Beans the Magical Fruit

With all that snow out there it is nice to stay inside and enjoy the view from the comfort of the couch. My favourite dinners this time of year are soups, chilis and stews...and I know that I am not alone.

This week we cooked a chili soup as well as a pot of chili using Thompson's Beans. Thompson's is a Southwestern Ontario company that processes and drys beans from different areas of North America. They sell a wide variety of beans and depending on what grocery store you go to, your options will vary. I picked up 15-Bean Mix and Red Kidney Beans from Sanson Estate Winery who are carrying the full line of Thompson's Beans. A visit to Zehrs gave me only one option: White Pea Beans for $1.29 (check out this PDF for White Pea Bean & Tuna Salad).

The beans are packaged in 1 lb bags and they have recipes printed on the reverse. I decided to follow the recipes exactly to see what would happen; we had good results but you will definitely have to add your favourite seasonings to adjust the taste to your palette. Here's a photo of the 15-Bean mix that we made into Chili Soup.

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