G'day G'day Folks,

In writing my book it has become apparent to me that beans play an
important part in health. The reasons why they were important in a way
different from other vegetables hadn't occurred to me till recently.

One thing I have often observed is that when one has a mind primed to
find a particular solution things happens seemingly serendipitously. A
book on Beans by Aliza Green that had been in the local book shop for
$40 dollars appeared in the discard table for $10. I swooped.

It is a fascinating book. One aspect that took my interest is the
idea that since beans are supposedly somewhat acid it makes sense to
cook them with alkaline vegetables ... things like chicory, dandelion
etc. By another bit of serendipity the local organic supermarket had
packs of baby fennel bulbs and radichetta for $1.50 and $2.00. The
Framers' Market has been selling celeriac quite cheaply. Ideas often
take quite a while to come together for me. The theory awaits a long
time to be delivered as action.

I have an enameled cast iron oblong casserole pot. I think it is
French. For a bloke it is wonderful. One can put in a can of beans
rinsed under the tap, chop up some celeriac, some baby fennel bulbs,
some radichetta (baby chicory hearts) baby beetroot, some New Zealand
yams, a purple fleshed sweet potato, some crushed tomato and three
cups of water. I had forgotten how good soup could taste. We get so
conditioned to single flavoured soup made from a packet of this or a
can of that we forget how exciting is can be to have a soup where
every mouthful is different taste experience. Most of the vegetables
have low calorie and low carb content. Try and find a calorie in baby
fennel. That tastes slightly sweetish and contrasts with slight
bitterness of the radichetta. Baby beetroot is another vegetable that
is low in calories. One sweet potato gets spread out a long way.
The celeriac provides another flavour contrast. It's mid-Winter here
and I'm loving it.

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin