Today when I chatted with Matt Swaim of Sacred Heart Radio we talked about beans. Beans were an important diet staple during Bible times. Here’s a familiar passage and it’s about the popular Ezekiel bread that we enjoy even today.
Ezekiel 4:9: And you take wheat and barley, beans and lentils……and put them in a single vessel and make bread of them.
Bible scholars say that the beans mentioned in the Bible may have been a fava bean type. But I have to think chick peas/garbanzos were part of their diet as well, since we Lebanese cooks have used those beans for centuries.
Here’s a favorite and yummy baked bean recipe for your Memorial Day picnic. And if you have a chance to visit the cemetery where your relatives and friends are buried, do so, say a little prayer and if you can, place a few flowers near the grave. And also a prayer.
BODACIOUS BAKED BEANS
Is there a picnic that doesn’t include baked beans? Don’t think so. But baked beans don’t have to be boring. Elevate them to new heights with this recipe, which is one of my most requested picnic side dishes. Yes, the ingredients are unusual but I can tell you these beans are so good. Make a day ahead and rewarm.
Ingredients
28-32 oz. can favorite baked beans (you know, the ones with all the seasonings, ready to eat beans)
1 can, 15 oz., regular, plain beans, your choice, drained
1 generous cup favorite barbeque sauce or more
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple, chopped but not peeled (Matt uses a green bell pepper instead)
5-6 strips bacon, fried and coarsely crumbled
Instructions
Mix everything together. Pour into sprayed casserole. Bake in 350-degree oven about 40 minutes, until bubbly and no longer real runny. It gets thicker as it cools. Delicious hot, room temperature or cold.
About Eating 