Full of Beans

Beans, beans, the magical veggie: the more you eat, the more you may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Spurred on by kids' desire to make fudge from beans (done! and delicious...you can't taste the beans and it's an easy no-cook refrigerator recipe), this is the summer of the bean. We made Ranch Hummus and Bean Dip and you may remember at the open house we kicked it all off with Rhubarb Muffins made with a bean puree in place of some of the oil (trust me, it's like using applesauce! No one will even know they're getting more protein and fiber.).

Left: One of these bean bags held by Emily Brekke, JMG participant since 2008, is literally a bag of beans. The bean lessons are not all cooking--there's fun and games, too. For our bean bag game, when kids hear, "good for your eyes and skin," they toss the orange and green bean bags. When they hear, "good for your heart," they get to throw the pinto bean bag.

Yesterday, evals showed 89% (25 of 28 evaluated), knew it was true that orange and green vegetables are good for our eyes and skin. When asked, "What have you learned about dry beans?" 3rd-5th graders wrote:
* "dat it was 4 your heart"
* "there healthy for you"
* "The are good"

For bean recipes, add Ruth Neil on facebook or email neil0047@umn.edu or call 434-2653.

Another Beautiful Thursday in the Garden

It was a beautiful morning in the garden with 32 kids participating! Kids worked in the garden with Pam and Shirley picking, weeding and of course lots of watering. Many of the older kids continue to work on their own gardens that are part of the Teen Challenge. Each garden is unique in its own way and they are coming along very well. Several kids headed into the kitchen to try their luck at Ruth's Amazing Chocolate Fudge recipe which was made from beans. It was delicious! The Junior Master Gardeners had a session of Fruit Frenzy where they guessed and then actually counted the number of seeds in each fruit. I'll leave you with the fudge recipe and hopefully you will join us for Thursdays in the Garden from 10 am - 12 noon.
2 1/2 Tbsp margarine or butter
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans (one 15 oz can equals 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup dried cherries (optional)

Spray a 8-inch square pan with cooking spray; set aside. Melt margarine and baking chocolate together. Warm the beans 1-2 minutes in microwave. This makes them easier to mash and the fudge easier to stir. Combine the beans and margarine/chocolate mixture in a food processor or blender and mash. Scrape bean mixture into a bowl, add cocoa and vanilla. Gradually mix in powdered sugar--mixture will be stiff. Stir in walnuts and or dried cherries, if you like. Press into pan. Cut into 48 pieces(6x8). Store fudge in refrigerator up to one week. It can also be frozen