Hot & Sour Beans (low-amine, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free)

Hot and Sour Beans. Normally, I would cook them so that there was a little liquid/sauce left. But that's what I get for making fun of mom's cooking, isn't it?

Hot & Sour Beans is my ultimate in comfort food.  When I get sick, or am cranky, grouchy, or otherwise need a solid round of comfort food, this is what I crave. Mom used to make it all the time for us, when we were growing up (the high amine version, of course). Now, I love my mom. But she was never aces in the kitchen. Simple foods were great, but anything more just wasn’t her style. So Hot and Sour Beans was a staple. Easy to make, delicious, and filling. I’ll show you the original recipe, before I move on to the low-amine hot and sour beans recipe made with homemade baked beans.

The Original (high amine) “Hot & Sour Beans” Recipe a la Momma:

2 (15 oz) cans of original baked beans

1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne

1 C white vinegar

1 lb ground beef

Several cups rice, cooked.

• Start your rice cooking.
• Cook ground beef in a pan till mostly done, breaking it up into small bits. Drain fat.
• Add beans, vinegar, and cayenne to a pot. Heat on medium and reduce to a simmer.
• Simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add cayenne or vinegar as needed.
• Serve piping hot over rice.

To make it a low amine food, I swapped out baked beans in a can for homemade baked beans and exchanged vinegar with ascorbic acid. The rest is delicious history.

4 C homemade baked beans

1 C water

3 tsp ascorbic acid

1 lb ground beef

1/2 tsp – 1 Tbsp cayenne, to taste

Several cups rice, cooked

• Start your rice cooking.
• In a large pan, cook ground beef over medium high till mostly done, breaking it up into small bits. Drain and discard fat.
• Add beans, ascorbic acid, water, and cayenne. Once hot, reduce to a medium-low simmer.
• Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add cayenne or ascorbic acid as needed to tweak flavor.
• Serve piping hot over rice and enjoy my low-amine version of Mom’s awesome, easy, ghettofabulous Hot and Sour Beans!

AMINE BREAKDOWN:

Very Low Amine: water, ascorbic acid, ground beef, rice

Low Amine: homemade baked beans

Very High Amine: cayenne pepper

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Sour Onion Broil

Broiled Sour Onions served with a Tangy Garlic Cod and Cilantro Rice

These thick onion slices make a fabulous side dish for any low amine meal. I used to make these with lemon juice and olive oil, so hadn’t made them since starting my amine-free diet. I decided to use a lemon substitute instead, and it worked out fabulously! These low amine onions were a powerhouse of flavor, and so stupid easy that I could make them every day.

1 large red onion

2 large yellow onion

2 Tbsp Safflower oil

2 Tbsp ascorbic acid

4 Tbsp water

Fresh cracked black pepper

Sea salt, to taste

Sour Onions with pools carved to collect liquid

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Peel both onions and cut top and bottom ends off.
• Slice each onion into three or four big onion ring slabs (about 3/4″ thick) and set on cookie sheet to bake.
• Using the point of a paring knife, “carve” two small dents into each onion, about the diameter of a dime. These pools will help hold the sour liquid so it does not simply run off onto the pan.
• Mix ascorbic acid and water together. It should mostly dissolve. Pour over the top of onions.
• Drizzle Safflower oil over the onion rings.
• Crack pepper and salt over onion rings.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then broil for another 5 minutes to lightly blacken them on top at the edges, to give them a “grilled” look.
• Serve.

Sour Grilled Onions

AMINE BREAKDOWN:

Very Low Amine: red onion, yellow onion, ascorbic acid, water, black pepper, salt

Low Amine: safflower oil

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