Here are some ways to use them:
- Traditional cooking. Soak overnight, slow cook. There are good recipes online. But a few pounds of dried beans goes a looooong way.
- Grow bean sprouts. Yes, these are the same as fresh sprouts you would get at a sandwich shop or add to a noodle soup. Takes a few days, and provides a fresh crunchy green vegetable full of micronutrients. Incidentally, you would want to use food grade seeds for any sprouts; commercial garden seeds are often treated with substances to prevent spoilage and enhance germination.
- Alternate source of greens. I would not necessarily recommend for salad, but especially the fresh, small leaves work very well in soup, quiche, even on pizza. More of a dark leafy green, not unlike spinach. No complicated, peppery, or bitter taste.
- Give up, and either sprout them all and feed them to the chickens, or combine dry beans and dry macaroni in a bowl, gather glue and construction paper, and find a preschool class to make art from bulk food supplies.
On the plus side, dry beans store without spoiling for a long, long time.
