I am a Nebraska girl, and proud of it.
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I mean, how many people can say the cow population outnumbers the human population of their state?
As if that isn’t enough of a bragging right, Nebraska also has a little something else going for it: corn.
I don’t discriminate much when it comes to corn. I love it grilled, steamed or boiled. I love it in salads, salsas and stir-fries. But, more than anything else, I love it freshly popped, buttered and salted.
Popcorn is one of the greatest joys in life, and I almost never get sick of it.
However, even this Nebraska-girl needs to mix things up every now and then.
Yesterday I was in the hunt for a crunchy, chewy and slightly sweet snack. In a rare turn of events, popcorn just didn’t sound appealing.
What to do? What to do?
With a quick scan of the cabinet, my eyes were drawn to the corner of an upper shelf. Hidden behind some imperishable tomatoes, green beans and Campbell’s soup was a can of butter beans.
Immediately my mind started scanning the hundreds of recipes in my brain’s Rolodex. I remembered back to a savory, roasted chickpea recipe I had tried out a few months ago. It was tasty, but I was in the mood for something a little sweeter.
I flipped through a few more mental recipes, before landing on nut-butter crusted fries. That was also good, but it didn’t have the chewiness I was looking for.
Then it came to me: Why not try out a combination?
Half an hour later, I was sitting in front of my TV, contently popping my new creation into my mouth.
Satisfaction.
Cinnamon-Sugar Roasted Butter Beans
Ingredients:
• 14 oz. can of butter beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ T EVOO
• ½ T natural peanut butter
• 1 t sugar
• ½ t cinnamon
Directions:
• Mix the EVOO and peanut butter together in a medium sized bowl. Pour in rinsed beans and toss everything together. Pour peanut butter coated beans onto a cookie sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes in a 400-degree oven. Meanwhile, mix cinnamon with sugar.
• Remove beans from the oven, toss with cinnamon-sugar and return to oven for approximately five more minutes, or until adequately chewy.
• Enjoy hot or cold.
I am still just as much of a Nebraska girl, and corn will always hold a special place in my heart.
Even still, “The Butter Bean Roastin’ State” doesn’t sound too bad…
Question: What local ingredients do you like to cook with?
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