A Very Vegetarian Thanksgiving...

     So you guys know I totally love me some Thanksgiving sides, but I realized I haven't posted any main dishes for vegetarians, so I thought I'd do one up.  And then I decided to do a couple more sides.  Because whatevah, I do what I want.  For those of you with ovens full of turkey, this vegan bean dish is perfect for the slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Herbed White Beans

1.25 lbs bag of Emergo (aka white runner) beans, pre-soaked, other options are cannellini, navy beans*
6 C water
1 tsp butter
1/2 C chopped scallion
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 3-inch sprig rosemary
3 2-inch sprigs thyme
6 leaves fresh sage
2 tsp.salt
pepper

Quick-soak the beans in salted water by bringing them to a boil, turning the heat off, and letting them sit for an hour.  Drain.  Melt butter in a pan and cook scallion till soft.  Press in garlic and cook till fragrant.  Pour beans into crock pot, add water and salt, stir, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook for 8 hours.  (Cooking time/water ratio may vary with different beans)

*If you decide to sub another kind of bean, be cautious using kidney beans in a crock pot, they can make you very sick if they are under cooked.  Using a modified quick-soak method on red kidney beans is the ideal way to make sure you have removed the poison, making sure you boil them for 10 minutes before leaving them to soak.

Roast Green Beans with Balsamic Thyme Reduction
Yield: 6-8 small servings

2 lbs fresh green beans, stems and strings removed
1 Tbs sea salt
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 tsp honey (optional)
1/2 C raw pecans

Preheat oven to 350°.  Rinse greenbeans and drain slightly spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt.  Bake greenbeans for 10-15 minutes until beans are tender, but not too browned.  Timing may vary depending on how wet they are when they go in.   On a smaller separate tray, spread a layer of pecans and bake for 2-3 minutes until roasted.  They will burn easily so keep an eye out!   In a small pan, add vinegar and thyme and heat balsamic until it boils.  Stirring constantly, to keep from burning, boil vinegar until it thickens and becomes syrupy.  It doesn't take long.  Sweeten with honey if you'd like.  Pour reduction over beans and stir to combine.  Sprinkle with pecans.

     Most people know how to make mashed potatoes and there are tons of recipes and discussions on the best potato type out there so I won't bother.  Instead I will give you a good ratio for making as many mashed potatoes as you need no matter how large your guest list.  Incidentally, this ratio applies for mashed cauliflower, turnips, rutabagas, or even sweet potatoes.  Mix it up a little this Thanksgiving!

Ratio Mashed Potatoes:
1/2 lb potatoes per guest
3 Tbs milk per 1/2 lb*
1 tsp butter per 1/2 lb
2 tsp sour cream per 1/2 lb (or plain yogurt)
1/4 tsp salt per 1/2 lb
1/8 tsp pepper per 1/2 lb
chives, parsley, thyme, or rosemary as garnish
*liquid ratio may vary depending on potato type

Peel, cube, and boil potatoes until tender.  The smaller the cubes, the faster this will happen.  Drain.  Mash with a potato masher or use a ricer.  Stir in milk, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper.  Taste for any adjustment.  Top with garnish when serving.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I'll keep you posted on my heritage bird adventure!

A Kid'll Eat Ivy, Too!

By way of update, from my earlier post, here's the latest in the goat mower saga!

This little dear is working his way, chest deep, to the choicest leaves.  He is a special type of goat that has very small ears.

He is the first goat my eldest son got to hold.  He said, "He feels like a cloud!" So we named him Cloud.

These pictures are from the day we moved the goats to the second area.  They moved in and started eating like they hadn't eaten in a week.

Pulling her weight.

Our ewe was still sagging with pregnancy when she left.  Poor darling!

It's not cold.  I don't know why they decided to wear winter gloves.  I think they just wanted to look cool.

This little brown one is named K2 (the only one we actually knew the real name of) and was my eldest's favorite.  My youngest loved the little black one here most and named her Little.

 This is the part of the first section easily seen from the driveway before and after.

Further up the bank.

All the brown here used to be green.  Including the fence.

On the other side of the fence, was our second area for clearing.  Believe it or not, these pictures are exactly the same area!

 

Mario on the right, easily walks through an area he'd have been wading through before.

This poor tree has been killed by ivy and will have to come out.

 Part of the dead tree that has already fallen.  Wouldn't believe it was even in that first picture, would you?

I had no idea how wonderful goats were.  Such gentle and sweet little things with so much personality.  My husband and boys all had their favorites.  My favorite was any goat that happened to have a mouthful of green stuff when I looked at her.

 After four days, the sad time finally came to say goodbye.

Cade carried K2 down to the truck.  But we will have another quick visit next week for one last section.  (For now.)

To prepare for our goaty guests, I decided to move a couple of plants.

I had a small group of trilliums blooming that I just love and a few ramps I transplanted from my grocery store last year.  Ramps are a wild leek that grows natively in the Eastern part of the US.  I love them and they are catching on in popularity in this area.  I found out that they like to live near trilliums so I stuck some in the ground near my trillium patch.  I was delighted to see these sprigs appear this Spring.  Now that I've moved them, I hope they come back next year!

Here are some harvested ramps.  They have a strong garlicy/onion flavor.

I paired them with eggs to make this lovely breakfast.

Egg with Asparagus and Ramps

1 egg

2 thin stalks of asparagus, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces

1 ramp, chopped small, leaves included

1 oz feta cheese, crumbled

butter

salt and pepper

Sauté the asparagus in a small amount of butter until it is warmed and starting to soften.  Remove from heat, fry an egg in the same pan a few minutes until it looks the way you like.  Remove from the pan, and heat the ramps for a few seconds to warm them up.  Sprinkle the asparagus, ramps, and feta over the egg and salt and pepper to taste.

Review: 

This egg is terribly quick and delicious.  The feta I found had a mild "goaty" flavor that reminded me of my girls.  I can't wait to see them again next week!

UPDATE:
The goat man is coming back today!  Eeeeeee!  =)

Finally, Some Followthrough Around Here!

     Ohhhh.... Long about September of last year I promised I'd share a gluten-free cornbread with you guys.  I reckon it's about time I posted it, huh?

     I like Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free mix because it's a non-intimidating way for gluten gluttons, like myself to ease into the gluten-free world for friends without having to fiddle around with math and science.  I imagine gluten-free bakers as wild-haired chemists in lab coats gleefully chortling over beakers filled with guar gum and buckwheat flour.  They look pretty cool, actually...  Mostly, my wild-haired self chortles over butter and various forms of garlic.  Not much chemistry there...

     The flour mix works better for some things than others.  It can have a strong, bitter taste sometimes.  But in a recipe like this, where there are equal parts flour and cornmeal, it does a fantastic job of filling out the muffins while at the same time, not being over-powering...  It's pretty much a straight substitution of my regular cornbread recipe (good gosh, I just realized how many versions of cornbread I have on this blog... maybe I also chortle a little over cornmeal...) but I'll go ahead and post it here anyway.  I baked these in muffin form so they would cook faster, but they are not sweet like most cornbread.  I am from the South where the tea is sweet and the cornbread is not.  They held their shape very well as muffins, I'm not sure how this recipe would perform as an actual full-size cornbread.

Gluten-Free Cornbread
1 C + 3 Tbs yellow corn meal
1 C Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free flour mix
1 Tbs granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a muffin tin with liners.  Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.  Combine milk, vegetable oil and egg in bowl; mix well.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir till just blended.  Pour into prepared baking pan.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Review:
Absolutely everyone at our dinner party loved this!  No one with gluten issues will feel deprived eating this.  If you do want sweeter cornbread, increase the sugar to 1/4 C and omit the extra 3 Tbs cornmeal.  Just don't tell me you did it, OK?  It might cry a little...

You're Invited...

I was going to invite one family over for the 4th.  Then I went all crazy and invited three more.  I have been posting some snooty fruity recipes lately.  Most of which reflect how we eat on a fairly regular basis.  Today, though, I'm going to post some honest-to-goodness-shut-yo'-mouth-awesome mostly Southern recipes that reflect our roots and make for one w00tastic spread. 

I plan on posting menus here from time to time.  I like to plan big meals out in advance and if I like it, I do it again. I've got a few.  For the Fourth, I decided to go All-American.  It didn't hurt that most of my guests were Southern (or at least knew a good slaw when they saw it.)  The best party food can be served hot, room temp, or cold, and made in advance.  So, without further ado, here it is, a giant photo/recipe dumpapalooza.  Recipes to make any outdoor party!

Our menu was as follows: Fried Chicken, hot dogs, Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Red-White-&-Blue Potato Salad, Lavender Lemonade,Pecan Pie, juice pouches, chips, watermelon, cherries, and plenty of water to keep everyone hydrated.

I had this recipe in the box, but it originally came from one of my cookbooks.  It's a sentimental favorite of mine for no other reason than it's full of recipes for 'possum and chitlins and (I'm not kidding) pig tails.  As well as a hundred or so recipes for various versions of deep fried love.  It's called The Treasury of White Trash Cooking.  It has not one, but two, (you heard me,honey), two fried chicken recipes!  This one is on page 181.

 

Countrified Fried Chicken

Cut 1 fryer into pieces.  Salt and pepper each piece.  Combine 3/4 C of flour, 2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper in a plastic bag.  Shake each one until they are coated will with the flour mixture.  You can fry chicken in a deep-fat fryer, covered for 5 minutes, then uncovered, until coating is golden brown.  Turn chicken occasionally.  You can also fry chicken in a skillet on your stove.  My grandma always fried her chicken in fried meat's grease and a pinch of garlic salt.

My substitutions/additions:

I cooked mine in an improvised frier.  A dutch oven with a bottle of oil poured in it.  Try to have about 3 inches of oil in your pan.  I could fit 4-6 pieces of chicken in at a time.  It took 10 minutes per batch.  I had my oven set to 350° to finish off any pieces that didn't quite get done.  For this, it wouldn't hurt to have had two thermometers, which I don't.  (One to read the oil temp and one to check the meat temp.)  Ah well, it didn't waste that much time.  Keep the oil between 310° and 375°.  A deep fryer is probably better at regulating the temperature, I had to keep fiddling with the heat, but it seemed to work and nobody got salmonella.

Review:

Nothing but thumbs up on this one!

Next up? Baked Beans.

I found this recipe at beanbible.com in 2003.  The website is still operating, but this recipe is no longer available.

Dr Pepper Baked Beans
 yield 6 servings

1 28 oz can pork and beans (or two regular-sized 14-oz cans)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green pepper, chopped fine
1 tomato, chopped fine
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/3 C Dr. Pepper
1/8 tsp ground cloves (I left these out)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Drain liquid from the pork and beans.  Pour beans into a bean pot, if you have one, or a baking dish if you don't.  Gently mix in onion, green pepper, and tomato into the beans.
Combine sugar, Dr. Pepper, and cloves (if you use them) until sugar is dissolved.  Pour evenly over the bean mixture.  Bake, covered, for an hour.  Check on the beans; they might need a little more time than that.  but don't overcook them.

You could successfully substitute ginger ale for the Dr. Pepper for a different flavor.

My substitutions/additions:

I used Bush's Vegetarian baked beans and doubled the recipe.

Review:

One of these days I want to attempt this with my own white beans instead of canned, but this recipe is so easy and quick to put together using canned!  Oh, and it tastes awesome! 

Now, I have lived all over this beautiful country of ours.  And let me tell you something: they only make coleslaw right in the South.  And at KFC.  My Grandmother used to make coleslaw with just cabbage and vinegar and onions, sort of a fresh kraut.  I'd give anything if I could find that recipe.  This particular recipe is based on the KFC coleslaw.  I found it at topsecretrecipes.com.

Just Like KFC Coleslaw
(Serves 6-8)

8 C finely chopped cabbage
1/4 C carrot, shredded
2 T minced white onion
1/3 C sugar
1/2 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/4 C milk
1/2 C mayo
1/4 C buttermilk
1 1/2 T white vinegar
2 1/2 T lemon juice

Cut cabbage and carrots into pieces about the size of rice and put into a large bowl.  Combine sugar, salt, pepper, milks, mayo, vinegar, and lemon.  Beat until smooth.  Pour over carrots, cabbage, and onion.  Mix well.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. 

Notes:

• I use a  salad shooter with the shredder cone in to cut all the veggies for this. 
• This may serve 6-8 in the South, but it's much, much more than that in the rest of the world where people don't know what good is.
• Mixing this up the night before makes it a great recipe for picnics and it tastes better the second day.

Review:

This slaw is great on hotdogs (called a slaw dog in the South).  People think they don't like slaw but it's only because they've never had it made the right way!

What picnic is complete without potato salad?  Unlike my other recipes, this one was flat refused when I made this for a get-together in the South.  But what can I say?  I lived in California for 8 years.  Some of that granola rubbed off on me.  This one has a vinaigrette base instead of a mayo base.

Look at that.  Isn't that beautiful?  I love these red, white, and blue potato mixes that I see around the 4th.  I'm sure they're available all season long, but they just shout my name around the 4th.  The blue ones are a purple color inside and these particular reds were actually a little pink inside!  I got this recipe online years ago and made it for my church picnics so often, they started asking for it specifically.  I didn't write down the URL when I found this salad, so I've re-named it:

Pot Bless Potato Salad 

(serves 6)

14 red potatoes
3 T parsley
2 T dill
6 T green onion
4 T red onion

1/3 C red wine vinegar

3/4 C olive oil

2 t dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
black pepper

Boil potatoes until just cooked.  Meanwhile, chop herbs and onions.  Combine vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic and pepper in a small bowl and whisk.  When potatoes have boiled and cooled slightly, gently stir in herbs and onions.  Pour vinegarette over potato mixture and gently stir to combine.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.

Notes: 

I used Beaver brand hot dijon when I made it this year.  It gave it a surprising kick on the 4th and took it out of the range of the small kid zone.  I liked it.  By today (after two nights in the fridge) the kick was pretty well gone and the kids chowed. 

We washed all this nomminess down with lavender lemonade!  The dispenser says it all:

This was another recipe in my box that I have the original cookbook for.  Actually, in this case, it's a magazine.  Herb Companion June/July 2004, p 27

Lavender Lemonade

(Makes 8 servings)

6 C water
1 3/4 C sugar
3 T fresh lavender blossoms
2 1/2 C fresh lemon juice
8 fresh lavender sprigs

Bring water to boil in saucepan.  Add sugar, reduce heat and stir till dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in lavender blossoms.  Cover and allow to steep for 30-60 minutes.  Strain lavender mixture into a serving pitcher and stir in lemon juice.  Cool and serve with crushed ice.  Garnish with lavender sprigs.

My substitutions/additions:

I didn't have enough blossoms as lavender isn't quite in season here yet, so I used some leaves to cook with and saved the blossoms for the pretty.  Make sure you use lavender that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides if you can.

I was expecting 22, so I wanted to make a little extra.  I used 8 c water, added an extra 1/2 C sugar, 1/2 C leaves, and just to make it extra lemony, as I was boiling the water, I floated halves of 5 lemons on top to release the oils from the peels.  Make sure to scrub your lemons well if you're going to do this.  Using organic is that much better.

Review:

Sweet Mother of Abraham Lincoln!  Make this.  Make this right now!

'Cuz then you get to drink it!

For dessert, I made Pecan Pie and used that cream cheese crust recipe I promised you a while ago...  So let's get to that crust, shall we?

This recipe came from the now defunct recipecard.com. Can I just say how glad I am I got this recipe before the site disappeared?

Cream Cheese Pie Crust

12 T unsalted butter, divided
1 2/3 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
4.5 oz cream cheese
2 T ice water

Divide butter in 1/2 and cut into small cubes.  Wrap each 1/2 separately and chill 30 min.  Process or sift flour and salt for a few seconds to combine.  Add 1/2 butter cubes and all the cream cheese and process (cut together) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the rest of the butter and cut together until mixture resembles small peas.  Be careful not to over-process.  Add the water and pulse (stir w/ cold spoon) twice.  The dough will look dry, but should hold together when processed.  Pour crumbs into plastic bag and gently knead dough until it holds together and can form a ball.  DO NOT OVER KNEAD!  Remove dough and divide in 1/2. Wrap each 1/2 in plastic and flatten into a disk.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Roll crust on cold surface w/ cold rolling pin.  Crust freezes well.  To freeze pie, don't bake first, put in freezer raw.

My substitutions/additions:

Because I'm a giant dork and totally forgot the first rule of pastry (always work cold) I softened the butter and cream cheese on the counter.  Not to be deterred, I forged ahead anyway.  I did refrigerate the butter after cutting it into cubes, but only for as long as it took me to measure and combine the flour and salt.  I don't have a food processor big enough to do a whole batch of dough, and I actually like to make pastry by hand, so I cut it together with a fork as quickly as I could.  I also forgot the ice water.  And I kneaded the dough on my counter instead of the baggie kneading thing.  The result was quite possibly the most tender, delicious crust I've ever made.  So there you go.  I don't suggest you try this method unless you're stupid, and/or a Pastry Rawkstar like me!  Oh, wait, maybe I'm the stupid one...  God helps the little children and the idiots.

Review:

Oh.  My.  Laws.  And then, you can use one of the crusts to make this:

Oh.  My.  Laws.  Again.

This little beauty also came from The Treasury of White Trash Cooking.  Page 253.

Nellie Gray's Pecan Pie

1 T butter
1 C brown sugar
3 eggs
1 C Karo syrup
1/4 t cinnamon
1 C pecans
pinch salt
1 unbaked pie shell

Cream butter and sugar.  Beat eggs lightly and throw in the rest of your ingredients.  Mix the ingredients well and pour them into an unbaked pie shell.  Bake at 450° for 10 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 350° and keep baking for another 35 minutes.

My substitutions/additions:

• I wanted the nuts to be whole, so I didn't chop them, and I used 1 1/2 C (one whole bag) if pecans.
• 1 tsp vanilla

Notes:

It really makes just enough to fill a packaged pie shell.  If you 're going to use my dough recipe, keep an eye on the crust during baking.  If it gets too brown, cover the pie with aluminum foil.  Also, when done, this pie will not be firm.  Don't worry if it's a little jiggly when you take it out of the oven.  It should be jiggly like firm jello, though, not jiggly like soup... Jiggly's a fun word.  hehehehe... ~jiggle~jiggle~...

Review:

I was afraid this would be too eggy the first time I made it, but it's fantastic!

And now, your reward for sticking with me through this marathon post.  A recipe I made up that didn't make it to the party.  Because we ate it.  Totally gone.  Not even a crumb.  You know how that pie recipe makes 2 crusts, right?  Well, I couldn't let that other crust go to waste, right?  No... of course not...

The first time I ever saw a rustic pie like this, I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.  So simple.

Rustic Three Berry Pie

1 pt strawberries, hulled, whole
1 pt blueberries
1 pt cherries, pitted
4 Tbs sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 pie crust recipe

Mix berries with sugar and lemon zest.  Let rest and sweat while you're making and/or rolling out the dough.
Roll out the pie crust to about 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.  Place dough on baking sheet.  Fill the crust with the filling and fold over the edges until they meet, pressing lightly to secure.  Bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes, checking the dough for doneness.

Serve with a sprinkle of sugar, drizzle of cream, or dollop of ice cream.

Review:

Mr. CotC said it was the best pie I ever made.  He loved the lemon zest.  The boys were too busy shoving it into their faces to say much of anything.

I'll take that as a compliment...

A super huge "Thank You!" to all our friends who came and were gracious enough to help out trucking all the food and dishes up and down the mountain and help with the washing up.  We're so glad you all came!  We had so much fun!  Let's do it again next year, 'K?

A Pie in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush... Or Something Like That...

We had company for dinner last night and lo' I found I had a pound of rhubarb in the fridge.  It's hard for me to convey why I love rhubarb so much.  For one, after robins and crocuses, it's the first sign Spring is finally here.  Also, one of my earliest memories is of my Dad showing me the rhubarb plant in our side yard and giving me a taste of the sour stalk.  I'd pay money for a picture of my face that day...  Plus, it's a vegetable that you can put in a pie!  Nom!  This is a recipe I got off the Internet years ago and have nearly adulterated beyond recognition.  I've been on a diet lately (down 28 pounds, thank you very much!) so I don't know if this was so good because I've been off sugar for so long, or if it really is far and away the best pie ever invented, but I'm going for the second explanation...  This particular crust is a storebought abomination (and by abomination I mean full of chemicals, fat, and calories and totally worth it) but I do have a very good homemade crust I'll share one of these days.  (It's got cream cheese.  Dude.) Anyhoo, here's the original.  It came from a now-defunct website called jewish-food.org and was demurely titled...

Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie VI

4 C rhubarb-sliced into 1/2 in. chunks.
1 1/2 C strawberries, sliced
2/3 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon
2 t butter
1 (9in.) double pie crust
milk
extra sugar
Opt. 1 C sliced apples may be added and raspberries may be subbed for the strawberries

• Combine fruit in a bowl.  Add sugar, flour, and cinnamon and stir into fruit.  Pour into unbaked pie crust and top with butter.  
• Make lattice top crust if desired, or a regular plain top crust.  Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with a light dusting of sugar.
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, or until juices bubble up and appear thickened.

Yield: 8 servings (Or if you're me, 1 maybe 2...)

 

My substitutions/additions:

• 1 small fuji apple, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 pt raspberries
• 1 Cup sliced strawberries
• I have also used blackberries and/or blueberries, though not in this pie.
• I did not do the milk wash.  I was running short on time, and I really didn't care if it had a glaze or not.

 

Notes:
With most fruit pies, you let the sugar sit on the fruit for a while to form a sort of gel.  This time, I didn't have a lot of time for the fruit to sit, so I let it sit while I got the crusts ready and the oven finished warming (5-10 minutes).  When I poured the filling into the crust, there was still a lot of loose flour and sugar mixture and I was a little worried.  It absolutely made no difference.  If anything, it was slightly less messy, but the taste was still fantastic.

This makes 1 deep-dish pie, or with an extra apple, 2 regular pies.

Review:

It is tart and sweet and so very, very good.  Serving it with ice cream is a must, though.  It cuts through some of the tartness.  I sent our guests home with pie and no ice cream and also never having had rhubarb pie before...  I am wondering what they thought of it...  But for us, who know the secret of the vanilla ice cream, this here pie's a keeper!

*Side note about rhubarb: If you don't already know, the leafy part of rhubarb is poisonous.  Most grocery stores and farmer's markets will have the greens stripped off already, but if you have some growing in your yard or get some from a friend, please only eat the stalk!

Twofer Wednesday

Two recipes tonight, both awesome.  If you're from the South, that is...  You can't have grown up in the South and not have eaten pinto beans and cornbread a time or two.  And not that sissy sweet cornbread.  Hard-core corn meal cornbread.  The cornbread recipe is modified from the Alber's cornmeal box, I'm going to post the sissy sweet version from the box and then tell you my recipe in the substitutions section.

And what does one serve with cornbread?  Pinto beans, of course!  My father-in-law taught me how to make fantastic pinto beans in the pressure cooker.  He learned from his Mom.  I expect I'll be showing my boys some day.  It's the fastest way to make beans, hands down.  Don't worry about the pressure cooker.  My father-in-law has been making beans in a cooker for longer than I've been alive and he's never exploded a cooker with these beans.  I've been cooking them like this for at least five years now and have never exploded a cooker with these beans.  The main thing is to make sure the vent hole is clear and you've got a good seal (not cracked or hardened) on the lid.  Well, here goes!

Corn Bread

1C Alber's yellow corn meal
1 C all purpose flour
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 8-inch-square baking pan.  Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.  Combine milk, vegetable oil and egg in bowl; mix well.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir till just blended.  Pour into prepared baking pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Serve warm.

Note: Recipe may be doubled.  Use greased 13X9 inch pan; bake as above.
High Altitude (3500-6000 ft): Bake for 22-24 minutes (8 inch square and 13X9-inch pan).

My suggestions/additions:

• Instead of 1/4 C sugar, I sub. 1 T sugar and 3 T corn meal.
• I usually sub. whole wheat flour for the regular white.  Not as authentic, but adds a little nutty flavor I like besides being slightly better for you.
• Instead of a greased pan, I use a cast iron skillet.  It's the only way to cook cornbread.  Trust me.  My pan is well-seasoned, but I still like to put it in the oven while it preheats with a little shortening in it.  Take it out when the oven hits 400 and pour the batter in.  It will probably sizzle as it goes in.  That's the crust forming.  Dude.

Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans
Serves 2
1C dry beans
1 1/2 to 2 t olive oil
4 C water
1 1/2 t salt

Wash beans til water runs clear.  Add all ingredients to the pressure cooker.  Make sure to add the weight to the vent.  Bring to a jiggle, then turn down to slow jiggle.  Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Serves 4
2 C pinto beans
3 t oil
6 C water
2 t salt

Cooking time 1 hour 30 minutes.

My additions/substitutions:

• I'll be honest.  I have a tendency to burn these beans.  I don't know if it's the difference between our stoves (his is electric, mine is gas) or his experience or just the pans, but I have to use 7 C of water.  Even then I'm not perfect.  But when they come out right, boy do they come out right!  Better than canned by about 1,000 and better than soaked and boiled, too.  More firm.  And of course the added benefit that I don't have to think about them the night before!
• A little bullion added to the water adds a nice flavor and a bit of ground ginger will take care of any interesting after-effects without changing the flavor.

Reviews: 
My husband's favorite meal is my father-in-law's pinto beans and cornbread "flitters."  My pinto beans and cornbread is his second favorite... I like mine with a little sauerkraut.  Don't ask me why, I just do.  My Mother-in-law likes a little chow chow with it every now and then.  Serve it with mashed potatoes, greens, cabbage, whatever you like.  You can't go wrong.  They're keepers!