Simple fare, ham and beans served with corn bread, fresh from the oven, slathered with honey butter...Simple food, inexpensive, filling and nutritious, but not the kind of dinner one usually fixes for friends...Unless those friends are John and Becky, who both love ham and beans.
This dish was a staple at the home I grew up in...Usually Mom made it on washday...The night before she sorted the beans (back then beans often came in 25 or 50# gunny sacks and were known to have small dirt clods and rocks masquerading as beans) They had to be sorted otherwise the dirt gave the soup an off taste and the rocks could break a tooth...After sorting she rinsed the beans, covered them with clean, cold water and left them to soak over night...Early next morning, she drained then, covered them with water, added a ham bone for flavor and set them on the back of the wood cook stove to simmer until dinner time...She usually served them over slabs of homemade bread, covered in homemade butter.
Beans are easier now, the small 1 or 2# bags sold in the grocery store have been cleaned and sorted, a quick rinse is all they need before soaking or cooking...I learned within the last year that I could start early in the morning, first giving beans a quick rinse, cover them with water almost to the top of the pan, add a ham bone, diced celery and onions combine all in my dutch oven...Place this mixture in a 200º over and cook it all day...By late afternoon or evening it is cooked to perfection, maybe stir it once or twice and add more ham, celery and onions toward the end...No reason why it can't be served to royalty!..OWAV:)
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