Carolyn Westbrook: Live from the Plantation...Southern Beans and Cornbread...love those southern roots!

 Hey Y'all. We were talking the other day about what we ate growing up, and I was saying that everyday my grandmother would have a pot of beans on the stove. In the summertime, it was all about beans and cornbread and all of the vegetables that come out of the garden. There was always sliced tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers, and fried okra or sometimes fried green tomatoes or sometimes she would fry soft potatoes and okra and onion together. Sometimes there was meat and sometimes it was all about the vegis, but it was always good. She also like to sautee yellow squash and tomatoes and onion together..Yummm! Makes me hungry just thinkin about it. Joe grew up the same way, as I am sure most of you southerners did and so we still like us some beans and cornbread and green onion.

The weather has been amazing here lately, that it is almost confusing. We are used to 110 degrees in August and this morning it was in the 60's. I never remember this in August...ever. So, we are enjoying it and thought I would whip up a pot of beans. We added some bacon, and a few diced tomatoes with some onion, and ooohhhh was it good. We always soak our beans overnight. I remember my grandmother pouring the dry beans out on the counter and going over them for little rocks that might have gotten in the mix, then she would rinse them and soak them overnight.My grandmother always used a cast iron skillet for biscuits or cornbread. You mix up your cornbread mix and get your cast iron skillet hot on the stove with some melted butter sizzling, and then dump in the mix, so it sort of frys it for a minute and then put it in the oven. It comes out kind of crunchy on the bottom and moist everywhere else...cannot beat it. For those that like it spicy, you can add in a can of cream of corn, a handful of cheddar cheese and some chopped jalepenos, and you got yourself some delicious jalepeno corn bread. There is nothing like a good 'ol southern meal of cornbread and beans with whatever vegis that are in the house. Y'all better get you some!
xo Carolyn