The Magical Fruit

I've always loved beans.

I grew up in La Puente, a gritty suburb of Los Angeles where some of the white flight from the dust bowl in Oklahoma ended up.  We were them.  My grandfather died on the farm and my dad became the man of the house.

At fourteen.

 After untold years of drought, they came west with the rest of the Okies (I can call them that, I am one) and set roots.  Most ended up in towns like La Puente, El Monte, West Covina and Baldwin Park... any place you could have a chicken or two, the roads may or may not be dirt and the rest of the town Latino.  You stuck out like sore thumb.

Our first house was on Los Angeles Avenue in Baldwin Park, just East of Main St, a quarter mile from the drive through dairy.  We would walk there on hot nights to get ice cream made from the fresh milk.  It was always the best ice cream in the world on a 90 degree night.  The neighborhood was different than us and my Hesian uncles parked bikes on our culdasac to make a point, our neighbors all spoke Spanish.  We would Spanglish a bit but the universal language of the neighborhood was, when the goat went missing, there were great tacos to be had the next night.  Oh so true.  Oh so good.

In my teenage years I always heard, "Ah, Mijo, you are too skinny..." and someone's mom would shove a homemade tortilla with butter in your hand, or a potato and chorizo burrito, menudo, or a plate of refried beans.  I loved those beans and studied method after method, all individual to each family.

Here is my version.

Saute onions, garlic and hot peppers in oil, add beans (use any beans you've canned, they all work - recipe to follow) with liquid and simmer until soft.  Salt and pepper to taste and mash with a potato masher.  Simmer until they hit the desired thickness.  You don't even need to add fat to come up with a great product, simply cook down your onions, garlic and peppers in a bit of hot water, add your beans and off you go.

It brings me back every time.  Weewee's mom used to serve the best beans, but don't tell that to Mrs. Rodriguez...

Pressure Canned Beans:

1 C Beans of choice
Water to within an inch of the top of the jar
Clove of garlic
Teaspoon of salt

Process at 10 lbs for 90 minutes.

All basic canning rules apply.

Eat, eat!!!!  You are too skinny!!!!