Pinto Beans and Hoe-Cakes

I know I’ve mentioned making these before, but I don’t think I’ve put the recipes up. I made this for dinner last week. I still haven’t unpacked the cookbooks and recipes so I hopped on here to look up my grandma’s recipe for the Hoe-Cakes and couldn’t find it! I had to go dig out the box of books and recipes and find it there. I was scared there for a minute that I had lost it, forever, no one is alive anymore to give it to me again! I looked it up online but none that I saw were the same as Grandma’s. So I’m putting it on here now so I won’t ever lose it! Once you put something out on the big wide web it’s there forever right?:) So excuse me if this a repeat, but their good enough to repeat! Good country comfort food.

Pinto Beans

One bag of dried pinto beans
fresh smoked ham hocks 
Salt and Pepper

Look your beans for stones and deformed beans. You can soak overnight or do what I do, par-boil for 15-20 minutes in a pan with water a couple inches over the beans, drain the water and add the ham hocks, salt and pepper and water to just an inch or so over the top of the beans (depends how much juice you want in your bowl of beans!) and bring up to heat and then simmer all day until tender. 

I add chopped onions to my bowl. Not everyone likes that though so I just put a small bowl of chopped onions on the table.

Grandma’s Hoe Cakes

2 cups self rising corn meal
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 cup butter milk

Mix
fry in oil, in cast iron pan if you have one! They are so much better in cast iron, crispier. Drop by spoonful, just like making a small pancake. Maybe a couple tbsp of oil, experiment. You want it to bubble in the oil but not be saturated. I usually put them on a plate with paper towels and then dab the tops with paper towels to absorb some of the oil.

I love these better than baked cornbread. The outside and edges are crispy and the inside light & fluffy. If your not going to slather them with lots of real butter it just won’t be the same!  And honey is delicious on them too!

 

I pull the little bit of meat on the ham hocks off and give it to bossman cause he wants MEAT but I’m happy with just beans!

Mom always told the story about grandma being embarrassed about being a ‘hillbilly’ and on Sundays she always cooked a pot of beans for dinner, much cheaper to feed 5 kids! But when she would holler out the door to come eat she always would yell, ‘Come eat, the roast is ready!’. Silly grandma!

Peggy Ann