Just a pot-o-beans and side of cornbread...

It is amazing how food conjures up memories from the past. I have been cooking since I was about five. My mom discovered my interest when I came home from kindergarten with my first cookbook. (I still have that book) It was one of those school book drives and my mom gave me a few dollars to spend...I think she imagined I would bring back the money as maybe I would not find a book that inexpensive...well, I did. And it has been a love affair with cooking ever since. That little paper back book held the secrets to foods I could make, each ingredient list deciphering the mystery behind French toast, Baked cinnamon apples, or Buttermilk corn bread.....ahhhhh...

 Once I started cooking, I was hooked. I spent much of my childhood assisting my mom in the kitchen, baking for the holidays, canning and freezing our fruits and vegetables for later use....then I started cooking breakfast for everyone on the weekends...I was so happy to tryout new recipes and I felt a bit in awe when I used one of my Grandmother's recipes kept in a special tin, like our own version of the holy grail.

My mom was a good cook. She, like me, had traveled much of her life and in the course of meeting new people, and different kinds of regional cooking put together quite a repertoire of recipes....many of which she never wrote down, but just knew by heart. She taught me to taste foods, and to recognize the spices and ingredients so that I did not need a recipe....if I tasted it, I knew what was in it.

Today I still love to cook....cooking is alchemy. You take a few ingredients and turn them into something else...it is trial and sometimes error. There are days I don't always get it right, but there are days, these little "mistakes" help me to discover a whole meal, something really delicious that I would not have thought of.

So, where is all this writing leading to? A lovely meal, that's where. I made a pot-o-beans the other night....and talk about bringing back memories...this meal really does. My mom was the queen of stretching a meal to last a week....she not only produced food of quality, but quantity...Soups, Chili's, Pots-o-beans, Spaghetti Sauce, Stews....things that would fill you up, satisfy, and "stick to your ribs" as she loved to put it.

So, the other day I had this hunger for a pot-o-beans and a side of cornbread....Beans, any soup or stew really, is a labor of love. There is no making a quick pot-they are all time intensive. Things need to be chopped, and lovingly sauteed....braised, or seared, and stirred. This is an all day ritual...one for which I love, especially on a cold crisp afternoon...

After pulling together the ingredients, and deciding which pots and pans I was going to use...I threw myself into orchestrating a perfect pot-o-beans....This is definitely comfort food at it's best!!!

Pot-O-Beans

5 cups of beans (I use pinto, but great northern, or any combination is fine)

rinse and look through the beans for any rocks, or weird looking beans....rinse thoroughly as it is amazing at how much gunk can be in your beans....

Put your beans in a large pot, and cover with three inches of cold water. Place in the pot Three tablespoons of baking soda....bring to a boil, watching closely so as it does not boil over, stir and cook for three minutes. Remove from heat and cover, let soak for one hour.

While you are waiting, fine chop two medium onions, grate two large carrots, chop one large bell pepper of any color, one small chili pepper and slice three stalks of celery including the leafy tops. put these ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In a frying pan crisp up 6 pieces of thick sliced bacon. I prefer applewood smoked for a nice heavy smoky taste. You can use peppered bacon too if you like it. Remove the bacon, crumble and set aside.

In the same frying pan using the bacon grease, saute the veggies you chopped up previously. Cook them until the onions are clear. Add to this one can of chicken stock. Simmer for a few minutes.

By now your beans should be ready....dump off the water and rinse the beans thoroughly in a colander, making sure to get all of the beans rinsed really well....rinse out the pot and dump in the sauteed veggies and the chicken stock...bring to a boil.

Ladle in the beans and add additional water or chicken stock, or equal amounts of both to cover the beans plus an additional 2 inches. Dump in the fried bacon and stir well.

Quarter another yellow onion and put in the pot. In addition to, add 3 bay leaves, onion powder, chili powder, and salt and pepper....this is where your own taste buds come in. Some like it spicy, some like it plain. If you feel your beans taste like dish water, you may want to add any of the following:

A ham hock

2 cups of chopped ham

leftover ham bone

more fried bacon, or bacon grease.

I find that I don't really need to add anything....let the beans simmer about another hour or so, when they are soft, they are done. You don't need to stir them much, as by stirring you may mash the beans...the idea is to leave the beans as whole as possible.

These beans reheat well. In fact, they get better as the days go by....

Buttermilk corn bread

Mmmmmm.....just the thought gets my mouth watering. Warm from the oven, slathered in butter and honey or maple syrup.....heavenly!!

Just like there are all kinds of cooks, there is all kinds of corn bread. I myself prefer buttermilk, and not too sweet, with corn kernels in it. Baked up in a well seasoned cast iron pan is best, but any dish from pyrex to cake pan will work....

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• One well drained can of kernel corn, or two large ears worth of corn removed from the cobb
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan, or like size.

Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain.

Stir in one can of well drained niblet corn, or two ears worth of corn removed from the cob.

Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Now you have a pot-o-beans and corn bread..... typically this meal is eaten with fresh sliced onion or finely chopped green onion.....I hope you enjoy it as much as I have....the only thing missing is a good slice of pie.....