Sweet Black Bean Dessert

I know you have all ready about using black beans in brownies and hidden inside other dishes. Let me assure you, this is not one of those posts. In fact, I too have been skeptical and have not yet tried the black bean brownies. Call me a crazy purest but let's not mess with my brownies, ok?

That said, one of our goals is to eat more beans this year. Not only to the kids love them, they are great for us and relatively easy to grow. Plus due to all the fiber, they keep you (and kids) full a long time. This past year we experimented with growing four different kinds and I purchased a 25 lbs bag of organic black beans from our distributor at the very start of last year i.e about a year ago. We didn't grow a lot but we grow enough for us to sample the different kinds. This year, beans will take up a lot more real estate in the gardens.
Having always loved green beans, I have had a hard time deciding what to do with my bean space. Do I grow green and yellow bush beans, eat as much as we can fresh and can the rest? I love canned green and yellow beans. The kids though, they seem to prefer beans any way but canned. For them it is fresh or frozen. I love frozen green beans but the pigs take up a lot of space in the freezer. (For some reason the kids just won't let the pigs spend the winter in their rooms.)

So we grew more dry beans last year. That worked out well except what to do with them? Hear me out, we have loved eating chili this fall and throwing them is soups is all well and good but... what else?

Most of the recipes I find don't use in season produce or call for seasonings I don't have. I have sautéed them in garlic butter or refried them. But surely there are other ways.

So after I made a batch of beans one night, I had some black beans left over. What to do with them that was new? A quick search for black bean recipes found this intriguing recipe by Thai Table. I kept it mostly the same but well, you know how I am.

Sweet Black Bean Dessert
1 c. Organic Coconut Milk
1/3 c. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
cooked organic black beans, at least 1 c.
organic raisins (optional)

1. Warm coconut milk, maple syrup and salt in a pan.
2. Add beans and some water.
3. Allow the beans and raisins to simmer in the syrup for about 10 minutes, more if you like a thicker syrup.
4. Serve warm.

The verdict? I was so not prepared for this combination. The syrup was really, really sweet and sticky. It was also so darn delicious we tried to get every last drop of syrup out. The kids argues over who got seconds (no one as I didn't make enough!).

This could easily have been pureed and made into a pudding type dessert and been fantastic. You could also easily add some spices such as cinnamon or cardamom. I loved the coconut flavor was subtle. A little coconut on top would also have been a lovely addition. It was however something I thought of after I gobbled my small cup. In a rare evening of having such a delicious dessert, the kids even played nicely enough that my husband and I got to enjoy an after dinner coffee before putting them to bed. See, this dessert really is magic!

Enjoy!