Tennessee Corn Pone Recipe, Surprise Pumpkins, Makeovers Soon

Tennessee Corn Pone Recipe-
Thanks to Margo at Thriftathome for posting this idea. I'd never heard of it before. She posted a crock pot version I'll try later. I decided to try this version- Thebrighthouse.blogspot.com  I did 1/3 more and used a lasagna pan. This recipe is flexible spice-wise. I did pinto beans and added: 1 lg. can canned whole tomatoes loosely mushed, paprika, celery seeds, 2 bunches chopped green onions, Tabasco (about 1 TBL), salt, pepper, garlic powder & thyme. I added about 1/8 cup water to make them more "saucy". You can taste as you go before you heat the beans. I heated the bean mixture in the microwave to speed up the cooking. It looked like this-

Wet mixture, which REALLY puffs up-

Pour on top of beans and bake

I served this with green salad and sweet tea. :)

Next time I might try black beans, bell peppers, cilantro, a little cheese in the topping and cayenne.

Recipe- 4 cups very juicy cooked and seasoned beans (especially pinto or kidney)
2 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 quart of buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 butter (I don't use margarine)

Heat beans until quite hot and pour into a lightly greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Melt the butter and combine with buttermilk and eggs. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth and pour them over the hot beans. Bake on the top rack of your oven until bread is a rich golden color and the sides of the corn bread pull away from the sides of the pan. This takes about 30 minutes. Serves 10 to 12.

                        

Surprise Pumpkins-

I finally ID'd my mystery veggies under the cabbages in the cold frame- PUMPKINS! I don't know what kind, but I moved them to a sunnier spot in the cold frame. I'm hoping they're big ones, but who knows? They may have been seeds from the compost pile or the manure we bought. We have 3 good sized ones, and 3 more small ones in the main area. Time will tell...

   

Makeovers Soon-

Dave got a good deal on 4 plastic chairs at a yard sale, a buck a piece. I'm going to paint them forest green, so we'll have enough seating for company soon. I'll be painting the new "canning cabinet" I posted a photo of too. We decided against building one from scrap lumber, as we don't have a Sazsall, and it would take a lot more skill than we both have. So we got the dresser and left the drawers behind.

             

Fun little shelf I found for 50 cents for our main hall corner for some little displays

Anya hanging out in the kitchen, what a spaz-