Bean Poles

BEANS! Glorious beans.

Well, folks, I have to admit something to you all. It has been a part of my life for some time now and frankly I’m at a loss. You see I have this problem- well it really is more than one problem. I have many problems. Tiny little problems. They’re a bit smaller than most marbles and generally larger than most seeds. I’m talking about good-old-fashioned-beans. And, with great apology, I must admit that I don’t think they’re a problem at all.

Did you know that on our home world Earth lays claim to over 40,000 different varieties of beans? Ranging from that start-of-the-day ground up coffee bean to the stew-simmering-supper-time Lima bean, beans are everywhere (check your pockets).

By the way, if you’re interested in growing lima beans there are plenty of ways to do that. Though, now that I think about it, you should probably wait until the start of next season. It’s never to early to get your bean poles!

There are also plenty of delicious recipes for the wonderful Lima bean. It could be as easy as throwing together some lemon-mint snap peas & lima beans or you can get real crazy and muster up the terrifyingly awesome and really not all that complicated herbed lima bean hummus. Beans!

Recipes aside, beans aren’t just a tasty little treat. They don’t just fill us up with joy and utmost inner peace for no apparent reason. The fact of the matter is this: beans are healthy (…and delicious).

Adzuki beans, one of my six favorite types of beans, are, you guessed it, a kind of bean! No beans about it! Beans! Here are some nutritional facts according to Lance Armstrong’s website.

Adzuki beans are a nutrient-dense food, providing a hefty amount of nutrients compared to their caloric content. They are a good food source of folate, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, manganese and zinc.

They’re also an excellent source of BEANS!

http://travel.usnews.com/Chicago_IL/

But beans aren’t only found in foodstuffs. You see, beans are also found in cultural outlets such as art. One such bean-laden work of physical expression is the Chicago’s Cloud Gate or more commonly referred to as, that’s right, The Bean.

The structure weighs 100 tons and measures 10 meters high and 20 meters wide (33 x 66 ft). People can walk through the 3.7 meter high central arch, where they can look up to the large ‘dent’ and see numerous distorted reflections of themselves.

That’s 99 tons more than these guns. Though some say (none on record) that Chicago Cloud Gate beans are just as nutritious as any other bean, many have attempted to digest them to no avail.

Bean Sources:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jun06/beans0606.htm?pf=1

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2001/5-11-2001/limabeans.html

http://www.ziplist.com/recipes/688819-Herbed_Lima_Bean_Hummus
http://www.livestrong.com/article/299196-nutrition-information-regarding-adzuki-beans/
http://www.aviewoncities.com/chicago/cloudgate.htm