Look Out!
This blogging thing is funny. I started Zoomie Station originally just to keep my writing skills up and my mind active in retirement, but it has become so much more than that. A way to make friends from far away and close by. A way to be more thoughtful and adventurous about the food I cook. A way to access family memories. A peculiar form of artistic expression. And, sometimes, it's just plain silly, good for a belly laugh.
Take this photo, for example - our dinner a few nights ago when I didn't feel much like cooking. A couple of my favorite Coleman's hot dogs snugged next to some doctored up Boston baked beans from a can. I snapped the photo as usual and sat down to dinner.
This morning, when I was uploading the photo, I noticed the little kid in yellow shirt and black shorts on the plate, playing with his dog. He looks up at me with a startled expression - "Look Out!" I thought, "you're about to be crushed by two giant logs!" Maybe his dog is trying, like Lassie, to warn him of impending danger. Silly stuff.
Re-Doctored Beans and Hot Dogs
I usually make my mother's recipe for doctored baked beans but not only do they take hours of cooking, they also include maple syrup and, as much as I adore maple syrple, I've been thinking they are just too sweet. But, I have always loved the citrus she added to them, so I decided to try doctoring them myself and this is the result. My Beloved took a bite, unenthusiastically as he was expecting the usual, and got a pleased smile on his face. "These are the best baked beans I have ever eaten," he purred. That's good enough for me!
1 15 oz can of B&M baked beans (I like this brand - the beans are small and tasty)
1/2 chopped onion
1 orange, zested with a micro-plane zester
1 tsp butter
4 Coleman's hot dogs
In a small pot, melt the butter and sauté the chopped onion until clear. Add the beans and the orange zest and heat together for about 5 minutes. (I was going to add the juice of the orange, too, but the inside of mine was nasty so I'll try that next time). Lay the hot dogs on top of the beans, pushing them down until they are about half-covered. Heat until the hot dogs are done, about an additional 10 minutes.
Labels: baked beans, hot dogs
posted by Zoomie at
5:29 AM
7 Comments:
My mom called it "doctoring" too. (I call it "dickin' with.") Beans is the only thing she ever doctored, usually Van de Kamp's. Mainly by adding unnecessary spurts of ketchup and mustard. She would spurt and taste, spurt and taste, like it was a real culinary goal.
(I noticed the boy and the dog right away. Fun.)
I like the orange idea. I thought I was the only one who doctored beans. I have done beans from dry but the canned one are so good and easy to fix.
Cookiecrumb, my mother was a staunch supporter of B&M, so that's what I buy, too. Tradition is an interesting phenomenon. You and I both broke with tradition, however, each in her own way. :-)
Greg, man, is that ever the truth! Beans from a can are ever so much easier. I don't seem to have much luck with dried beans - maybe I'm too impatient? - or I salt the water (which is a big no-no), or add tomatoes (also disastrous) or any of the other things one must never do. Easier to buy a can and dump them out. :-)
You can salt bean water; that myth was disproved. But tomatoes, not until the beans are softened.
Why am I even telling you this? :D
Cookiecrumb, thanks for the update. Salt, yes - tomatoes, no. Got it.
I love those plates - and just think, it was your blogging that finally got me to up and buy some of my very own :) Cheers.
Ms Mouse, I've had mine for perhaps 10 years now and have never tired of them. I notice some little new detail very frequently.
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