Ok I am definitely going to try making bubble & squeak in the next couple of days. My husband is a very choosy eater, and this would definitely be something he would veto..... but he's in Beijing, so I can eat whatever I want!
I'm going to try UG's beans too!! I made corned beef & cabbage last night - it's another "no way" meal when he's home.

I vowed that I would be good & work out/ diet while he was gone....... yeah, um..... don't think that's gonna happen! lol

Enjoy! And eat your starches with fiber -- try getting your carbs from fiber-laden sources, includin' beans. The slower release of the energy of the carbs when plenty of fiber is around means your body isn't jolted into secreting lots of insulin to control the rise in blood glucose and storing that glucose as fat. Something I've gotten some pretty good results from is Sugarbusters (tm) -- you can get the books at Borders or Barnes & Noble.

BusterB, Jiffy brand corn bread/muffin mix and cake mix are still around on the West Coast.

Well when I was a kid, don't think they had jiffy. I however do have some.

Muffed stonkfish
 

One cup breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp parsley, pinch of dried thyme, grated rind of half a lemon, 2 oz melted butter, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice mix it all together, add a little beaten egg to bind.
1lb monkfish tail - remove the bone down the middle and stuff with the above stuffing.
Lay a little proscuitto on top.
Wrap it all in foil and bake at 190C for 40 minutes.
Deeeelishus!

Made the corn casserole yesterday. With sour cream, added 1/2 cup each green onions and bell pepper a dash of old bay seasoning. Great

Deer Ribs
 

On new years we smoke ribs at Mikes shop. With blackeyed peas, cabbage and cracklin cornbread. Click photo for cornbread.
[IMG]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/80498616/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/42/80498616_b8ae34ef23.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="ribs" /></a>[/IMG]

I made the corn bread casserole again today. With green onions, bell pepper and swapped the whole corn for Hominy. Also 2 small pounded chicken breast coated with my take off of the Outback onion. Served on my fine china :yum:
[IMG]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/86236065/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/39/86236065_5380aa26fd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="c-bread casserole" /></a>[/IMG]
[IMG]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/86236066/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/6/86236066_7ffb8729b7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="c-breast" /></a>[/IMG]

:yum: Yum! I think I need to go fix myself dinner now, although it won't be as good as that, alas. Like your fine china, too! Where did you pick up that pattern? :D

China-Mart of course.

"Beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker..."
 

A further note on baked beans, from the cookery booklet written somewhat erratically by one Olga V. Hanscomb, home ec advice columnist with the St. Paul Daily News, 1936: "[with the beans cleaned and soaked overnight] Beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes at 20 pound pressure and then browned in oven for 30 minutes."

The Hanscomb recipe looks a lot like my grandfather's, in the general details:

2 cups dried Navy Beans
1/4 lb Salt Pork
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Mustard
1/4 cup Molasses
Hot Water, to cover, and a change of water to cook

How Olga did it: "Wash beans and soak over night in one quart of water. Drain off the water and cover with fresh water. Cook slowly about 1/2 hour. Drain. Place half the beans in a bean pot or deep casserole and add seasonings [the mustard and molasses -- U.G.]. Slash the pork but do not cut through the rind and place in pot rind up. Add the remainder of the beans and cover with hot water. Cover the dish and bake at 275 degrees for 8 hours, replenishing with water which evaporates. Beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes at 20 pound pressure and then browned in oven for 30 minutes."

You may or may not want the salt, particularly if you parboil the beans with baking soda in the bean water, which is the big difference between Grampa's recipe and this one. I'm a bit surprised at the keeping of the salt pork in one piece -- I rather like encountering the occasional lump of salt pork adrift in my beans.

Good gods, man, be careful!! An exploding pressure cooker can take out your whole kitchen!

Cornbread Recipe
 

Wonder if anyone could have a look at this cornbread recipe for me & let me know how authentic it's likely to be? I can't follow American recipes as I usually come up against an ingredient I can't find in this country, so this is from a UK website.

280g cornmeal, fine polenta or fine semolina
85g plain flour
2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 large egg
150ml Milk
425ml buttermilk or natural yogurt
115g jarred chilli peppers, drained and chopped

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Generously butter a shallow tin (around 25cm long) or a small roasting tin.

2. In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour and bicarbonate of soda and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.

3. In a jug combine the egg, milk and yogurt and chillies .

4. Pour the contents of the jug into the bowl of dry ingredients and lightly combine, taking care not to over-mix as this will make the corn bread tough.

5. Pour the mixture into the buttered tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until firm and golden. Serve warm from the oven, cut into squares.

I've had packet mix cornbread before (from the Kick Yo Ass Hot range), but I've never tried it from scratch before. This one appeals as it's not too fattening...

Yogurt is not an authentic southern ingredient.

Check the back of the cornmeal package. There is usually a recipe on there.