In the Desert, For the Dog

It’s another rainy day. Boo:

Mid-winter gerbera daisy.

Good thing we planned on staying indoors; in the kitchen to be exact.

My apologies, there is NOTHING local or seasonal about the below recipe, unless you count the garden oregano and sage that were used. (We promise, we’ll go back to local and seasonal soon.)

While not seasonal, pork and beans are good for a rainy day, yes?

At the behest of a friend, we’re serving a whole lot of food a weimaraner field trial in the desert this weekend… and have about 15 dishes to prepare. (We’re not joking.) I only found a brief respite to blog because Barry’s peeling potatoes in the living room, the pot roast is in the oven, the chili is done, red pepper puree is cooling and pork and beans are in the crock pot. That’s all phase 1; I’m not sure I want to see the list that is phase 2.

So I’ll make this quick.

We’re not really pork and beans people, but it seemed good to serve alongside some pulled BBQ chukar sandwiches we’re serving on Sunday. It took three tries to get this passable for our palates. Let’s hope the weekend folks agree. K]

On the RGB iTunes shuffle: I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Chris Botti.

Click here to view a printable version of this recipe.

Pork and Beans

~

~ Serves ~

12

~ Ingredients ~

• 4 cups pinto beans, soaked overnight
• 1 lb. bacon
• 1 onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp. sage
• 3 tbsp. molasses
• 4 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. dry mustard
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• 6 cups water
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

~ Preparation ~

Preparation Time: 6 hours

1. Dice the onion and chop the garlic.
2. Chop up the bacon and sauté half of it in a 5.5-qt. saucier with a little olive oil over medium heat until well-browned. Remove bacon from pot and set aside to cool, then refrigerate.
3. Cook remaining half of bacon in fat from first batch of bacon. Once second batch of bacon is cooked but not browned, add in onion, garlic, oregano and sage and continue to cook until onion is translucent, about 7-10 minutes.
4. Add beans, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, tomato paste and kosher salt with 6 cups of water, bring to simmer, cover and let simmer for 5 hours. You can also throw it into a crock pot, set it on HIGH and come back to it 5 hours later.
5. Add Dijon mustard if desired, then add apple cider vinegar and remaining bacon just before serving.

Nutrition content per serving: 253 calories, 39g carbs, 13g protein, 4g fat, 7g fiber

Cost per serving: $ 0.39

Source: Rustic Garden Bistro

What else pairs well with a BBQ meat sandwich?