Baked Pork and Black Beans

Do you like canned pork and beans? I do. I love the tender beans and the salty sweet sauce with toast for breakfast or lunch. I cooked pork and beans once before using the slow-baked Boston Beans method. It takes long to cook but it's all worth the wait. This time I used black beans, chunks of salt pork, and a little maple syrup. I love it!

Baked Pork and Black Beans

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried black beans
• 1 cup salt pork, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 6 cups water

Cooking Directions

1. Boil dried beans in 3 cups water in a Dutch oven. Lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 2 hours.
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, cover, and bake in a 275 degree F oven for 6 hours or until beans are very tender. During baking, check if additional water is needed. Serve hot with toast or crusty bread.

Meatless Paella

One of my favorite paella recipes is Jose Andres's Vegetable Paella which I make regularly. Here's my latest version with random vegetables from my garden: long beans (sitaw), edamame, rainbow Swiss chard, baby zucchini and blossoms, and tomatoes. It's delicious!

Vegetable Paella

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
1 garlic, minced
1 cup half-inch long sitaw (long beans)
1 cup fresh edamame
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2 cups coarsely chopped Swiss chard
1 cup diced baby zucchini
1 teaspoon sea salt, more or less to taste
1 cup Japanese or Spanish medium grain rice
¼ cup sofrito
2 cups vegetable broth
a small pinch of saffron

• Make the sofrito.
• Heat oil in a medium paellera or cast iron skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add the vegetables and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add salt and rice; saute for 2 minutes then add sofrito. Stir cook for 1 more minute. Add broth and saffron. Let come to a boil, lower heat and let cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Serve hot with boiled eggs and sliced lemons, if desired.

sofrito

10 ripe plum tomatoes
1½ cups Spanish extra virgin olive oil
4 small Spanish onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
3 bay leaves

• Slice the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a mixing bowl. Rub the cut surface of the tomatoes over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skins. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the onions, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden brown, about 45 minutes. You want the onions to caramelize, if they get too dark, add ½ teaspoon of water to keep them from burning. Stir in the tomato puree, the pimenton, and the bay leaves and cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat. You'll know the sofrito is ready when the tomato has broken down and deepened in color and the oil has separated from the sauce. Discard the bay leaves. Makes 3 cups of sauce.

Tofu

fresh spring rolls filled with vegetables and tofu

Our August 2012 KCC hosts Kai and Isabel challenged us to prepare dishes that are healthy and nutritious, dishes for longevity, pampahaba ng buhay in Tagalog, or dishes that are believed to have restorative or curing power like tinola and cerveza negra specifically for nursing moms.

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Olive Garden-style Breadsticks

I can't remember the last time I was in Olive Garden; it was many many many years ago. Their breadsticks, I recently found out, are very popular and home bakers have been making their own Olive Garden-style breadsticks. All the recipes I found are of the typical soft white bread variety and I chose to adapt this one. The breadsticks flavored lightly with garlic are really soft and great with soup. I had them with baked pork and [black] beans. I love them.

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