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Today is Fat Tuesday. According to tradition, it is the last day for many Christians to eat, drink, and indulge in a multitude of worldly pleasures before the Lenten season begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday. It’s a 24 hour period of feasting and festivities. And no town does Fat Tuesday better than New Orleans, where today they will celebrate Mardi Gras (“gras” is French for fat and “mardi” is French for Tuesday) in all its glory.
Parties and parades will fill the famous French Quarter. As the parades wind down the streets, observers shout, “Hey, mister! Throw me some beads!” And when the inexpensive necklaces of colored glass beads are tossed to the eagerly awaiting crowds, a mad scramble ensues to snare them in the belief that the more beads one collects; the better his/her luck will be during the coming year.
No one can refute New Orleans’ reputation as the ultimate party town. But, as we all know, it is equally famous for its food. New Orleans is the town where I began my love affair with red beans and rice. I wasn’t much of a bean fan as a kid or young adult. We rarely ate beans when I was growing up except for canned green beans and baked beans which were served at the occasional family barbecue. The green beans were fine with me. But those baked beans, mealy and suspended in an orange gel-like liquid, were horrible. After eating them a few times at my mother’s insistence so as not to offend the relative who brought them, I was convinced that all beans tasted like that and steered clear of them.
During a vacation in New Orleans several years ago, my husband ordered red beans and rice. At first I was reluctant to try them. But they looked and smelled so delicious. I took a tiny nibble at his urging and was instantly hooked. The beans were perfectly seasoned, creamy, and addictive. It goes without saying that I ate most of his meal and have been a bean fan every since!
Red beans and rice is the consummate Creole dish. It was traditionally made on Monday, which was wash day. The lady of the house would put the leftover ham bone from Sunday dinner in a pot of beans where they would simmer to perfection for hours while the laundry was being done. That night she would make a pot of rice to serve with the beans and have a hearty meal to serve her family. And a very healthy one. Beans, according to the Beans for Health Alliance (www.beansforhealth.org ) are packed with nutrients, soluble fiber, antioxidants, and are one of the most inexpensive sources of protein available. They are reputed to lower cholesterol, decrease the risk of heart disease, improve blood sugar levels, and may even add years to our lives. No wonder Steven Pratt, M.D. lists beans as a superfood in his book Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life: SuperFoods Rx.
Now that I’m a bean convert, I’m always on the look out for new ways to add these dietary wonders to our meals. While I like the lack of sodium in and texture of cooked dried beans, I am a big fan of canned ones as well. I’ve found that the secret to using canned beans successfully in my recipes is to put them in a strainer and rinse them under cold running water until the water runs clear before I add them to my dishes. Canned beans are a quick and easy way to enhance the nutritional value of your current favorite salad, soup, and stew recipes. The following Green Bean, Garbanzo, and Walnut Salad is a good example of that. Originally I created the recipe using only green beans. Last summer, I had some leftover garbanzos in the refrigerator and tossed them in the salad. The added color and texture of the garbanzos, not to mention all those nutrients, were a perfect complement to the green beans and walnuts.
So tomorrow, if you’re recovering from Mardi Gras overload, just put a big pot of red beans on the stove. (You’ll find over 200 recipes for this tasty dish on the CDKitchen site.) Then take it easy for the rest of the day. By evening, both you and dinner should be in good shape!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/victoria-wesseler/462-mardi-gras-beans/
Hey Mister! Throw Me Some Beans!
Parties and parades will fill the famous French Quarter. As the parades wind down the streets, observers shout, “Hey, mister! Throw me some beads!” And when the inexpensive necklaces of colored glass beads are tossed to the eagerly awaiting crowds, a mad scramble ensues to snare them in the belief that the more beads one collects; the better his/her luck will be during the coming year.
No one can refute New Orleans’ reputation as the ultimate party town. But, as we all know, it is equally famous for its food. New Orleans is the town where I began my love affair with red beans and rice. I wasn’t much of a bean fan as a kid or young adult. We rarely ate beans when I was growing up except for canned green beans and baked beans which were served at the occasional family barbecue. The green beans were fine with me. But those baked beans, mealy and suspended in an orange gel-like liquid, were horrible. After eating them a few times at my mother’s insistence so as not to offend the relative who brought them, I was convinced that all beans tasted like that and steered clear of them.
During a vacation in New Orleans several years ago, my husband ordered red beans and rice. At first I was reluctant to try them. But they looked and smelled so delicious. I took a tiny nibble at his urging and was instantly hooked. The beans were perfectly seasoned, creamy, and addictive. It goes without saying that I ate most of his meal and have been a bean fan every since!
Red beans and rice is the consummate Creole dish. It was traditionally made on Monday, which was wash day. The lady of the house would put the leftover ham bone from Sunday dinner in a pot of beans where they would simmer to perfection for hours while the laundry was being done. That night she would make a pot of rice to serve with the beans and have a hearty meal to serve her family. And a very healthy one. Beans, according to the Beans for Health Alliance (www.beansforhealth.org ) are packed with nutrients, soluble fiber, antioxidants, and are one of the most inexpensive sources of protein available. They are reputed to lower cholesterol, decrease the risk of heart disease, improve blood sugar levels, and may even add years to our lives. No wonder Steven Pratt, M.D. lists beans as a superfood in his book Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life: SuperFoods Rx.
Now that I’m a bean convert, I’m always on the look out for new ways to add these dietary wonders to our meals. While I like the lack of sodium in and texture of cooked dried beans, I am a big fan of canned ones as well. I’ve found that the secret to using canned beans successfully in my recipes is to put them in a strainer and rinse them under cold running water until the water runs clear before I add them to my dishes. Canned beans are a quick and easy way to enhance the nutritional value of your current favorite salad, soup, and stew recipes. The following Green Bean, Garbanzo, and Walnut Salad is a good example of that. Originally I created the recipe using only green beans. Last summer, I had some leftover garbanzos in the refrigerator and tossed them in the salad. The added color and texture of the garbanzos, not to mention all those nutrients, were a perfect complement to the green beans and walnuts.
So tomorrow, if you’re recovering from Mardi Gras overload, just put a big pot of red beans on the stove. (You’ll find over 200 recipes for this tasty dish on the CDKitchen site.) Then take it easy for the rest of the day. By evening, both you and dinner should be in good shape!
Green Bean, Garbanzo, and Walnut Salad
Made with walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped, black pepper, kosher salt, thin green beans*, rinsed, ends removed, (15 ounce size) garbanzo beans **, rinsed and drained, red onion, champagne
Made with walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped, black pepper, kosher salt, thin green beans*, rinsed, ends removed, (15 ounce size) garbanzo beans **, rinsed and drained, red onion, champagne
Serves/Makes: 4
- 1 pound thin green beans*, rinsed, ends removed
- 1 can (15 ounce size) garbanzo beans **, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons walnut oil
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add the beans.
Cook the beans for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the beans from the water using a slotted spoon and shock them in an ice water bath for 5 minutes.
Drain the beans, pat them dry, and place them in a shallow serving bowl.
Add the garbanzos and red onion.
In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, and honey.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the dressing over the beans and sprinkle with the walnuts.
*This is especially nice when made with haricots verts, but regular green beans work just as well.
**Rinse the beans well under running cold water until the water is very clear and drain them well.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/victoria-wesseler/462-mardi-gras-beans/