02 - Food Prep & Cooking

How to cook your stored rice, beans, and fat — with or without extra ingredients.

Before You Start

This guide assumes you have rice, dried beans, and cooking fat as your base. It also assumes your cooking situation may not be ideal — no gas stove, limited water, limited fuel. Every method here is written with that in mind.

You may also have ingredients from the garden or other sources. Throughout this guide you will see [ ADD-INS ] sections. These are places where extra ingredients can be worked in if you have them. If you do not have anything to add, skip those sections entirely — the base recipe still works without them.

What You Need to Cook

A pot with a lid (critical — a lid cuts fuel use significantly)
A heat source (propane burner, rocket stove, open fire, camp stove)
Water
Something to stir with

That is the minimum. Everything else is a bonus.

Water Requirements

Item	Water Needed	Output
1 cup dry rice	2 cups water	~2 cups cooked
1/2 cup dry beans (pre-soaked)	2 cups water	~1.5 cups cooked
1/2 cup dry lentils (no soaking)	1.5 cups water	~1.5 cups cooked

Conservation tip: The water you cook beans in is nutritious and can be used as a base for broth. Do not throw it out if water is limited.

Cooking the Beans

Beans take the longest and require the most planning. Do these first.

Step 1 — Soak (if using whole dried beans)

Cover beans in cold water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. This cuts cooking time roughly in half and makes them easier to digest. If you cannot soak, add extra cooking time.

Lentils do not need soaking and cook in 20 to 30 minutes. If fuel is limited, lentils are the better choice.

Step 2 — Cook

Drain soaking water and add fresh water to the pot (roughly 2 cups water per half cup dry beans)
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer
Cover with a lid
Cook 45 to 90 minutes depending on bean type, until soft all the way through
Add a pinch of salt near the end of cooking — adding salt too early toughens the skin

[ ADD-INS — add any of these if available ]

Add to the pot during cooking, not after:

Garlic cloves (whole or crushed) — adds flavor, mild antimicrobial properties
Green onion tops — stir in during the last 10 minutes
Any leafy greens from the garden (kale, chard, spinach) — stir in during the last 5 minutes, they wilt fast
A small amount of tallow or fat — stir in for richness
Any dried or fresh herbs you have — bay leaf, thyme, oregano all work well with beans
Hot pepper or chili if available — a small amount goes a long way
Any root vegetables (carrot, potato, sweet potato) — add early, they need full cooking time

If you have none of these, plain salted beans are still a complete meal when eaten with rice.

Cooking the Rice

Basic Method

Measure rice and rinse once if water allows (removes surface starch, less sticky result)
Add to pot with 2 cups of water per 1 cup of dry rice
Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest simmer possible
Cover tightly with a lid — do not lift the lid during cooking
Cook 18 to 20 minutes
Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes before serving

Fuel saving tip: Bring to a boil, then wrap the entire covered pot in a blanket or jacket. The trapped heat will finish cooking the rice in 20 to 30 minutes with no additional fuel. This is called retained heat cooking and works well with beans too once they are partially cooked.

[ ADD-INS — add any of these if available ]

Stir into the water before cooking begins, or fold in after:

A small amount of tallow or fat — stir into the water before cooking for richer rice
Salt — always, if you have it
Garlic (minced or crushed) — cook in the fat briefly before adding water and rice
Green onions — fold in after cooking
Any fresh herbs — fold in after cooking
Tomatoes (fresh or dried) — replace part of the water with tomato for flavor and vitamin C

Putting It Together — Basic Meal

This is the standard meal format. It takes roughly 90 minutes total if beans are pre-soaked, less if using lentils.

Start beans first — they take longest
Start rice about 20 minutes before beans will be done
Add fat to either the beans or the rice, or split between both
Combine in a bowl or serve side by side
Add any available garden ingredients as a topping or mixed in

Per person this produces:

A bowl of cooked rice (roughly 2 cups)
A bowl of cooked beans (roughly 1.5 cups)
Total: filling, complete protein, adequate calories for rationing

When Fuel Is Very Limited

If you need to conserve fuel as much as possible:

Use lentils instead of whole beans — 25 minutes versus 90 minutes of cooking time
Use the retained heat method — bring to a boil, insulate the pot, let it finish on its own
Cook a large batch once per day — rice and beans both reheat quickly or can be eaten at room temperature
Soak beans longer — 12 to 24 hours of soaking reduces cook time significantly

Simple Variations to Avoid Food Fatigue

Eating the same thing twice a day is a real morale problem, especially for children. Small changes make a significant psychological difference.

Variation	What to Do
Fried rice	Cook rice ahead, let cool, fry in tallow in a pan with salt and any available scraps
Bean soup	Add extra water to the beans and thin to a soup consistency
Rice porridge	Use 3 cups water per 1 cup rice, cook longer — thicker and more filling feeling
Seasoned beans	Save a small amount of fat, heat it, and pour hot fat over the finished beans
Mixed bowl	Combine rice and beans together rather than separate — different texture, same ingredients

[ ADD-INS — garden ingredients that change the meal most ]

These make the biggest difference to flavor and nutrition if you have any of them:

Green onions or garlic — the single highest-impact add-in for flavor
Tomatoes — adds acid and brightness that cuts through the heaviness of beans
Kale or chard — wilts into beans or rice quickly, adds vitamins A and C
Hot pepper of any kind — even a tiny amount transforms the flavor profile
Lemon or lime — if somehow available, a small squeeze over beans is dramatic improvement
Any fresh herb — even a few leaves of something green changes the experience

Cooking Without a Stove

Open Fire

Works well. Use a grate or hang the pot over the fire. Control heat by moving the pot closer or further from the flame rather than adjusting fuel.

Rocket Stove

Very fuel efficient. Small pieces of wood feed a focused, hot flame. Excellent for boiling water and cooking beans. Can be built from bricks or cinder blocks in about 10 minutes.

Propane Camp Stove

The most convenient option. A standard 1 lb propane canister lasts roughly 1 to 2 hours of cooking time. For a family of 4 cooking once per day, plan for roughly 1 canister every 2 to 3 days. Stock accordingly.

Solar Cooking

A dark pot in direct sunlight with a reflective surround (foil, mirrors) can reach cooking temperatures on a clear day. Slow but uses zero fuel. More viable in Southern California than most places.

Quick Reference Card

Task	Time	Water	Notes
Soak beans	8 hrs	Enough to cover	Skip with lentils
Cook beans	45–90 min	2 cups per 1/2 cup dry	Salt at the end
Cook lentils	20–30 min	1.5 cups per 1/2 cup dry	No soaking needed
Cook rice	18–20 min	2 cups per 1 cup dry	Do not lift lid
Retained heat finish	20–30 min	None additional	Wrap pot in insulation

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