Improvisational Cooking

My style of cooking is to begin and see where it takes me.

Yesterday, I needed to clean up the produce that was on the counters and in the 'fridge. The first thing I tackled was a pile of too mature, too tough Rattlesnake pole beans. Nothing to do but shell out the beans.

My first thought was to make a nice pot of bean soup. And so I began.

I put the shelled beans into a pot with just enough water to cover. I added a tablespoon of bacon grease, brought it to a boil, then simmered for a long time (adding water as needed).

In the meantime, I had tomatoes to deal with. Hmmm ... my second thought was ... these tomatoes will make a fine base for a bean soup.

I quartered the roma tomatoes and halved the black cherry tomatoes that had accumulated on the counter. I tossed them into a pot, turned the heat on low and cooked them until they were soft. Then, I forced them through a food mill to remove seeds and skins.

While the tomatoes were cooking, I sautéed finely chopped onion, sweet red snackin' peppers, and fresh garlic in olive oil. Once tender, I added a small, finely chopped, yellow squash, continuing to sautée everything until a lovely golden brown. Then I added the tomato mash (sans seeds and skins) to the sautéed vegetables. Continued simmering.

Once the beans seemed to be tender (they never lost their shape) I added them AND the pot-liquor to the tomato mixture. I added salt and pepper to taste. I added another tablespoon of bacon grease. I let the pot simmer for a while longer, thinking the beans would get a bit more tender and meld with all those good flavors.

But they never did get more tender. They were "done," but they had a firmness similar to kidney beans. Plus, my tongue said something was missing. So I put them in the refrigerator and slept on it.

Tonight, it was time for supper. I got out those tomato-y beans. I tasted them again. Hmmm ... my third idea was that these beans would be perfect as "baked beans!" The texture was right. But they still needed a little something. So I added two tablespoons of cherry BBQ sauce - a product from Glen Arbor, Michigan and a recent gift from my SIL. I baked the beans for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. They were bubbly and thick. Turns out that the cherry bbq sauce was the perfect "secret ingredient." By the end of the meal, these beans were history.