I still buy it once in a while. A few years ago, I used to make it from scratch and bake it in a greased coffee can, to make tea sandwiches, spread with cream cheese, dates, and walnuts. It was very simple to make, took longer to go to the store than whip up a recipe and bake it.
Lots of comfort foods are like that, and if you keep certain staples on hand, you can whip stuff up in the middle of the night also =)
Here’s a recipe I got from a pamphlet on dried bean cookery:
1 lb. great northern, small white, navy or yellow eye beans (I use yellow eyes)
1 qt. boiling water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
dash of cayenne or Tabasco
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup molasses or honey (I use molasses)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 lb. salt pork, diced
Add beans to boiling water; boil 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let soak 1 hour, o cold-soak overnight. Drain beans. Combine dry ingredients and mix with beans. Stir in onion, molasses, brown sugar and vinegar. Pour half of the mixture into a 1 1/2 qt. or 2 qt. baking dish or bean pot. Add half of the pork, then the rest of the beans. Top with remaining pork. Pour in boiling water to top of beans. Cover. Bake at 300 degrees F for 6 hours if to be served at once; 5 hours for those to be frozen. Add a little boiling water if needed during baking.
This recipe produces very firm beans. If you like them softer, after soaking and draining the beans, simmer them in plain water for about 20 minutes, then drain them again.
I bet you put tomatoes in your chowder and cheer for the Yankees, too, don’t you? <spits on the ground in disgust and to get the taste of the Y-word out of his mouth>
Oops - this should have been “or cold-soak overnight.”