Beans.

I have more dried beans in my pantry than I know what to do with. Mainly because they are super economical and can make any meal complete. But also, finding the spare time to actually soak, cook, and create a dish, is somewhat of a challenge for me. Thus the pantry full of dried beans.

Don’t worry though, I have more than enough pasta for them to make friends with.

I was standing in front of the bulk section of Whole Foods the other day, in awe, and drooling over all the different kinds rice, flour, and nuts, when I realized that there were more varieties of beans than anything else. Suddenly, my garbanzo beans and black beans didn’t seem very exotic.

Although Chris made us a killer Chipotle-style lunch/dinner on Sunday, complete with black beans and his delicious guacamole recipe…

I’m such a lucky gal 🙂

Now, back to my drooling at Whole Foods. I have cooked other beans besides the above mentioned, but not often. So I decided to buy the harmless, versatile great northern white bean. Start small, is what I told myself.

Small turned into a lot of white bean dip. Enough to last me the rest of the week. With cooked beans to spare for something else.

I decided to make Happy Herbivore’s Butter Bean Cookies with some of those leftover cooked beans. I highly recommend them!

There are so many variations you could make to this recipe. For now, here is just a basic white bean dip jazzed up a bit for my own personal taste.

Lemony Mushroom, Pine nut & White Bean dip

Makes about 2 1/2 cups dip

• 2 cups cooked northern white beans (or another type of white bean)
• 2 garlic cloves
• Juice from one medium-sized lemon
• 2 T water
• 1 T tahini
• 2 T roasted pine nuts
• 3 large baby bella mushrooms, washed with a damp cloth and chopped
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
• 1/2 tsp salt

In a skillet, saute crushed red peppers in oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes. In the meantime, with the food processor running, toss in the garlic to chop it finely, and turn off. Add the beans, juice from lemon, water, tahini, and roasted pine nuts. Add in the mushroom and crushed red pepper mixture. Process until smooth. If you need more liquid, add a tablespoon of water at a time. Add salt to taste. I ended up with 1/2 tsp. Serve with pita bread and fresh veggies!

After I put the dip in serving dishes, I decided to add some oomph by drizzling extra virgin olive oil over it and jazzing them up even more. Click on pics for my up close and personal shots…

{crushed red peppered}

{lemon zested}

{paprika dusted}