Skillet Cornbread

I made this a few months ago with some slow-cooked pinto beans and pork belly and knew it'd be a great addition to my July 4th Feast of grilled, spice-rubbed beef flanken ribs with homemade BBQ sauce, smoky-spicy-sweet barbecue beans, creamy coleslaw and a green salad.

I whipped mine up while waiting for the barbecue beans to bake - they shared an oven rack for about half an hour, in fact.

So easy and so tasty. Just the kind of thing that a lazy pig like me loves... Hope you love it, too.

Skillet Corn Bread

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

* 11/4 cups buttermilk, milk, or yogurt (use organic)

* 2 tablespoons bacon drippings, butter or extra virgin olive oil

* 11/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal

* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

* 11/2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 2-3 tablespoons molasses or honey (you can use more if you like sweet corn bread - I like it sweeter even though it's completely inauthentic, who cares?!)

* 1 egg (use organic, pasture-raised)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Place the skillet in the oven while you mix the ingredients to allow time for the bacon drippings (or butter or oil) to heat up.

3. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the egg into the buttermilk. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients (just enough to combine); if it seems too dry, add another tablespoon or two of buttermilk. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet or pan, smooth out the top if necessary, and put in the oven.

4. Bake about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the sides have pulled away from the pan; a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean. Serve hot or warm. Tastes good as is and even better with some butter (and honey) on top.

You might also like:

• Slow-Cooked Pinto Beans With Pork Belly
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Creamy Coleslaw
• Smoky-Spicy-Sweet Barbecue Beans
• Barbecued Beef Short Ribs

Smoky-Spicy-Sweet Barbecue Baked Beans

I've been eyeing this recipe since I got my copy of Recipes From the Root Cellar last June. But what with our cross-country move and baby and all, I never got a chance to make it last summer.

But since June is nearly over, I decided it was finally time to carpe diem (inspired by Cher's character in Clueless, a truly great film) and I cooked up a big ol' pot of these lovely beans a few days ago as part of my Fourth of July Feast. These vegetarian beans make a nice addition to any party where you're serving a ton of grilled meat so that our non-flesh-eating brothers and sisters need not suffer any protein-deprivation.

I used kidney beans since I had a bunch of them in the pantry but I think that I might go with pintos next time around since they're even creamier.

After the soaking comes the cooking. It's crucial to cook the beans to your desired softness before adding the other ingredients since the acid in the tomatoes will stop the beans from softening any further, no matter how long you cook 'em.

Then you add the other ingredients (tomatoes, brown sugar, chipotles, onion, garlic, etc.,) and move the beans into the oven to bake for several hours. Mine had to shove over to make room for the cornbread for a little while but they seemed to get along just bee-yoo-ti-fully in spite of the cramped quarters and heated atmosphere.

Like any dish made with dried beans, a little forethought is required to allow time for the beans to soak overnight and for the long cooking required to render them soft, creamy and flavorful. Otherwise, the process is a breeze! And, of course, if you're in a rush, you could use canned beans (I promise I won't tell the foodie police if you do.) If you want to go that route, just substitute 3 15-oz cans of pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed and begin at step 2 in the directions below.

I served these beans with barbecued beef short ribs, coleslaw, cornbread and a salad of the most delightful greens, fresh from my mom-in-law's garden.

-- print recipe --
Smoky-Spicy-Sweet Barbecue Baked Beans
Serves 8

Ingredients

* 2 cups dried pinto or kidney beans, soaked overnight and drained
* 6 cups water
* 1 onion, thinly sliced
* 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
* 1 1/2 cups (1 15 oz can or jar) strained or pureed tomatoes or unseasoned tomato sauce
* 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 2 Tbsps minced chipotle pepper canned in adobo sauce
* 2 Tbsps soy sauce

Directions

1. Combine the beans with the water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and boil gently, covered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are completely tender. Do not undercook; the beans will not soften further once they're combined with the tomatoes.

2. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to a large oven-safe pot with lid or covered casserole dish. Add the onion, garlic, tomato puree, brown sugar, chipotles and soy sauce and stir to combine evenly.

3. Cover and bake for 2 to 3 hours, until the sauce is a nice thick consistency. If necessary, you can remove the lid during the last 30 minutes to allow more of the liquid to cook off. Serve hot.

You might also like:

• Creamy Coleslaw
• Spicy-Sweet Barbecue Sauce
• Barbecued Beef Short Ribs

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In.gredients - Packaging-Free Grocery Shopping Comes to Austin

Just a quick, happy update to my January 2010 post about Unpackaged, an innovative packaging-free grocery store located in London (sadly, just a wee bit too far from my home to allow me to shop there regularly.)

If you happen to live in Austin, Texas, you'll soon be able to do your own packaging-free shopping 'cause a new store called In.gredients is opening in your fair city this fall, provided that their funding goes through. So bring your bags and jars and go crazy, y'all!

Although I find it ironic that America's first packaging-free grocery store will be located in Texas, one of the country's least progressive states, Austin does make a lot of sense.

You can read more about it in GOOD magazine's article.