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Calico Mustard Greens and Beans

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My Grandmother was a tough lady, a farmer’s wife, a cook for many. My Dad told me stories of how many chickens she would cook at once for her six children and many farm hands. There were many things she taught me, not the least of which had to do with feeding others.

Into her 80s and 90s she continued to serve our large family wonderful meals. Oftentimes supper consisted of various sandwich meats and bread, canned fruit and jello, homemade cookies, and quite frequently a piping hot glass baking dish filled with what we called hot dish. She would pull the extra-crunchy peanut butter from the refrigerator, lay out plates and bowls of goodies; and then this petite woman would take a frighteningly large, piping hot dish from the oven and transport it with grace to the table.

One of of these hot dishes – and one that left an impression on my own husband – was calico beans. After she served up my new husband just months after we wed, I asked her for the recipe. It was a simple mixture of beans, a little meat, brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard. Tangy and sweet; humble yet satisfying.

I miss her and think of her often, especially when I’m feeding my own brood – stretching what we’ve got from the garden and the pantry.

When mustard greens came from the garden, it seemed natural to pair them with inexpensive beans for a simple lunch. The inspiration was, of course, from my Grandmother and it is now one of our favorite ways to eat a mess ‘o greens.

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Calico Mustard Greens and Beans

Recipe Note: Turnip, mustard, collard, or kale greens are all suitable for this recipe. Also, don’t cook down the liquid too much… it makes for a great dip for breads or splendid slurping from a spoon.

Ingredients

  • 1 pot full of mustard greens (approximately two very large bunches)
  • 3 strips of bacon, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cups prepared or leftover beans (black-eyed peas and pinto beans work really well)
  • 1.5 teaspoons prepared mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • a few dashes of cayenne

Directions

  1. Fill a medium Dutch oven with mustard greens, washed, rinsed, and torn into bite-sized pieces. Add the bacon, onion, and about 1/3 cup water. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low, season the greens with a pinch of salt, and cover. Simmer the greens, bacon, and onion for at least 45 minutes, checking periodically just to be sure that the liquid doesn’t dry out.
  2. Once the greens are wilted down and made tender and mellow by the long cooking time, stir in the beans, mustard, honey, and cayenne. Simmer, with lid removed, for at least five minutes, longer to cook off any excess liquid.
  3. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or cayenne as needed. Serve next to homemade bread or a salad.

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8 Comments

  1. That looks so good Shannon. My mom never cooked beans and greens until she married my stepfather. He was from KY, and grew up with various combinations. I love the stuff now. Funny, my stepdad does NOT like meat in it; he has a largely vegetarian palate, but me, I’ll take them anyway I can find them. I wish I was close to TX, and I’d invite myself over, but I think being in OH and all, it might not be practical.
    HA

  2. This looks wonderful. I’ve never had turnip, mustard or collard greens, only kale, but this is making me wish I had. 🙂 I want to give this a try. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  3. Do those mustard greens have a Latin name on the seed packet by any chance? There are so many times that something called one thing in America is something totally different here in the UK. I got my hands on some collard greens this year. They are little known here but I think they will be just right for this recipe when they have grown a bit. Looking forward to it! Thanks.

  4. sounds really good. I lost all my gram’s recipes and this one seems very familiar. I will make this after I grocery shop later this week.

    as always, best to you and your family.

  5. I cannot wait to try this recipe. Our CSA deliveries begin next week and I know we’ll get some great greens to try this with. 🙂 thanks!

  6. Cynthia – the greens are the leafy tops of the turnip plant. There are some seeds that are bred to give more ‘top’ than ‘root’ – “seven top” and “alltop” are an example – but for your purposes in Great Britain, just be sure to save the green tops when you grow turnips. If you plant turnip seeds ‘too close’ together, you can pull up every other plant before roots begin to develop well, and get a ‘mess of greens’ while making space for your other seeds to grow turnip-roots (plus green tops) ~ http://homeguides.sfgate.com/turnips-plant-greens-39992.html

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