pot o'beans

This particular recipe was inspired by a favorite author of mine, Jan Karon.  I get the same rush out of reader her stories of Father Tim and his small town of Mitford as I do from eating a piece of pie.  I can't get enough!  One of the best parts of her novels is that the characters are always eating delicious food, and Jan Karon paints such a vivid picture that you can actually taste it.

In addition to her novels, she also came out with a companion cookbook that's full of recipes for delicious comfort food.  Someday I look forward to owning it.  Until then, I just copy recipes out of my mother-in-law's book.  One of the recipes I copied was for Jan's pot of beans...after a few tweaks and changes of my own, this is the deliciousness that emerged!

You could eat these beans as a soup, but we particularly love them served over a big slice of cornbread and covered in lots...lots...of Tabasco. :-)

Pot o' Beans

inspired by Jan's Pot of Beans in Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook

• 1 pound mixed dried beans, picked over
• 3 T. butter
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 T. minced garlic, heaping
• 1 T. dried rosemary
• 1 T. dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 package salt pork
• 1 T. paprika
• 1 t. freshly ground black pepper

Place beans in a large stockpot and cover with water.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the beans sit for 1 hour.  Drain the beans.  In the same stockpot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat and saute the onions and garlic for 8-10 minutes, or until softened.  Add the beans and enough fresh water to cover.  Add the rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, salt pork, paprika, and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking the beans often and adding water as necessary.  Remove the salt pork and bay leaves before serving.