The day on which it is traditionally eaten is commonly known as the Laba Festival. The earliest form of this dish was cooked with red beans and has since developed into many different kinds. It is mainly made up of many kinds of rice, beans, peanuts, dried fruit, lotus seeds.
In the Han Dynasty, during the Laba Festival, people did not consume Laba congee as it was used for worship the gods. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the date of the Laba Festival was fixed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. In the Song Dynasty, Laba congee was widely consumed throughout China by not only the common people, but also government officials and aristocrats. In the Qing Dynasty, the Laba Festival was sometimes celebrated as the "Spring Festival", and Laba congee became even more popular. In the imperial court, the emperor and nobles gave Laba congee to the officials, servants, and others.

My mom’s recipe made to meet us non-patient cooks, no bean-soaking! Works every time!

Beans Around the World.

Beans from around the world. A perfect Italian picnic or celebration featuring ingredients from the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy: arugula (known as rucola or ruchetta), Proscuitto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano as well as a glass of sparkling Italian Lambrusco wine. Buon Appetito!

Black bean Hummus

This is a recipe that is an all time family favorite. I would always look forward to weekends, because that meant chana masala!

Beans Around the World

In Mexican, cultivation of beans began over 7,000 years ago, so they have been an important staple of the cuisine (as well as currency) for a very long time. This simple, 15 minute recipe can be used in tacos, salads, burritos, or as a side on its own. You can use fresh or canned beans, and you can add more spice by including chopped chipotle peppers.

Classical meal for 31 December traditionally to bring good fortune and luck in the new year.

Beans Around the World

Beans Around the World - Red Kidney Bean Tagine from Morocco.

Feijoada is the Brazilian national dish, a richer mixture of meats, black beans and lots of flavour. There are as many recipes as cookers, but always with the black beans as the main character... and here is my version: the way I like it on my table on Saturdays! Enjoy this dish, that is the culinary translation of Brazilians rich mixture of cultures, colours and flavours!

This illustration highlights the beautiful heirloom / heritage bean varieties that we must work to grow, protect, and enjoy. Their beautiful colors and varieties in taste are special and a unique part of our food heritage.

A recipe for Greek Lima Beans, a simple and healthy dish that reminds me of summer holidays on beautiful Greek Islands.

This vision of sweet, soft green loveliness comes from reading one of my absolute favourite all time American cookbooks: The Taste of Country Cooking, by the prolific Edna Lewis. What strikes me again and again when I leaf through the evocative gustatory scenes and recipes described in this book is the incredible ability of Ms. Lewis to not only provide the reader a recipe, but a vivid depiction of the seasons of life and food and community in Freetown, Virginia (founded after the Civil War by freed slaves, including her grandfather). If you haven’t read or tried the recipes from this incredible cookbook in the Virginia region of the American south, I strongly encourage you to get your hands on this as soon as possible. It is full of the most beautiful prose and recipes. A masterpiece. I understand the importance of beans (including the baby Lima!) to the history of food and diaspora in American, and Canadian history. We owe a lot to these wonderfully filling protein bundles, from filling our tummies whether in refried, smothered, baked, buttered, raw, creamed, in brownies, in cakes, in muffins.....and in other ways as the weight in our prebaked pie crusted to the subject of many elementary science or counting activities.....the list goes on.....! This recipe is just one part of the amazing Christmas Dinner section of my copy of The Taste of Country Cooking on page 217. Try it today! My god, Lima beans are taken to a whole new, rich and heavenly place. Delicious.