When we began our journey into preparedness we purchased 50 lbs. of pintos from Sam's Club and sealed them in (2) 5 gal. mylar bags with O2 absorbers. Since then I've been packing away all types of beans: navy, red, black, more pintos, etc.

The question has been how to prepare those beans, especially in a collapse situation. In the worse-case scenario, we're assuming the power grid would be down. Here are some off-grid cooking techniques that we've used successfully.

There are 4 links to using the Eco Zoom rocket stove. LFOD and I did these ourselves and posted our opinions Off Grid Cooking

You don't have to purchase a rocket stove, there are several DIY instructions on the internet. Here's one: DIY Rocket Stove

Here's how we prepared dry whole pinto beans and rice in 2 hours using the Rocket Stove.
Beans & Rice on the Rocket

Something new I've discovered....BEAN FLOUR!

Another way of using your beans is to grind them. With electricity, you can run them through a wheat grinder like the Wondermill.



Off grid you would need something like the Wondermill Jr.



I began my bean flour journey by watching Jodi and Julie at Food Storage Made Easy

Here is a video of these ladies turning white beans into cream of chicken soup. Once ground the beans cook within 3 - 5 minutes. We've tried it and it is incredible. I'll admit, the thought of hand grinding the beans off grid is not appealing, but surviving a collapse won't be a picnic. With bean flour in your meal plans, using those dry beans can become a quicker and easier alternative.



Final thought:
I've expanded my bean flour recipes to include pintos and black beans. Here are a few of recipes for you to consider. Let your imagination run wild. Bean flour is an awesome base and almost anything can be added to make incredible meals!

Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup Recipe

4 T any white bean (lima, navy, etc.) Makes 5 T bean flour
1 ¾ C water
4 T chicken bouillon

Grind beans to make bean flour. Combine bean flour, water, and chicken bouillon into saucepan. Cook on stove-top at medium, whisking frequently, until thick and delicious. The soup should cook in 3 minutes. (Make take longer cook time if your grinder makes very coarse flour.)

Use this with cooked veggies and or meat for a complete meal. You can also add this to recipes calling for cream of chicken soup cans. It can replace a can, plus the water or milk in recipes.


Shortcut Re-fried Beans

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes
Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup dried pinto beans
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup salsa

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grind pinto beans until fine using a food grinder. Place in a saucepan, and whisk in salt, cumin, chili powder, and warm water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook until thick, about 15 minutes.
2. When the mixture has thickened, stir and cook for 4 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in salsa. Serve as a dip, or use as filling for burritos.


Creamy Mexican / Black Bean Soup
No fat added, simple to make.
½ cup Salsa or Picante Sauce
4 cups Hot Water
½ Sea Salt
2 tsp Chili Powder
¼ tsp Cumin
½ tsp beef bullion
1 cup Black Bean Flour

Directions
Whisk Black Bean Flour mixed with cumin, chili powder and salt into water. Stir 1 minute while cooking over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover saucepan and cook an additional 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add your favorite salsa or picante sauce and allow mixture to cool. May be topped with grated low fat cheese (if desired) and chopped green onions and cilantro.

6 servings. 90 calories per serving 

Excellent writeup. Thanks!

Yes, I have a LOT of beans, all kinds of beans.

I bought beano in bulk btw. I don't want to make a potentially bad situation any worse than it needs to be.

I haven't had much luck cooking beans or rice with my global solar oven. Takes too long. Grinding them may be the way to go.

I'm concerned about fuel sources. If the SHTF, you can be sure our trees will be used fairly quickly. I don't have the storage space for much coal, charcoal, etc.

A years worth of food, but only a month's worth of fuel to cook it with. 

LOL...Beano is a MUST stockpile item for preppers! I have several boxes of Walmart's generic version.

We live among too many trees! Solar ovens are not suitable for us. :(

I've had success getting a gentle boil off a fold-able camp stove and Sterno. Haven't tried my bean flour on it yet. That may be my next experiment.



Pre-fabed rocket stoves are costly. If money is an issue, consider a DIY rocket stove. Rocket stoves burn small limbs or thinly split logs, and are surprisingly efficient! An handful of sticks can give you a couple of hours of cook time. 

I bought a case of those fuel cell things from Emergency Essentials, and a little cheap stove for them. Also got some of the cheaper (but shorter lasting) sterno cans from Sam's club.

So I have fuel for a while that wouldn't require foraging.

Part of my prep plan is the assumption that I won't want to venture out of home turf until the zombies start to thin out. I figure they start to fall apart after about a month.

Still wish the trees allowed for solar here. I even had an evaluation done on my home by a solar panel company and they said "don't bother". Of course, panels on the roof are a big sign that says "come over here and steal my food and stuff". Zombie attractant.

Best to hide it all and make home look ransacked and unlived in. My lawn already looks like that thanks to our lack of rain and my unwillingness to spend 400 bucks a month on the water bill. 

This is a great site.

This chef makes "bark" with sweet potatoes, dehydrating beans etc.
I am going to make bark this week. http://www.backpackingchef.com/food-dehydrator-recipes.html 

There is a solar stove called a parabolic stove. On ebay they are around $100 with shipping.

They are a stove not an oven, heats up in less than 10 mins. looks like a satellite dish with a mirror coating, there is a pot rack to hold ONE pot or skillet cooks, fry etc. Just like a stove.It's not for simmering. On youtube some people do put a simmer ring on it to make it less hot. I bet this one would work with trees. Did doesn't take much sun. 

This chef makes "bark" with sweet potatoes, dehydrating beans etc.

That sounds interesting. Please let us know what it tastes like.

I go camping as well and could be useful for that.