3 Bean Baked Beans

It's Memorial Day weekend.  A weekend to thank those who have defended our freedome.  I have many friends and relatives who have served and fought in the military, army, navy, marines AND air force.  I have heard the stories from those who were in WWII, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. I am grateful every day for what they have sacrificed so I can have the life I have today.

To celebrate, we will be cooking out on Monday.  At the farmers market today, I picked up some spicy Italian brats and some asparagus that I plan to grill.  And right now, I am making some baked beans to go along with it.  I don't make homemade baked beans often, so I don't have a standard recipe. I do know that I have always liked my mom's baked beans, but they are in Minnesota at my niece, Katie's, college graduation.  So, I turned to my friends and asked them to give me their best baked bean recipes.  It turns out that one of my friends posted the same recipe that my mom uses.  It is credited to Pat Lyle, a close family friend.  I didn't follow it exactly, but used it as a basis for my beans.  I like to mix bean types and decided to go with pinto beans, great northern beans and black beans for this batch.

3 Bean Baked Beans

• 1 can pinto beans with jalapenos
• 1 can great northern beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil 
• 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 lg Vidalia onion, chopped
• 3 small mixed sweet peppers, chopped
• 1 bunch ramp bulbs*, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp roasted garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

 Heat olive oil in a frying pan.  Add onions, peppers and ramp bulbs and cook, stirring until onions begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cook and stir about 1 minute until fragrant. Mix all ingredients in a large baking pan.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven, stirring occassionally, for 1 hour or until cooked.

*Farmers market items

Ramp Quiche

Before my parents head to Minnesota for the weekend to attend my niece's graduation from St. Olaf College, it was time to make another quiche.  Last weekend, I actually was able to find ramps at the farmer's market and just knew that I needed to use them in a quiche.  We gathered other ingredients, including a caramelized onion cheddar I had purchased from Eastman Party Store, and I threw together the next variation.

Spinach Ramp Quiche

• bunch of ramps, leaves only
• small bunch of baby spinach
• 3 slices genoa salami
• 2 oz caramelized onion cheddar
• 2 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
• 5 large eggs*
• 1 1/4 cup 1/2% milk
• garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper, to taste

Remove leaves from ramps and save bulbs for other use.  Thoroughly wash ramp leaves and spinach.  Chop both leaves to bite-sized pieces.  Cut salami into bite-sized pieces.  Combine vegetables and salami in bottom of prepared 9-inch round baking pan.  Crumble the caramelized onion cheddar over these fillings and then sprinkle with sharp cheddar.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs.  Add seasonings; mix well.  Slowly add milk while continuing to beat eggs.  Pour carefully over the filling and bake quiche in a preheated 350F oven.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA Ingredients

Squash Quiche

Mom and Dad have a busy weekend, so we decided to make another quiche (after all, when you have farm fresh eggs, you should use them, right?).  This time, Mom brought out a summer squash, bacon, bleu cheese and more mushrooms and onion.  Okay, challange accepted.  I decided to slice the squash very thin while Mom cooked up bacon, onion and mushroom.  Then I layered the squash with the sauteed items, sprinkled on the cheese and went from there.  Here's the recipe:

Bleu Squash Quiche

• 6 farm-fresh eggs* (note, several were smaller than normal, so I added one)
• 1 1/4 cups 1/2% milk
• 1 med yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
• 2 strips bacon, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup mushroom, diced
• 1 cup sharp cheddar
• 1 oz Bleu cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper

Sautee the bacon, onions and mushrooms over medium heat.  Layer the squash slices with the sauteed items.  Sprinkle cheddar and crumbled Bleu cheese over filling.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs, then add milk and beat until very smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour carefully over filling.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 35 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA items

Gearing Up For CSA!

I know it's been forever since I have regularly posted here.  You should know that a lot has happened in the last year.  I started my first year as assistant professor of accounting at Saginaw Valley State University and it was so much more than I could have asked for.  Not only did I have a successful year teaching, but I managed to get a paper submitted for publication and was written up in the Interior newsletter.  They only highlight a couple professors/staff member a month, so I am humbled by this and happy that this wonderful honor will appear in my PPC folder for my first year of being faculty.  I have been to India and a meeting in New Orleans.  I have worked on important committees and just had a really great year.

Last week, they replaced my left knee, so I am in the process of recuperating from that.  It is going very, very well. I am already graduated from walker to cane.  My range of motion is already better than it was before surgery.  I couldn't be happier with my progress.

I did cook the other morning, making a quiche, but did not get a photograph of the finished quiche.  But I don't think that means I shouldn't post the recipe, so I will do that now.  Mom had spinach, mushrooms and onions in the refrigerator, as well as a selections of meats.  I chose ham for my protein and used sharp cheddar for the cheese.  Mom helped a lot because I am still restricted in my movements, but I put it all together for them to bake.  Here's the recipe:

Cheddar Ham Spinach Quiche

• 5 large farm fresh eggs*
• 1 1/4 cup 1/2% milk
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, torn
• 4 oz thinly sliced ham, torn
• 1/2 cup button mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 tsp freeze-dried basil
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Dice onions and mushrooms and saute them until onions begin to become translucent. Tear spinach and ham and put in bottom of prepared baking pan (9" round baking pan).  Sprinkle with mushrooms and onions.  Then sprinkle with cheddar cheese.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs; add milk and continue to beat until mixed well.  Add seasonings; pour carefully over the filling.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 35 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.


I didn't mention that my egg CSA has started.  Each week, I will received 1 dozen farm-fresh eggs.  It was interesting that the range of sizes were great within the dozen and some were white while others were brown.  It doesn't matter that there is such a difference, but I found it fascinating because the eggs that I received from my CSA in Cleveland were always uniform in size and the same color.  I am guessing that the farm we received them from in Cleveland was a much bigger farm that my current CSA.

So, now, it is time for me to give a shout-out to my new CSA.  I finally decided to go with Middleton Farm CSA out of Coleman, MI.  I have gotten to know them over the last year because I bought much of my meat from them each week when I went to the farmers market last summer.  I purchased the egg CSA, which started at the beginning of may and a quarter share of the Harvest Share CSA, which will start sometime in June.  I think the beginning is up in the air because of the cold wet weather we have been having this spring.  However, they did send an email last week saying that they were starting planting, so hopefully, we will start close to the scheduled time.  This group also offers several meat CSA plans, which, at some point I should be able to afford.  But for now, I will continue to buy my meats from them at the market as needed.  Oh, the interesting thing about how they do their Harvest Share CSA is that you go to the market and they hand you the proper size container for your share.  You then can fill that container with whatever you would like from the produce available that week.  Both my mom and I really like this idea as we will get what we want and will use.  I hope I am brave enough to try different things as they are available (one of the reasons I was attracted to CSAs in the first place), however, I will enjoy being able to control the amount of greens and items like turnips that I receive.

Middleton Farms CSA delivers in Midland and Mt. Pleasant and has pick up at the Midland Farmer's Market as well.  The shares include being able to go to the farm to pick up additional items as well.  It looks to be the beginning of a great relationship!  For information on the CSA, you can go to their website: http://www.middletonfarmcsa.com/.

*CSA ingredients