On Thursday, January 19, 2012 3:29:44 PM UTC-6, ImStillMags wrote:
> On Jan 19, 9:06*am, Lou Decruss > wrote:
> > When my wife and I got married we put a pinto bean in a jar every time
> > we "did it" for the first year we were married. Then the next year we
> > took a bean out of the jar every time we "did it" to see if we were
> > "doing it" more or less. We've been married thirty years now, I'm
> > still taking beans out of the jar!
>
> I love pinto beans. Some people won't eat them because they are also
> cattle food. We ate them because it was cheap eats, now I eat them
> because I love them.
>
> My favorite way to prepare pinto beans is this:
>
> I don't soak them.
> Put the beans, one onion - chopped small, ham hocks or ham ends and
> pieces, a bit of salt and black pepper in a
> large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer slowly and
> gently until beans are quite soft but not falling apart, you
> want plenty of good juice. But you want the juice to be barely
> thickening. Remove the ham bones, dice or pull apart the ham and
> add it back to the beans, more ham is even better.
>
> Make some of my golden cornbread, split a peiece and butter it, top it
> with a generous amount of the beans and ham, ladle some juice over and
> top with chopped green onions and serve with a bit of chow chow on the
> side. ( I make a hot pepper relish I like better than chow chow).
>
> Deeelicious.
>
> old time Southern goodness. Po folks food.

That's how Becca makes them. I like more meat in it so we make sure the ham bone is meaty. Last week we made the beans with a smoked turkey leg and that came out all right.

Becca also makes a Mexican version by adding some cumin,chili powder, diced tomatoes, peppers and other mysterious and secret ingredients. We've only been married 5 years so she doesn't trust me enough yet to give me the recipe. <vbg>

George L