Celebration Baked Beans

Good morning! See what happens when you procastinate? You end up writing your blog before you go to work at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. That’s ok. We had an exciting week. This week was The Butcher’s 50th High School reunion. A shout out to everyone who worked to make the celebration of Norton High School’s class of ’63 reunion such a success. Brookside was a very gracious host, and fun was had by all. I am not the only one who can’t fathom that The Butcher has reached this milestone. His classmates were all commenting that he didn’t look old enough to be in their class. I have my own theory. I have told The Butcher for years that his youthful looks are the result of being in the cooler for many hours of the day. I think it actually “preserves” him. I always felt we should market these walk in coolers in people’s homes. Who doesn’t want to look younger? Oh well, I had better get back to the blog or I will be late for work and we don’t want that to happen.

I really like making food from scratch. My baked beans are no exception. If you follow my instructions, you can make the best baked beans ever and you will want to celebrate.

Baked Beans
1 pound dried baby lima beans
8 oz. cooked smoked ham (in large chunks or diced–whichever you prefer)
1/2 onion diced
1/2 green pepper or red pepper diced
2 teaspoons Ham flavored soup base and food seasoning
2 Cups ketchup
2 Tablespoons Mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar (or more to taste)

Put the baby lima beans in a pan and cover with water. It is best to soak these overnight; However, if you get in the mood for baked beans and you can’t soak overnight, soak for about an hour. Note: you will need to cook these beans longer than the presoaked beans. Whenever I have leftover ham I put it in the freezer for such a time as this. I pull the ham out of the freezer. It is perfect for the baked beans. After soaking the beans, drain them in a strainer and rinse the beans. Return the beans to a 4 to 5 quart roasting pan. Cover the beans with water. You will use approximately 3 cups of water. Add the ham to the beans and the chopped onions. Put the pan on a burner and set the burner settng to high. Bring the beans to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and put a lid on the pan. The beans should cook for 2 to 3 hours with a gentle boil. Test the beans. You want them to be fork tender before you continue with the next step. You may want to take the lid off of the pan for the last hour to help thicken the broth. When the beans are completely cooked, add 2 teaspoons of the Ham flavored soup base to the pot of beans. At this point you want some liquid but not a lot of liquid. If you need to, continue to boil the beans until the broth is thickened. Add the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and the diced pepper to the beans. Stir thoroughly. At this point, I put my beans in a bean crock and place in the oven which has been heated to 300 degrees. Let them cook for an additional 2 hours.

These will be the best beans ever!

Remember, the Farmers Market will start Thursday, June 13th from 2:30 to 5:30. If we have customers we will stay open later. Help me get the word out. No charge for vendors. You set up in our parking lot. Hope to see you on Thursday.

Until next time, From our Butcher Block to your Table.

Potato Salad–German Style

I make a very unique potato salad. Since I am giving up my recipe for my famous potato salad (probably only in my mind), for the first time ever, you have to humor me as I tell you the history of this dish. When I was in the 8th grade the Einsendel family moved in next door to us. This was a really big deal because Frank Einsendel was my age. We had seen enough movies that we knew all about “the boy next door”. I waited for romance to bloom. Alas, it was not to be; However, we were very good friends. When I graduated from high school in 1972 Gerda Einsendel, Frank’s mother, made potato salad for my graduation party. I remembered the delicious potato salad. In the late 70’s I recreated this dish from memory as I thought about the taste and what was in the potato salad. I have no idea if this is the way Gerda made her potato salad; However, I have used my version over the years. I have gotten many compliments on this dish. I pass it on to you in time for you to make it for Memorial Day.

Potato Salad
8 all purpose potatoes
1 pound of smoked cottage ham, diced
8 green onions
1/2 cup diced dill pickles

Dressing
2 cups of mayonaise
1/4 cup of dill pickle juice
1 Tablespoon of yellow mustard

Boil the potatoes for 45 minutes (until done), remove the potatoes and allow to cool. Peel the potatoes and use the side of a grater to thinly slice the potatoes. Put the potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the diced ham. Wash the green onions and trim off the roots. Dice up the green onions, stems and all. Add to the potatoes. Add the diced dill pickles to the Potatoes. Mix the dressing ingredients together with a whisk, and pour over the potato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate overnight. You now have my famous potato salad.  I used Farmer Brown’s green onions in this batch.  I think it was my best ever.  He will be at Sherman Provision on Saturday May 25th at 12:00 noon.  Stop out for information on container gardening.

Have a safe Memorial Day. Remember those who sacrificed that we have the freedom to celebrate this day.

Until next time, From our Butcher Block to your Table.