Baked Beans for Supper

When my mother was a little girl she used to visit family in Wauregan, CT which is part of the Town of Plainfield.  She had very happy memories of going to one-armed Joe's farm and Uncle Romeo's bakery.  Now, one of the most fascinating stories she told was of the French-Canadian families bringing their bean pots to the bakery in the morning on Friday.  Each family made up their own recipe and put the beans and bean liquor in the pot along with a "streak of fat/streak of lean" chunk of salt pork.

Mom told me that the coal-fired baking ovens were turned down after the days bread was baked but not all the way off because it would take too long to bring it back up for the next days baking.  Since the oven was on a steady and low temperature all night, it was the perfect way to cook the beans, and since the oven was so large, there was room for every bean pot.  In the morning when the bread went in the oven, the bean pots were moved to the top of the oven where they stayed warm and finished cooking  until someone was sent to fetch them.  This was the perfect Saturday night supper, along with a loaf of crusty bread from the bakery, or a steamed brown bread, and a ham steak if you were particularly lucky that week.

For a lot of reasons, I have always been a huge fan of baked beans, partly because of this great family memory, partly because of my early childhood visit to Durgin Park dining hall in Boston, where baked beans have been a staple on the menu for many generations.  I also learned how to make baked beans from my first two cookbooks - Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook and the New England Cookbook by Eleanor Early.  Both included legendary recipes for baked beans, and in my enthusiastic way, I began buying bean pots.  I  have owned many stoneware bean pots over the years, and I now have about 6 of them, most without covers.  Every time I see a bean pot in the Goodwill Store, I have a compulsion to buy it - most sell for two or three dollars, usually because the  cover is long gone.  I top my bean pots with a pyrex dish that fits over the hole.

This brings me to my supper tonight.  Last winter, I was on a bean baking spree and decided to pressure can the extra beans.  I soaked and  boiled about 6 lbs of beans and filled all 6  bean pots, 3 without meat and 3 with that great chunk of salt pork.  Once they were baked over night, I set out to can them, and was able to put up about 20 pints of Boston Baked Beans.  This to me, is like money in the bank.  They make a great side dish for a quick week night supper, and who doesn't love Franks and Beans.  I have also opened a few jars and put them back in the bean pot to heat and bring to a picnic.  I  know people swear by their "recipe" for baked beans that start with opening a can and then doctoring them up, but there is nothing quite like a pot of home made Boston Baked Beans.

Blueberry and Corn Pancakes

This weeks CSA included corn on the cob, blueberries, tomatoes, squash and a few other terrific items.  I have been focused on main meals, particularly dinner, mostly because that is the time we sit down together and it is when I have the most time to plan.  On Wednesday we had corn on the cob; last year I heard about a great way to shuck and cook corn all at the same time.  The technique involves cutting the stem end off the cob so that the kernels are showing, then microwaving the ears for about 4 minutes each.  Then, using an oven mitt or silicone pad, squeeze the ear of corn from the silk end until the ear pushes out of the husk.  The ear comes out clean with almost no corn silk remaining.  This technique works great, especially when you are only cooking one or two ears.  The microwave is not nearly so efficient if you have to cook corn for a large group.  Here is  how I adapted this idea:  cut the corn the same as you would for the microwave, but stack the corn stem side down in the strainer basket of a spaghetti pot.  Put about 1 quart of water in the pan and steam the corn with the lid on.  After about 14 minutes, shut off the heat under the pan and remove the strainer basket.  Squeeze the ears from the top and out come perfectly cooked ears of corn with no silk.  Because the corn and silk are wet, they do not fly all over the kitchen - no mess, no fuss.

When I cooked all ten ears of corn, my intent was to cut the corn off the cob and freeze what we didn't eat for dinner.  That didn't happen, so when I got up the next morning, there were 6 ears of corn staring at me from a zip lock bag in the fridge.  I was reminded of my Mom making corn pancakes using canned whole kernel corn.  I decided to try and recapture my memories and make a batch of pancakes with corn.  As I reached for the carton of milk, my I noticed the pint of blueberries from Gresczyk Farm - now I was on to something.  The results were spectacular - the corn maintained its crunch even cooked in the pancakes, and the blueberries burst open and practically made a sauce on the top.  To be extra indulgent, I heated some Vermont maple syrup in the microwave with a pat of butter.  This was the best breakfast I have had in a long time.

Here's the recipe for the pancakes:

Blueberry Corn Pancakes

In a bowl sift the following dry ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a large measuring cup, add the wet ingredients

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
2 tbsp melted butter

Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients into the well all at once and stir gently until all flour is moistened, but some lumps remain.  Fold in:

1 cup corn, cooked and cut off the cob (or use frozen corn)
1 cup blueberries

Do not overmix, as this will make your batter tough by forming gluten in the flour.

Cook on medium heat in a cast iron skillet, a non-stick frying pan or on an electric griddle.  Lightly grease the pan before each pancake is cooked.  Flip the pancake only once, when you see  bubbles starting to form in the center of the pancake and the edges look like the batter is drying, then cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

•  Top with  buttered maple syrup.