even at 1 minute of pressure cooking, was somewhat soft; I should try cooking cauliflower for 1 minute under low pressure.