The Giants are Coming, The Giants are Coming . . .

Ok, today I am going to tell you a rather kooky story from when I was a child with an overactive imagination. I have always loved to imagine things. That is one of the reasons that most of the time I would rather read a book than watch TV. Thataway, I can imagine on my own what the people look like, etc.

Well, when going back to my childhood home this time, I just had to take some pictures so I could tell you all this story.

I am going to start with this picture.



These are haystacks. My Grandpa used to make haystacks like this. They kind of look like big loaves of bread, right? (humor me here, ok?) Anyway . . . here in Missouri, you don't see many haystacks like this. But in Nebraska, at least around the area where I grew up, they are quite common. And I have always thought that they looked like big loaves of homemade bread.

Now on to this picture.



Now if you are looking at that thing thru a child's eyes, doesn't it look like a giant? He is marching across the land, up over the hills, carrying those wires.

Here is a better picture, to get the whole effect.



Now, they have these thingies all over up there. Well, when I was a child I used to dream a lot and one night I had a dream. I had to run and tell everyone!! Quickly! The giants were coming, they were marching across the land and they were going to eat all of the bread/haystacks. They would slice them with the wires like a knife and eat it all and there would be no more hay for the cows. Of course, I never told anyone about this silly dream until this time when we went to Nebraska. Yup, they thought I was pretty silly. I can remember riding in a car and keeping an eye on the evil giants, silently warning them to stay away from our haystacks!

Ok, now you all know that I am full of silliness! Or as some folks would say, full of beans. So without further ado . . .

Baked Beans by Raquel
Serves a bunch of hungry folks

4 (1 lb) cans of pork-n-beans
Molasses
Ketchup
Mustard
1 onion, diced fine
Bacon
Worchestershire sauce
Chili powder
Liquid Smoke
Garlic powder
Coarse ground black pepper
Barbecue sauce

Get a fairly large baking pan. Probably at least a 2 quart-3 quart one. I used a 9 x 13 cake pan. Open the beans and pour them in the pan. (One of the nice things about this recipe is it only dirties up one pan!) Now over top of that put your diced onion, squirt in some ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce. Amounts are to your preference, I probably use 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon of mustard and at least 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. Sprinkle in some worchestershire sauce, probably about 1-1/2 teaspoons. A sprinkle of chili powder, about 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke, about 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stir it all up real good. Now lay some pieces of bacon on top. I usually partially cook my bacon first in the microwave, that way they are not so greasy. I cut it into large squares. Just lay them on top and pop them in the oven and let 'er cook! Lowish heat, around 300 degrees F for at least an hour, maybe longer.

Sorry, no pics of this one either, it was gone in about 10 minutes!

Country Cookin'

I like ham-n-beans. It is comfort food for me. We usually serve it with hot cornbread, dripping with butter and some honey, home-fried potatoes and onions, some pickled peppers (we drizzle a little of the vinegar in the beans) and perhaps a piece of sharp cheddar cheese. A big glass of milk or sweet tea - now you're eatin' country style! Maybe some greens in there as well? A real stick-to-your ribs meal.

Some folks put ketchup on their beans . . . or mayonnaise. However you want to eat them, beans are a great source of fiber. We usually soak ours all night and simmer them slow the next day. As for myself, I prefer navy beas. My oldest brother likes Pintos. My Dad likes Great Northern. The rest of the family I really don't know that they have a preference. We found a great buy on some Anasazi beans the other day and they are really good.

Ham-n-Beans

1 pound dried beans (about 2 cups)
Carrot
Onion
Celery
Garlic
Ham hocks

The night before cooking them, before you go to bed, wash and sort your beans. (Sometimes you find small rocks.) Put them in a big pot with water to cover them and let them soak. The next morning they will have swelled some. Pour any water off and cover them with fresh water. (Water amount is your preference, we use at least a quart, maybe 2) Throw in some diced carrot, celery and onion - how much is up to you. I usually use 1 carrot, 2 stalks of celery and at least 1/2 of a medium sized onion. Throw in a couple of cloves of garlic, minced. Let this simmer over a low heat.

Now for the ham hocks. You can use a ham bone from a baked ham the same, or if you are crunched for time, used some diced ham. What we do is cook the hocks separately from the beans. Just put them in a pan and cover with water and simmer for a good while. Then take them out, pour off the water (they usually have a lot of preservatives) take the skin off and the bones out and chunk up the ham. Use as much or as little as you like.

Put the ham in with your beans and taste for seasoning - take it easy on the salt, as the ham is salty. DO NOT put the ham in until the beans are most of the way done, as the salt will prevent the beans from softening. We use lots of fresh cracked pepper and a little thyme is good, too. If you want your beans a little thicker, take some and puree them in a blender and add back in.

Cook at a slow simmer until you can't stand it any more (make sure your beans are good and soft - after the overnight soaking, they should simmer at least 2 hours). You can cook them longer after you put the ham in, just make sure they are not boiling.

Pour you a big glass of cold tea, butter your cornbread and EAT!


Sorry for no picture, but this didn't stay around long enough!