Old lady at the library gave me a bean soup recipe that saved my grocery budget

I was at the downtown library last Tuesday looking for cookbooks when this woman in her 70s saw me picking up a pricey one. She just laughed and handed me a handwritten card with a 15 bean soup recipe on it. She said 'honey, you don't need a $30 book, you need a $3 bag of dried beans and some ham bone.' Tried it that weekend and it made 8 servings for under $5 total. Has anyone else gotten a random recipe from a stranger that actually worked out better than anything online?

3 comments

3 Comments

milesbarnes6d ago

The best recipes always come from old ladies with stained index cards, not Instagram influencers! My grandma used to say the secret to good bean soup is letting it sit overnight in the fridge after cooking it hits different the next day.

alext526d ago

My bean soup always ends up looking like a science experiment gone wrong before it sits overnight, honestly more of a murky swamp situation. The texture definitely gets thicker though, almost like it marinates itself and all the flavors really settle in together. I'd trust a stained index card over a Pinterest recipe any day, those ladies have kitchen credentials you just can't fake.

zarag176d ago

Oh, the "let it sit overnight" part is key, my neighbor told me the same thing about chili... does the bean soup actually get thicker the next day or does it just taste different? I'm curious because I always eat leftovers fast and never really wait that long. That $3 bag of beans thing is wild, I've been overspending on canned beans this whole time without thinking about it. Your grandma sounds like she knew what she was talking about.