Bacon And Beans

Start with a three pound package of Wright's Bacon Ends And Pieces. Take a sharp knife and cut the package in half, wrap and freeze one half. Spray some Pam on the bottom of a big skillet or the big pot you soaked the beans in and then dried, fry the bacon. Pour the bacon grease over the dogs' kibble, they love that. There are other ways to get bacon, including buying sliced bacon but, trust me, go to Wally World and try the Wrights, it's simply amazing how much meat, as opposed to fat, is in one of those boxes. Anyway, after frying up and draining the bacon, add two pounds of soaked beans, the bean of your choice. This works with (so far) Pinto beans, Navy beans, Lima, both small and large, Great Northern, Split Pea, Black beans, Kidney and Red Beans. I'm sure there are lots of others. Today, for no particular reason, I'm doing Great Northern Beans. Actually, there is a reason, because I can!

After frying and draining the bacon, add the beans and hot water along with an onion or two, some bay leaf and garlic, lots of garlic. The rule of thumb is add garlic until you're sure you have too much, then add more. After all, with all those vampires out there, oh sorry, those are congresscritters. Eh, same thing. Garlic and onion are especially important if one plans on visiting Washington, Dc in the summer, Harry Reid has a very sensitive nose.

I'm not persactly sure why but my Momma always added some carrot to white beans, except Lima Beans. At any rate, I always add the carrots, too. I do not want to meet my Momma in the afterlife and deserve that backhand she had, quicker'n a striking snake!

Always soak the beans longer than you think you need to and make sure they're well cooked, it will eliminate, or at least lessen, the clouds of rank gas. Oooh, speaking of beans, I finally looked up Haricot Beans on the Intertoobz. Turns out this is just some foreign word for navy Beans. I have casually wondered about that since I first read All Quiet On The Western Front, some fifty+ years ago. In the book the protagonists stole a big pot of Haricot Beans and ham and snuck it back to their squad. It was about the only funny part of that book. Anyhow, if you don't want to use bacon (and what is wrong with you?) ham works almost as well, there is just no grease for the dogs' kibble.

I have been waiting for my son in law to E-mail the pictures from last Saturday's shooting expedition, we took William shooting for the first time. The boy is seven. I had his dad saw two one inch pieces off the original stock of my little Ruger 10/.22 and we put that and the stock barrel back on it. The stock barrel does not shoot near as well as the $300.00 Shilen target barrel, imagine that. Anyhow, if I ever get those pictures I'll post a full report. William, being as small as he is, I thought sure he worldn't want to shoot the .38 and .357 small frame revolvers, nor my Colt Single Action Army clones in .45 Colt. Shows what I know. That boy just loved that Colt Clone and the little S&W Mod 60 five shooter .38. He didn't like the Ruger SP101 .357, though, the grip was a bit too big for his little hands. Naturally, I did not use any heavy kicking loads in those revolvers, there will be time for that when he's in his mid teens.

Seems it ought to be time to eat but the beans aren't done yet.