SWEET & SOUR BROWN BEANS

This is one of the recipes I found in a recent vintage recipe box find. The recipe box dates back to the 1930’s or 40’s and the recipe is a very yellowed scrap of newspaper with no date, but based on the World War II Russian newspapers I found used as wall insulation of one of our old houses I’d say this scrap is also that old!

The Swedish brown bean is a relatively small pale brownish colored bean known for being extremely tender with a nutty flavor that holds together well, even through extended cooking.

SWEET AND SOUR BROWN BEANS
2 cups Swedish Brown Beans
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 brown sugar or molasses (or half of each 😀 )
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar for more flavor)

  • Wash beans.
  • Cover with water and let stand overnight OR bring beans and water to a SLOW boil, boiling for 2 minutes. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
  • Add salt, recover and bring to a simmer for 2 hours or until tender and most of the water has cooked away. You may need to add a bit more water as they simmer.
  • Stir in brown sugar, molasses and vinegar and SLOW simmer uncovered 15 minutes more.

NOTES:

If Swedish brown beans are hard to find in your area, pinto beans make an adequate stand-in for this Scandinavian native bean.

A to Z CHALLENGE ~ Z is for ZIG ZAG

A to Z challenge 

Zig zag A method of climbing and descending steep gradients, where shallow-gradient track reverses direction for a while, and then reverses again to continue in the original direction.

Trains more commonly zigzag their way through difficult terrain rather than looping around, but loops aren’t unheard of. There is actually a loop near where I grew up. The loop, built by the Southern Pacific Railroad opened in 1876 to connect Bakersfield and Mojave, about 50 miles away.

In gaining elevation around the central hill of the Loop, a 4,000-foot train will cross 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below. The Tehachapi Loop has been designated as a California Historical Landmark and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

photo credit

I wish I had a Zebra, but the closet I came was the zebra stripped tiger from a couple days ago.

RUSTIC CASSOULET (slightly updated)

RUSTIC CASSOULET
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces**
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
1 pound Johnsonville beef sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, diced
4 garlic cloves, FINELY minced
1/4 cup FRESH minced Italian flat leaf parsley
28-ounces whole peeled tomatoes (seasoned, if you can find them)
14-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons FRESH chopped thyme
1 cup Moscato white wine
1 +/- cups chicken stock
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs (fresh are best – I make them from baguettes )
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
FRESH ground sea salt and ground black pepper
2 cups pasta of choice (optional)
Crusty French Bread (optional)

  • Preheat oven to 325°.
  • Brown the bacon until browned and crumbly in large saute skillet/dutch oven. 
  • Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
  • Add chicken and sausage pieces to bacon fat and brown on all sides.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Remove from fat and set aside. 
  • Add the shallots, cooking 3-4 minutes until softened.
  • Add garlic, sauteing a few minutes more until fragrant.
  • Add white wine and chicken stock, bringing to a boil. Turn heat off.
  • Add tomatoes and beans. 

  • Add meat back in.
  • Mix together crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, thyme and 1 tablespoon melted butter together until well blended.
  • Spread crumb mixture over the top and bake covered for 30 minutes.
  • Remove cover and bake 5-10 minutes more until browned.

NOTES **

  • I sometimes cook the chicken thighs whole and then shred them – just depends on my mood.
  • You can change this into a thick soup/stew by eliminating the bread crumbs and adding 8 ounces (2 cups) of macaroni during the last 10-15 minutes. I then serve it with crusty bread for dipping.

A to Z CHALLENGE ~ W is for WHISTLE POST

A to Z challenge 

Train whistles are used as a safety warning and also by the engineer to communicate to other railroad workers. It is also a nickname for an air horn on a diesel locomotive. Steam engine whistles were historically known as chimes in the US during the 19th century.

Whistle post is an advance warning to the engineer of an upcoming grade crossing. It is the point at which the engineer should begin sounding the whistle or horn.

I don’t have any actual W #RailArt pictures that I’ve found, but I did have some fun colorful ones from today’s #LumberTrain

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 18 of 2021

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up
with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Hello sweet friends. I hope you are all doing well and have had a wonderful week. I can’t believe we are back to Monday already! We took a lazy Sunday off, so I will be going at it hard today as we have rescheduled an upcoming trip to leave this week instead. I will probably take a couple weeks off of blogging while we are traveling depending on connections and availability along the way.

Hot water and Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY Just a couple loads and packing for trip
  • ERRANDS POWER Red blood donation, pedicure, hair, oil change and tire rotation
  • PHONE CALLS Just a couple “rearranging” phone calls

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • NETFLIX STARGATE
  • REDBOX VANQUISHED with MORGAN FREEMAN
  • APPLE TV The Year Earth changed, GREYHOUND with Tom Hanks
  • DISNEY+ Mandalorian, Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Secrets of the Whales – ORCA dynasty, Eart at Night – Elephant Plains
  • CABLE  I’m still weeding out and narrowing down my focus as too many shows are becoming repetitive or too dark ALL the time – GGG, DDD, Beat Bobby Flay, Tournament of Champions, Ellen’s Game of Games, Bull, The Resident, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor, 911, 911 Lone Star, FBI, FBI Most Wanted, Young Sheldon, The Unicorn, Last Man Standing, MOM, NCIS, REBEL, NCIS New Orleans, NCIS LA, Magnum PI, MacGyver, Blue Bloods, Chicago series

State of Affairs: A First Family Novel by [Marie Force]

Marie Force’s State of Affairs, the first in the “NEW” series, A First Family. It is the sequel series to her FATAL series of 16 books.

I’ve been doing the A to Z challenge  using #RailArt as my theme and this tiger from this past week is my favorite.

and a little joke to make you smile!
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
HAMBURGER SLIDERS, SWEET & SOUR BROWN BEANS and SOUR APPLE SLAW
CHILE LIME CHICKEN WINGS & SOUR APPLE SLAW
 😀
C.O.R.N. CLEAN OUT REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
??
??
??
DESSERT
 

  • RUSTIC CASSOULET
  • SWEET & SOUR BROWN BEANS
  • P3 PISTACHIO PLUM PLATZ

A to Z CHALLENGE ~ V is for VACUUM

A to Z challenge 

A Vacuum brake is a continuous train brake that is a fail-safe in operation. It is powered by a vacuum from the locomotive, but the application is actually by atmospheric pressure when the vacuum is released. The vacuum brake is now largely superseded by the air brake.

I have NO #RailArt for the letter V unless you count the last one that kind of looks like a V, but I’m not sure what it actually says, so we’ll just go with that. 😀

PAN FRIED PORK STEAK & POTATOES

PAN FRIED PORK STEAK & POTATOES

2-4 criss cross cut boneless pork steaks
2 tablespoons avocado oil
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
2 cups chopped Yukon potatoes
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 SMALL bunch green onions, sliced thin
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons heavy cream

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Generously season pork steaks with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Rub pork steaks on both sides with oil.
  • Heat heavy skillet over medium high heat with remaining oil.
  • Sear steaks 3-4 minutes each side and then keep warm in oven while you prepare the potatoes.
  • Add onions to skillet and saute 2 minutes.
  • Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds or so until fragrant.
  • Add potato and carrot pieces, frying until fork tender and crisp on the edges.
  • Add in Italian herbs and sprinkle with paprika, stirring to coat and blend well.
  • Add water and heavy cream, simmering a few minutes until thickened.

PISTACHIO CRUSTED CHICKEN STEAKS

PISTACHIO CRUSTED CHICKEN STEAKS
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons avocado oil
4-6 thin chicken steaks
1/2 cup FINELY crushed pistachios
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons FRESH minced tarragon or basil
2 cups Panko crumbs
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup all purpose flour, seasoned
2 LARGE eggs, beaten

  • Combine the pistachios, Parmesan cheese and tarragon or basil in a food processor and pulse until well mixed.
  • Set up a dredging station with 3 shallow bowls. Add the pistachio mixture to one shallow bowl, the eggs to another and the flour to a third.
  • In a large skillet melt butter and avocado oil over medium high heat.
  • Generously season the chicken steaks with the FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Dredge chicken in flour first, shaking off excess followed by the egg and then the pistachio mixture.
  • Add breaded chicken to hot oil mixture, searing 3-4 minutes per side. Nuts burn easily so keep a close watch! REDUCE HEAT IF NECESSARY! DO NOT CROWD PAN!

A to Z CHALLENGE ~ U is for UNIT TRAIN and UNREADABLE

Unit train – a train in which all cars carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route.

While I can’t be sure, I believe many of the trains we see going through our town are these type as much of the #RailArt is actually repeat.

Many of the following pictures are just unreadable, but still colorful and interesting. The first one though is my favorite. Raise your hand if you remember the unknown comic from the Gong Show 😀

   

 

A to Z CHALLENGE ~ T is for TRAIN ~ TAMPING, TRACK, and ALL things TRAIN

The tigers are some of my favorite #RailArt pieces.

A to Z challenge 

Tamping machine is generally a locomotive used in track maintenance and equipped with track lifting facilities, and paddles that push ballast beneath a rail track to assure its level.

Track bed The foundation of rail tracks

Train coupler is the mechanical interface that links vehicles so a driver can operate them together. The coupler can be a purely mechanical device such as a screw coupler or bar coupler. The coupler can also incorporate electrical or pneumatic connections.

Train horn Is the warning horn in a locomotive or in a control car

Trainman Is an employee assigned to train service, such as a conductor, brakeman, or switchman