Cranberry Beans with Kale and Tomato, Jade Pearl Rice with Roasted Red Bell Pepper (No Added Fat)

I've not been able to find cranberry beans in the grocery store recently till just a few days ago, and so when I found them, I bought a good quantity. I let some of the beans soak overnight (about 12-13 hours, but 8 would be sufficient) in ample water.  I ended up with what may be my favorite cranberry bean dish that I've made by including raw tomato - the combination of raw tomato, raw scallion and onion, and beans were great. Here is what I did:


Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups cranberry beans soaked overnight in ample water (say, 5 cups)
• Water to just cover the beans (maybe 1/2 cup?)
• 1 or 2 cloves of finely minced (approx. 1/8") garlic; I was out of garlic, so used a teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 medium shallot cut into 3/8" cubes (approx. 3T)
• 1 T finely minced (approx. 1/8") ginger
• 5 leaves kale, stems excepted, roughly hand-torn to approximately 3/4" squares
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 1 vegan bouillon cube
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• (optional) 1/4 t lemon pepper
• 2 scallions cut into 3/4" lengths
• 2 or 3 T of chopped (1/4") onion
• Medium tomato cut into 1/2" cubes (approx. a cup)
• 1t lemon or lime juice (I used Meyer lemon juice)
• 1/2 t salt

Process

1. I drained and rinsed the beans then, adding enough fresh water to barely cover the beans, cooked on high pressure for 28 minutes in my Instant Pot pressure cooker.
2. When I was ready to proceed, I slowly let out remaining pressure and served the beans to my Dad, who doesn't eat garlic.
3. I mixed in the garlic (powder), shallot, ginger, kale, corn, bouillon cube, oregano, and lemon pepper, and cooked for one more minute under high pressure.
4. When I was ready to serve, I slowly let out remaining pressure slowly. I mixed in the scallion, onion, tomato, lemon juice, and salt.

I also made Jade pearl rice and mixed in some roasted red pepper strips that I had made a few days ago, as well as a little nutritional yeast.

Results

I was quite happy with dinner. The main course was particularly good - and the rice, as always, was tasty. I really liked the raw tomato and onion/scallion with the cranberry beans.

Ideas for the future

I can't think of any way to improve the main course. The textures and flavor combinations were quite good. I should try experimenting with other dishes with raw tomato and onion mixed in.