Domesticity Nouveau

Monday, September 28, 2009

Grandpa Jim's Pink Beans, good cheap eats!

My Grandpa Jim was an interesting man. I remember being over for dinner at his house one time. My other Grandpa was there and had said something mean and hurtful to me, so I had left the dinner table to got sit in the living room. A short time later my Grandpa Jim had excused himself from dinner to visit the bathroom and on his return paused and looked at me with loving understanding. I felt comfortable enough at that moment to say something along the lines of "Grandpa Walt is an ass hole." Very calmly without skipping a beat, Grandpa Jim replied, "Yes he is, but you can't say that. You need to respect your elders even if they are ass holes." I love Grandpa Jim.

He had a rough life and I'm happy to know that the last half was filled with love for my Grandma, a comfy chair, a great library filled with good books, evening cocktails and one very agile and loving cat. He taught my Father many things, some very tasty meals being on the list. Here is his recipe for Pink Beans... just because you are poor doesn't mean you have to eat poor tasting food.

Grandpa Jim's Pink Beans (So simple it is amazing they taste so good!)
1 large onion, chopped
2 pounds of pink beans (that is their name, they are NOT pinto beans)
2 smoked ham hocks
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp crushed red pepper, to taste
salt and pepper to taste at the end

Soak beans in a large pot over night. In the morning, pour off the water.
Around 10 am, add to beans the chopped onion, ham hocks and red pepper. Cover with water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer all day long, stirring occasionally, more so toward the end of cooking.
Dinner will be ready around 5 or 6 pm. Serve with bread and butter.
Makes anywhere from 8-12 servings, depending on what you call a serving :)
Costs around $5-$6 for a full recipe, which ends up being anywhere from $.75 or less a serving.

2 comments:

  1. I love your Grandpa Jim! Great story, Michelle...thanks for sharing that. I'm super excited about trying this recipe, especially since we're going to try and eat more rice and beans. Such a nice blog, and I'm so happy to see how good you and Brette are doing. :-) Big hugs to you!
    Tami

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for taking the time to share this

    ReplyDelete