The Instant Bean

Everyone from kids to nutritionists loves beans--but they've always been slowpokes in the kitchen. Now the Stones have figured out not only how to speed the process along, they've come up with over 150 imaginative dishes--many of them vegetarian--simple enough to serve for weekday dinners, and elegant enough for company. Using flavors from all over the globe--Asia, Mexico, India, the Middle East--in addition to American favorites like chili and succotash, the Stones have created a recipe collection busy cooks will turn to again and again.

In addition to speedy one-dish meals, spectacular salads and skillet suppers, there are delectable bean spreads for rustic breads that can turn magically into no-cook sauces for pasta or pita pizza. For hot summer days, ice-box soups never see the top of the stove and are ready in moments. Hearty winter bean soups taste like they've been simmering on the back of the stove for hours but they're on the table in less than thirty minutes.

There are recipes for every season and every course of a meal--even dessert: consider black bean chocolate mousse pie or macaroons made with adzuki beans, and bean ice cream.

This companion to The Brilliant Bean is even more user-friendly, a bean bible for busy cooks.