Slow Cooked Barbeque Beans
½ lb. great northern beans
½ lb. pinto beans
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup molasses
1 med Vidalia onion – diced
1 med green pepper – diced
4 oz bacon – cut into ½” pieces
3 Cups hot water
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
Rinse beans. Pick through for bad ones and stones. Cover with water and soak overnight (8 hours). Add water if needed. Drain and rinse again.
Mix brown sugar, molasses, cumin, clove, paprika, mustard and tomato paste into the hot water. Stir until dissolved and well incorporated.
In the bottom of the slow cooker, layer half of the bacon. On top of that, layer half of the soaked beans. Then add all of the onion and peppers followed by the rest of the beans and, finally, the remaining bacon.
Pour the hot water mixture over the top of everything, with just enough liquid to cover.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until beans are tender.
Cornbread
1 Cup cornmeal
1 Cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
¼ Cup coconut oil
¼ tsp salt
1 ¼ Cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp honey
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 400F with the skillet in it.
Whisk together oil, honey, egg, and buttermilk.
In a separate bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
When preheated, remove skillet from oven and grease with oil.
Add your wet ingredients to the dry, mixing only enough to combine. (Do not over-mix. You want it lumpy).
Pour into skillet (hear the sizzle!), move to the oven and bake until golden brown and the center is springy in the middle.
College Condiment Caps
(Marinated Portabella Mushrooms)
1/2 Cup ketchup
2 Tbsp mustard
1/4 Cup olive oil
6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp relish or chopped dill pickles
1/4 Cup water
4 Portabella mushrooms caps, stems trimmed
Combine all ingredients in bowl and saturate mushroom caps, especially the inner gills. Refrigerate overnight. Place on grill, cooking both sides, until edges are slightly blackened. Slice and serve with watercress and garlic mayonnaise.
The great part about this recipe is that the marinade ingredients are meant to be whatever is commonly found in most refrigerators, including mine in college. My roommate recommended this combination, or something close to it, and the beauty remains that you can use just about any pairing of sweet and salty found on your fridge door.
P.S. Represent the Mushroom Capital of the World, Kennett Square!
