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I am constantly amazed at how animated and talkative people get when you mention food. The mere aroma of certain foods can evoke memories that transport us back to a special place and time. Food can bridge the gap between all ages, races and ethnicities.
Let's face it, the only thing that should ever come between people is a table and some serving bowls.
Yuck, Lima beans, how many times have we heard that in our lives? How many times have we been the ones who have said it? My mother refused to eat lima beans as a child which was difficult since her mother often made succotash. My mother would pick out all the lima beans and hide them in her napkin. My mother’s hatred for the poor little lima bean carried over into adulthood until I made this recipe. Granted, I left out the fact that there were lima beans in it, I merely said that it was a bean casserole (very truthful). My mother loved this so much she had seconds, when I told her it was lima beans she did not believe me but by then she was hooked.
Unbelievably Good Baked Lima Beans
1 lb. dried lima beans (Yes you can substitute a different type of bean but then I'd have to change my story lol)
1/2 pint sour cream
1 1/2 sticks of butter (must use butter, no substitutions)
1 Tablespoon of molasses
1 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
3/4 cup of brown sugar (light or dark)
Soak 1 pound of lima beans overnight in 4 cups of cold water for each cup of beans; add more water if beans soak up the initial amount of water.
Boil the beans in the same water for ½ to ¾’s of an hour, add 1 teaspoon of salt; drain well. Mix the above ingredients together to make a sauce, bring the sauce to a simmer and then pour over the beans. Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees in a covered casserole.
These beans turn out so buttery and creamy with a nice mix of sweet and tangy that it will make you think of lima beans as comfort food.
I think we have all had that one vegetable in our lives that has taunted us. My father hated squash, my grandmother use to trick him and tell him they were whipped sweet potatoes so he would eat them. When my mother was little she hated lima beans and her mother having a sense of humor would often make her succotash (heavy on the lima beans)! My mother would try to fit them all in her napkin for fear she’d never be allowed to leave the table. For me it was carrots, I didn’t like them raw or cooked. I didn’t even like the smell and wouldn’t you know it, carrots just happened to be my mothers favorite. So guess what I got all the time? Even if buying “Swanson Frozen T.V. Dinners” she always managed to pick out the ones for me that had the little carrot coins as a veggie. Do you know how many Swanson Dinners had corn or peas as a veggie option?….I loved corn and peas.
But time goes by and people change and their taste buds change right along with them. Now my father loves squash, my mother likes, not loves lima beans and I actually like carrots; ‘raw, cooked, in stew and especially glazed”.
Glazed Carrots
1 1/2 lbs. fresh carrots
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tbsp. butter
Scrape carrots and remove ends. Cut into lengthwise strips. Heat salted water to boiling. Add carrots, bring to a second boil. Boil 18 to 20 minutes. In a 12” skillet put butter, brown sugar, orange zest and salt, add carrots. Cook over low heat until carrots are glazed and caramelized evenly, takes 7 to 10 minutes.
Yuck, Lima beans, how many times have we heard that in our lives? How many times have we been the ones who have said it? My mother refused to eat lima beans as a child which was difficult since her mother often made succotash. My mother would pick out all the lima beans and hide them in her napkin. My mother’s hatred for the poor little lima bean carried over into adulthood until I made this recipe. Granted, I left out the fact that there were lima beans in it, I merely said that it was a bean casserole (very truthful). My mother loved this so much she had seconds, when I told her it was lima beans she did not believe me but by then she was hooked.
