My favorite baked beans always contain molasses. There’s something about the dark, rich flavor it imparts which makes even the most lackluster beans into a sacred meal. Fortunately, Kim’s recipe utilizes molasses and takes the beans to a new level with the addition of spicy and smoky chipotle peppers.

I tweaked the recipe slightly based on the ingredients on hand. I used pinto beans which worked perfectly, as well as ketchup in place of marinara sauce. When adding the molasses, I went closer to 1/3 cup. Since I didn’t have any chipotle peppers, I replaced the chipotles and chili powder with 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper.

For anyone vegetarian, simply omit the bacon. Since chipotle peppers are smoky and provide more than enough extra flavor.

I reserved 1/3 of the bacon for scattering across the top of the beans before placing into the oven. As Kim notes, use the leftover bean water to thin out the beans before baking. I like my baked beans to be thick so I only used about 1/2-2/3 cup of the water.

The beans turned out amazing. The ground chipotle added plenty of spice to the beans - if you are fearful of spicy foods, maybe begin with only 1/2 teaspoon or omit entirely. I served the beans as the main dish (much to Joe’s disappointment) along with gingered carrots. The sweetness of the carrots paired nicely with the beans and reduced the overall spicy heat.

I couldn’t stop eating the beans. I kept nibbling away at them long after dinner had come and gone. The next day, I ate the reheated beans on saltine crackers for lunch, a childhood favorite.

More baked bean recipe ideas:
Hot and Smoky Baked Beans - Smitten Kitchen
Vegetarian Baked Beans - Ellie May
Crockpot Boston Baked Beans - A Year of Slow Cooking
Stove-top Baked Beans - Simply Recipes

Republished from RecoveredRecipes.com

When I started Recovered Recipes last year, I felt as though I might be the only person interested in rediscovering old recipes. In an age of online recipe sharing and food blogging, I worried vintage recipes might be doomed.

Over the months, I’ve come to meet others who share my passion for preserving the past and I am hopeful we can save an important piece of our heritage. Jane Garrett, an avid recipe collector herself, was one of my first readers and is very much a recipe card preservationist. Jane contacted me recently to announce the publication of her book, The Market Basket: Cooking and Eating in Lawrence, Kansas 1921-1949.

I recently received a review copy and as I flipped through it, I could feel Jane’s passion on every page. The book captures over 500 recipes published in the Lawrence-Journal World newspaper as part of a weekly recipe competition held from 1921-1949. Jane lovingly transcribed the recipes and compiled them into this thoughtful collection.

In addition to the recipes, you’ll find vintage advertisements, menus,and local stories found in the newspaper at that time. I particularly enjoyed a list showing 1932 grocery prices — would anyone like 1 lb. of beef roast for 18 cents per pound?

In another snippet from 1944, it’s noted that beef supplies are slim during the war time, “Since the invasion started, local markets report beef has been a scarce article and several stores practically out of beef.” It continues by noting the shortage was expected to last 6-8 weeks.

I immediately felt attached to a small city in Kansas I had never visited.

The book spans 250 pages, entirely in black and white, illustrated with vintage artwork and reprinted newspaper clippings. Chapters include beverages, salads, breads, sandwiches, pancakes and doughnuts, soups, main courses, noodles and vegetables.

I reached out to Jane and asked her a few questions to which you’ll find her answers below. If you’d like to receive your own copy of this book, please visit Jane’s website to purchase this book.

What inspired you to write this book?

A single recipe. I was amusing myself one afternoon at the local library, sitting at the microfilm reader, “flipping” through a 1933 issue of the local newspaper. In the supermarket ads section, I spotted a recipe for “Mrs. Shultz’s Apple Butter,” and noticed that it was a prize-winner in a weekly contest sponsored by the newspaper. That’s all it took to hook me. I wanted to know when the contest began and when it ended, and I wanted every single recipe that was selected as a winner.

From beginning to end, how long did the book take to write?

After finding Mrs. Shultz’s apple butter recipe, I returned to the library day after day–whenever I had a spare couple of hours. I was a chef’s apprentice, working full time and enrolled in a rigorous program, so my time was limited. But, after 18 months of chipping away at it, I amassed 1,400 prize-winning recipes, one for every week of 28 years. For the next five and a half years, I organized the recipes in two volumes (this one and the second, yet-to-be published one), and illustrated them with old newspaper ads, menus, etc. I also included food-related stories that ran in the local paper during that time. Essentially, it took me seven years to put this book together (and the one that will follow).

In rediscovering these recipes, what did you learn about the women, ingredients or cooking conditions of the time period?

These women truly labored to put food on the table. They grew and canned their own food. They baked their own bread, rolls, pies and cakes. They boned, cut and ground their own meat. They raised and processed their own poultry. Everything was made from scratch. Convenience foods were unheard of back then. Nothing much was easy–especially when money was scarce and food was rationed. How spoiled we are today !

Is there a particular recipe or contestant which caught your fancy?

There’s one recipe in the book that’s near and dear to my heart: Mrs. Pearson’s Muffins. It’s just an ordinary little recipe, but what makes it special to me is the address of the author: 1336 Massachusetts St., which happens to be my former address, my home of 17 years, a two-story 100-year-old residence complete with high ceilings, dark, dark woodwork, and a quirky old Depression-era kitchen. So many times I imagined Mrs. Pearson–a woman I’ve never known–bending over to put her pan of muffins in the oven.

Since the book focuses primarily on main courses and side dishes, can we expect a dessert book to follow?

Yes! The next volume–The Market Basket Vol. II: More Cooking and Eating In Lawrence, Kansas, 1921-1949–features mostly sweets. Its chapters are: Putting Up Fruits and Berries; Cookies, Bars, Candy and Pastry; Cakes, Icings and Fillings; Pies and Cobblers; Puddings and Custards; Ice Creams, Sherbets and Ices; More Sweets–From Bavarians to Whips; and Menus. In this volume is a cake recipe made for President Coolidge, recipes for old English plum puddings, all kinds of jams and jellies, and hundreds of other treats, including Anise Seed Cookies, Baked Apple Flowers, Pineapple Betty, Apple Dumplings with Lemon Sauce, Orange Meringue Pie, Banana Sherbet, etc. etc. There’s also a menu for a Non-rationed Sunday Dinner.

Is it true that you have your own recipe card collection at home?

I have literally thousands of recipe cards I’ve collected over the years. I’ve found them at garage sales, estate sales, in dumpsters, and on ebay. I also have my mother’s and grandmother’s collections. To me, a card with a hand-written recipe on it is worth more than that recipe that’s published in a mass-produced book.

Thank you to Jane for sharing her time for this interview and also for helping to preserve the past!

For more vintage recipes and to view vintage recipe cards, check out these recipes from RecoveredRecipes.com:
Appetizers & Snacks
Cakes
Cookies
Puddings

So, with so much energy spent on planning, it’s a shock to learn that a dish you’ve daydreamed about so strongly (and felt was a creative mix of flavors) turns out to be an existing, published recipe. I spent days thinking through this fruit salad which I planned to coat with a ginger syrup and bits of mint. Before starting it though, I did a quick Google search to see if anyone had made anything quite like it.

To my disappointment, an exact recipe already existed. Damn you, Epicurious!

The fruit salad can use any mix of seasonal fruits you desire. As I wandered through the store, I decided that a salad made with a variation of yellow fleshed fruits dotted with pomegranate seeds would look delicious. Yes, I based my fruit selection entirely on color - it sounds crazy to me now, but it did turn out wonderful. I used apricots, nectarines, plums, and melon.

The fruit salad recipe is fairly quick to prepare. I made it the night before, slicing my fruits into a bowl and coating with the ginger syrup. The following day, I added the chopped mint and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds before serving. I feared the mint might discolor if added the night before.

It is an impressive fruit salad (just as I planned it), and if anything I can take comfort in not having to think too hard about concocting a ginger syrup. Epicurious did the work for me. The result is a lightly spiced ginger flavor which permeates the fruit. It’s not overpowering but adds a subtle ’something extra’.

The mix of fruits worked well too and is a nice change up from the more common watermelon, muskmelon, and grapes I grew up with on the farm. Try this recipe at your next gathering and see if it turns a few heads. I think it will. We ate the entire bowl in one sitting.

Aside from the fruit salad, our brunch turned out wonderfully. The meal featured my favorite dutch baby pancakes served with a selection of strawberry syrup, golden syrup, wedges of lemon, and confectioners sugar (I liked it best topped with confectioners sugar, a squirt of fresh lemon juice, and a drizzle of golden syrup).

I also made a caprese salad, pork meatballs with tzatziki dipping sauce, strawberry muffins and a spinach-mushroom quiche. You’ll see more of the recipes in the coming week or two.

During the week, breakfast is quick and simple, usually a bowl of cereal and lots of coffee. For a little excitement, I may have toast with jam or oatmeal with golden syrup. On weekends, we branch out into french toast, eggs or sometimes pancakes. Pancakes are a ’sometimes’ food mostly because I don’t like the actual process of frying them. I find that the first batch turn out too light, the second batch is just perfect, and all subsequent batches are borderline burnt.

Lately, I’ve had pancake cravings and decided to cave in. My mother made buttermilk pancakes often and they always turned out perfectly. Somehow, her pancake gene did not get passed on to me. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s not my thing and I’m destined to make sub-par pancakes. It’s ok.

Well … if Tyler Florence shows up on my doorstep asking to do a Food 911 episode on pancakes, I’d throw on my pajamas in a heartbeat. Otherwise, I’ll remain a pancake underachiever.

I used an old recipe found written on a piece of bank stationary which had intrigued me ever since I discovered it. The pancake recipe stood out to me for its use of cornmeal. I figured the cornmeal might add flavor and texture which could boost ordinary buttermilk pancakes to a whole new level.

Pancakes
recipe from Silva’s Pancakes at RecoveredRecipes.com

The batter seemed too thick as written so I increased the buttermilk to nearly 1 1/2 cups. While frying on the first side, I sprinkled a few pancakes with fresh blueberries although you can’t really see them in these photos.

The pancakes turned out delicious, light and fluffy with crisp edges. The cornmeal did bring a new flavor and texture to otherwise standard buttermilk pancakes. And, as expected, I burned a few. But, I did manage to fulfill my craving and can make it for another month or two until the next urge strikes me.

Do you have any tips or tricks for making pancakes? If so, share your suggestions in the comments below.

We’ll be taking our first cruise (ever) and I’m looking forward to it. We set sail from England via the Celebrity Constellation for a 14 night trip through the Baltics and Scandinavia.

Photo via Flickr: Andy961

Itinerary
If you have any suggestions on sights to see (especially food related), please leave me a comment below!

Day 1 Harwich, England Depart 5:00 PM
Day 2 At Sea
Day 3 Copenhagen, Denmark Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM
Day 4 Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 9:30 PM
Day 5 At Sea
Day 6 Helsinki, Finland Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM
Day 7 St. Petersburg, Russia Arrive 7:00 AM
Day 8 St. Petersburg, Russia Depart 6:00 PM
Day 9 Tallinn, Estonia Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 4:00 PM
Day 10 Stockholm, Sweden Arrive 8:00 AM
Day 11 Stockholm, Sweden Depart 2:00 PM
Day 12 At Sea
Day 13 Oslo, Norway Arrive 1:00 PM Depart 8:00 PM
Day 14 At Sea
Day 15 Harwich, England Arrive 4:00 AM

Day 16-20 London England

The recipe is simple and perfect for those afraid of baking. You mix a batter and pour it into a pan, then drop handfuls of berries on top. Bake and eat. Seriously, it’s that simple. AND, the taste? Out of this world delicious — I’ve made two cobblers since receiving the recipe. It’s that good.

I’ve played around with the recipe a little bit, adding some cinnamon and nuts, both of which are optional.

Strawberry-Blueberry Magic Cobbler
inspired by Grandma Mary’s Magic Cobbler and Southern Peach Cobbler

1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 cups chopped fruit
1/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Add butter to a 9×13″ baking pan and place in oven to melt. I placed it in the oven while it preheated, just remember to keep an eye on it.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, milk, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until a thin batter forms and is without any lumps.

In the baking pan with melted butter, pour in the batter. Do not stir - the butter will ooze up around the batter and may pool on the top. It’s ok.

Sprinkle berries evenly over batter, then sprinkle with nuts and brown sugar. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until it tests done. The top will be a beautiful golden color.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Baking Notes
I used a mix of 3 cups fresh whole strawberries and 2 cups fresh blueberries. The ratio of fruit to cake will be nearly 1:1, which I like. I’ve made the recipe a second time using 2 cups each of flour, milk, and sugar but found that it yielded more cake than I preferred. Also, during the baking process - somewhere around the 45 minute mark, you may look at it and think it’s not going to turn out. The berries begin to burst and their juices puddle on top. It looks as though it’s going to be a watery mess, but the juices absorb into the cake by the end of baking.

If you’re looking for a gluten-free version, check out this Blueberry-Strawberry Cobbler recipe from Karina’s Kitchen - she did an amazing job!

More cobbler ideas:
Rhubarb Cobbler - Smitten Kitchen
Apple Cobbler - Simply Recipes
Magic Peach Cobbler - ParentsConnect.com
Cherry Cobbler - 101 Cookbooks
Peach and Berry Cobbler - Kalyn’s Kitchen
Strawberry Cobbler - Angelnina’s Cottage
Vegan Blueberry Cobbler - Karina’s Kitchen

I’m also excited to announce you can read more about my EDF experience on A Mighty Appetite with Kim O’Donnel at the The Washington Post website.

Today, I’m sharing a dinner from the other night which utilized items from the fridge and freezer. My mother-in-law recently hooked me on giant oyster mushrooms. She made them as a side dish and I loved the meaty texture. She paired them with reconstituted dried shitake mushrooms and oyster sauce.

Although it works well as a side dish, we had it as a light non-meat dinner along with steamed rice.

I’ve seen the giant oyster mushrooms in our asian market, usually 6 inches long by 2 inches wide. The bright white stems look gorgeous, so thick and tender. One of my favorite aspects of these mushrooms is that they are so clean, pristine white and no dirt to wipe off.

Dried shitake mushrooms are quite common and I’ve bought them a few times. My mother-in-law reconstitutes the mushrooms in some sort of flavored broth (still a secret at this point - I’m working on it), then freezes for later use. You can reconstitute in any liquid you choose.

After having them at her house recently (and raving about how much I enjoyed them), she sent me home with a baggy of the flavorful shitakes. You’ll see them defrosting below:

Oyster & Shitake Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce
3 giant oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons oil
1 dozen dry shitake mushrooms, reconstituted
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 green onion for garnish

Add the oil to a sautee pan and place over medium heat. When hot, add the oyster mushrooms and sautee until tender. Add reconstituted shitakes and cook for an additional minute to heat through.

Add oyster sauce and soy sauce, stirring to coat the mushrooms before serving.

The meal came together quickly because I utilized a prepared asian sauce. I keep a good selection of sauces on hand, since any sauce combined with veggies and make is an instant meal. With all of these sauces and seasonings, I recommend the Lee Kum Kee brand. It’s easy to find throughout North America in all types of markets and is consistently good quality.

[note: I don't get any kickback from Lee Kum Lee, I just love their sauces!]

A few of my favorite asian sauces and seasonings:

1. Oyster Sauce: Dark and thick, a robust and slightly sweet sauce with the subtle essence of oysters. Great for adding flavor to vegetables.
2. Hoisin Sauce: Thick and sweet, hoisin is a common dipping sauce but also works well to sweeten stir-fry dishes.
3. Chiu Chow: A spicy hot blend of chilies, garlic, and oil. Mix with soy sauce for a dipping sauce or drizzle over noodles for an added kick.
4. Sesame Paste: Asian sesame paste uses unhulled sesame seeds and is slightly more bitter than tahini. We use it with soy sauce as a dipping sauce, but I also use it in noodle dishes and soups.
5. Sriracha (aka Rooster Sauce): Based on a Thai hot sauce, the common North American brand features a Rooster on the bottle. It’s peppery and spicy, and is quickly becoming my all purpose condiment. Use it in any dish to add some heat. I’ve been using it lately in sandwiches.
6. Black Bean Sauce: Fermented black beans, usually added to both vegetable and meat dishes.
7. Korean BBQ Sauce: A sweet and garlicky sauce, perfect for marinating chicken or pork before placing on the grill. The sugars in the sauce caramelize nicely and make for an amazing flavor. I sometimes use in in stir-fry as well.
8. Dark Soy Sauce: A rich and thick form of aged soy sauce, it gives a deep flavor to any dish. A little goes a long way - I sometimes drizzle it into fried rice, almost every noodle dish, and over meat.

The thermal cooking unit uses no electricity and is powered only by the heat contained within it. The outer case opens to expose a stainless steel insert, a small pot with a glass lid. Place your ingredients into the insert and bring to a rapid boil on the stove, then place immediately into the thermal encasement and close the lid. The heat is trapped within the unit and it’s this heat which cooks your food.

Here is a photo which illustrates it much better. This is our Zojirushi Stainless Thermal Cooking Pot.

As I went through my pantry yesterday, I came across a small bag of dried soybeans which my mother-in-law had given me a couple months ago. She insisted that they must be used in making bitter melon soup and when we couldn’t find them at the grocery store, she bagged up a bunch for me. I hadn’t used them and decided it was time.

I’ve been buying bitter melon almost weekly and had enough on hand to whip up this recipe. The vegetable is great to have on hand as it keeps well in the vegetable drawer, sometimes more than 2 weeks.

This soup combines the soybeans with bitter melon, a truly bitter vegetable which I’ve grown to love. I recently shared a another favorite bitter melon recipe, bitter melon with egg.

Bitter Melon & Pork Rib Soup
2 bitter melon (Fu Gua)
5 medium tomatoes
1 lb. asian-style pork ribs (cut 1.5″ x 2″)
1/3 cup dry soybeans
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Water

This recipe is made in a thermal cooking pot but could be adjusted for stovetop cooking.

Slice the bitter melon lengthwise and scoop out pith and seeds. Cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces. Add to the thermal pot.

Cut tomatoes into quarters and add to the pot along with the pork ribs, soybeans, and soy sauce. Fill the pot with water and place over medium heat.

Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes. Cover and place immediately into the thermal encasement and close the lid. Allow to sit for 12 hours. No peeking!

I put this together yesterday afternoon and just opened the pot, which means in cooked for closer to 18 hours. It’s forgiving. While cooking, the pot doesn’t emit any steam or smell. And, since it doesn’t use any energy source, it’s safe to leave cooking while you run errands.

The soup is delicious and one of our favorites. The tomatoes soften and combine with the ribs to make a rich and slightly acidic broth. The bitter melon melts in your mouth, as do the pork ribs. It’s a filling, yet light and refreshing soup. Perfect for lunch.

This past week I decided to find a local U-Pick farm where we could re-live a bit of childhood. Fortunately, we found a great farm, but unfortunately we picked like we’d never seen strawberries before. I’m not the only one though — Erin from ErinCooks.com also had a berry picking adventure. Her berries look beautiful!

The trip turned out to be Joe’s first time picking berries of any type. He reminded me that we once had a small pot on our patio in which we had a sad little plant that yielded two strawberries. However, I don’t really think this counts as a true berry picking experience.

Joe took to the berry picking much better than I anticipated, although I later discovered a few pink berries in the basket. Next time, I will be on quality control. We worked our way through the field, finding a good section far from the other berry pickers. Time passed quickly and before we knew it, our basket had filled with some 14 pounds of berries. Eeek!

Once we got home, I immediately went to work on the berries. Over the weekend I made freezer jam, an amazing cobbler (coming soon), froze a few pounds, and gave a bowl full to the in-laws. Still, I have several pounds left. Since I’m participating in the Eating Down the Fridge challenge at A Mighty Appetite, I wondered how I might use up a few pantry ingredients while also using my excess berries.

In the back of my pantry, there is a big bag of cornmeal. On occasion, I break it out and make sweet cornbread, a thick polenta or even cake. I decided to combine my cornmeal and a bit of slowly souring milk with the juicy red strawberries for a breakfast muffin.

The result? Glorious muffins. Seriously. I love them more than I can describe.

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped strawberries, plus 1/2 cup for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add beaten egg, oil and milk, stirring until just combined. Fold in 1 cup chopped strawberries. I used smaller berries and simply cut them in half. I suggest chopping the berries no larger than 1/2″.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, then garnish with a few chopped berries. Bake at 400F (200C) for 20-25 minutes or until testing done.

Allow the muffins to cool before removing from the muffin tin. I ran a sharp knife around the edge of each muffin, then popped them out of the tin.

The muffins are light and sweet, the juicy berries like little strawberry explosions in your mouth. The cornmeal adds a bit of texture and light corn taste, but overall the muffins tasted like strawberry shortcake to me. Add a dollop of butter and you’re all set for breakfast (or dessert).

As an added bonus, the muffins are striking. The yellow muffin contrasted by the vibrant red strawberries is captivating.

Granted, their beauty wasn’t so grand that I couldn’t resist eating them. I had hoped to have them for breakfast for the next few days … but it looks like that won’t be the case. I think there is 1 left.

Update: I forgot to mention that my mother called last night with a strawberry update. She started picking berries 6 days ago on the farm and has already picked 15 quarts. Her patch is producing nicely and needs to be picked every other day. Mom also emailed me a photo from her first picking:

Leading up to today, I decided not to think about the challenge since I didn’t want to stock up in anticipation of the event. And, now I’m nervous about the week ahead … especially since I’m using my favorite dish for using up spare ingredients on day 1. By day 7, I may be concocting an oatmeal-bean casserole. You’ve been warned.

Fried rice is made at least once per week in our household. The reason I made it today stems from a partial container of leftover BBQ pork from lunch the other day and a need to use up a stash of aging green onions and eggs.

I’ve written about making ham fried rice and used the same recipe, using BQQ pork in place of ham. I’ve deviated from my published recipe this time by using a mix of 1 Tablespoon dark soy (deeper, richer flavor) along with about 2-3 Tablespoons regular soy sauce. For some added spice, I used a couple teaspoons sriracha sauce (my current condiment crush).

Fried rice is a flexible dish that adapts to any leftover meats or veggies. Sometimes, I throw in chopped greens or leftover vegetables in the final minutes of cooking. My favorite meat is either bacon or ground beef … seriously good, yet fattening. The BBQ pork is surprisingly lean but flavorful in the rice.

So, for tonight, we are well-fed and happy with our dinner. I will call it a success and hope the coming days will go as smoothly.

Any fried rice lovers out there? What are your favorite fried rice ingredients?