Traveling South

This summer I had the pleasure of 'traveling south'. As you know, all 'northerners' love to go to the south. Funny, southerners only travel north for a funeral, but that's a blog for a different time.



Mayfield Dairy Cow, the Welcome Sign for Ruby Falls, Chattanooga, TN

My first stop was Huntsville, AL. My friends and I went to dinner at Posey's Restaurant. The food was good and brought back great memories for a displaced southerner, fried chicken, fried fish, pinto beans, and cornbread sans sugar. You get the picture.

Blount Museum in Knoxville, TN

 

The main draw of Posey's seems to be the buffet. On one of my many visits to the buffet, I noticed an older gentlemen crumbling cornbread onto a plate. Onto which he then poured likker from the pinto beans. He ended up with a few beans, not too many, he was aiming for the likker. He told us that as a child, he would put extra water in the beans, just to make sure there was enough likker for his cornbread.

Nutritionist talk about legumes and grains forming complete proteins. That is, they contain all the essential amino acids in the right proportion to substitute for meat. I am sure this gentlemen knew none of that, but he knew beans and cornbread is a 'darn good' combination. And sometimes, that's all that matters.

Since I also stopped by the Lodge Factory Outlet Store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, I thought writing about beans and cornbread would be great. I know it's the middle of summer, but I still like beans and cornbread. And besides I break in my new Lodge skillet.


Blount Museum in Knoxville, TN

  

As I began to think more about this posting, I started to wonder how beans and cornbread came to be. So I googled it. Turns out, there are tons of hits for beans and cornbread. Guess I am not the only one eating them.

Here is my recipe for beans and cornbread. I kept them both simple and original. That is, I am using pork fat.

Pinto Beans

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry pinto beans
2 slices bacon or about 4 ounces smoked meat, pork or turkey
1 hot pepper pod or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Sort beans to remove any rocks and partial beans. Rinse beans in cold water. Place beans in container cover with water to about 2 inches above the beans. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Drain beans and rinse. Add beans to a large pot. Cover with water to about 2 to 3 inches above the beans. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours until beans are tender. Add more water if necessary.

Cornbread

Ingredients:

¼ cup bacon fat

1 cup yellow corn meal

½ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup milk

1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place bacon fat in skillet and heat, either on the stove top or in the oven.

2. Combine corn meal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and eggs.

3. Add wet ingredients the corn meal mixture. Stir to combine.

4.  Pour hot bacon fat into batter and stir gently. Pour batter into hot skillet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: The Pioneer Lady

Pasta and Beans

I have been on this Italian - Mediterranean kick for quite some time.  Frankly, I am fascinated with  the European view of food.  I was also a little skeptical of pasta and beans in one dish.  It just did not sound good to me.  However, I was fascinated enough to pick out the recipe. 

When I really thought about it, Olive Garden makes a pasta e fagioli soup. As it turns out, pasta and bean soup is a traditional Italian dish, made from inexpensive ingredients.  It is traditionally made with cannellini or borlotti beans and some type of small pasta, such as elbow macaroni or ditalini.  Onions, garlic, rosemary or basil are used as seasonings.  Most recipes use tomatoes or tomato sauce.  For a more meaty flavor, prosciutto or pancetta can be used.

I got this recipe from The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.  A note to this recipe stated that you could make the pasta and beans.  And if there were any leftover, you could add stock and make soup.  Two meals for the price of one, I was 'in'.  I used Jacob's cattle beans.  But you could use pinto, cranberry or a similar light reddish bean.  I also used pesto, about 2 tablespoons, instead of the actual basil.  Pesto was in my frig and basil is too expensive.  Yes, I am cheap.

If you want additional vegetables,  sautéed greens, such as kale or spinach.  Winter squash can also be added to this dish.  If this recipe works out, I'm going to try zucchini.

Day 1.  I made the pasta and beans.  My faithful tasters loved it.

Pasta with Pancetta and Beans

Serves 8 to 10.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried beans, such as borlotti, cranberry, or pink
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
3 to 4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 can (14 ounce) whole plum tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound short pasta, such as farfalle or bowties
¼ cup sliced basil leaves
Freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano

Directions:

1.  Sort, wash and soak the beans.  Drain.  Transfer to a saucepan, cover with water to a depth of about 1 inch above the beans.  Cover and cook until beans are tender, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Set aside, reserving one cup of the cooking liquid.

2.  Chop the onion and set aside.  Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to a large heavy pan.  Set over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook until onion is translucent.  Add garlic and pancetta, continue cooking for about 10 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and the pancetta has started to release its fat.

3.  Add tomatoes, breaking them up with the side of a spoon.  Cook, continuing to break up the tomatoes, until they have reduced to a sauce.  Taste and add salt and pepper.  Add beans the cooking liquid.  Return to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, to make a thick sauce. 

4.  In a separate saucepan bring about 5 quarts of salted water to a rolling boil.  Add pasta and cook rapidly until the pasta is almost, but not quite, ready to eat.  Drain and quickly add the pasta to the bean sauce, toss to mix well.  Sprinkle with basil or add pesto.  Drizzle with olive oil and top with cheese.

Note: If desired,beans can be made and frozen in individual containers.  Pasta can be added when ready to eat.





Day 2.  Pasta e fagioli.  I added broth and made soup.  My tasters liked it as well.

Celebrating Ramadan

Members of the Muslim faith are currently observing Ramadan.  So this month, I decided to blog on Ramadan.  No, I am not Muslim and do not profess to be well versed in the culture.  I do, however, believe that we all have an obligation to at least attempt to understand the culture of others.  As I began to research for this posting, I found a lot of interesting information on Ramadan.   So, it is in that vein that I am writing this blog.

Ramadan is celebrated during the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar and lasts for 29 or 30 days.  The dates for Ramadan vary each year, moving backwards by about eleven days per year, thus in 34 years; Muslims will have fasted every day of the calendar year. Muslims believe that Ramadan is the month in which the first verse of the Qur’an was revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.

It is a time of spiritual reflection and worship.  Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds.   During fasting, intercourse is prohibited as well as eating and drinking, and resistance of all temptations is encouraged.  Purity of both thought and action is important.  The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm.  It also teaches Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity.

Ramadan is also a time when Muslims are to slow down from worldly affairs and focus on self-reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment; this is to establish a link between themselves and God through prayer, supplication, charity, good deeds, kindness and helping others.  Since it is a festival of giving and sharing, Muslims prepare special foods and buy gifts for their family and friends and for giving to the poor and needy.  There is also a social aspect involving the preparation of special foods and inviting people for iftar, the fast-breaking meal.  Iftar begins with the eating of three dates.  After eating dates, it is prayer time and finally the celebratory meal.

While you may not be celebrating Ramadan, if you are like me, you probably need to slow down – and breathe.  So please, prepare a meal, invite a few friends over and maybe bake this pie. 

New Fashioned Bean Pie

Ingredients:

2 cans (15 ounces, each) white beans, such as,

   Great Northern Beans, Navy or Cannellini
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Drain and rinse beans. 
3. In a blender or food processor, blend beans and the remaining ingredients.  Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a pie crust.
4. Bake at 375°F for 1 hour or until the center is slightly soft. 

Note:  If this pie is made in a purchased deep dish pie crust, you will have a little filling left over. 

Beans in the Summertime

Growing up, we always ate beans in the winter.  My mother cooked them with pork (what else would a southerner use).  They were good, but these beans are not for summer.

Enter canned beans and salads.  Beans do not have to be hot and served with cornbread.  This is good news.  Beans are a good source of protein, fiber, potassium and folic acid and they are virtually fat free.  We need not wait until winter to eat beans.  Salads are another way to consume beans.  If you want a complete protein in one dish, make a bean and rice salad. 

The April 2011 issue of Bon Appétit magazine contained an article by Molly Wizenberg – Chick Magnet (http://bit.ly/oUPSCl).  Molly starts with chickpeas (garbanzo beans) but you really could use any bean.  Most beans have a fairly mild flavor and will take on the flavor of whatever is added to them.

To make a bean salad, choose a can of beans.  Drain and rinse.  After that, the sky is the limit.  Since I was on a roll, I decided to make two versions of this salad.  Both salads started with chickpeas (15 ounces).

As a nod to my trip last year to Greece, I made one on the style of the Greek salad.  And since I was in the Mediterranean area, I made the second one more Italian flavored.

Chickpea Salad - Greek Version

Serves 2.

 Ingredients:

1 can (15 ounce) Garbanzo beans

1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ small red onion, finely chopped
½ cup feta cheese

Directions:

1.     Drain and rinse the beans.  Combine with remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chickpea Salad - Italian Version

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 can (15 ounce) Garbanzo beans

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
Juice of ½ lemon
1 Tablespoon olive oil
⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Combine in the same manner as the Greek version.

I hope you get the general idea about bean salads.  There are no hard and fast rules.  You basically make it the way you want to.  Depending on what is in your pantry, you may want to add olives, bell pepper, green onions.  If you don’t like a particular kind of cheese, switch to your favorite.  Most of all, have fun with your bean salad.  Let your imagination fly!