Big Weekend!

The weekend of July 3rd was a big one for our family. My DH and I celebrated our 40th anniversary with family and friends at a local park. The clan gathered and food was consumed. We had the traditional summer barbecue foods---brats, dogs, burgers, chips, watermelon, green salad and....Bean Glop.

What? Really? You have never heard of Bean Glop? Oh, I am sorry. You've missed a great side dish to summer outdoor grilling (or winter ham dinners, for that matter). We always have Bean Glop. My mother passed the recipe on to me, years and years and even more years ago. I will pass it on to you, too, if you like. See end of post.

Dear old friends came to help us celebrate. (Mac is a friend from my college days and Susan W. and I started out bowling together about 30 years ago....maybe more.)

My eldest came with her intended in tow...

...and Joyce (left) and Nonie (right) caught up with each other since our trip to North Africa...

....my grandson from Southern California....
and his sister came....(with their parents, my daughter Annie and her husband Chris).

My sister-in-law Gwen brought a friend...

...and my son Don (left) was the grill master for the day (and a fine, fine job he did, too!) while nephew Eric's lady Jeannie chatted with Twyla, our niece.

Much cake was consumed...

by children and DH, especially....

"Auntie" P had the worst picture of her life taken by yours truly, I am ashamed to say (she is much, much prettier than the photo).

DH had chats with his trap shooting buddies...

...while Chris S.'s mother, Ginny, met one of our granddaughters, Emma, for the first time.

Emma and her sisters....

Abbie and.....

Olivia came and had a lovely time. As did we all. I had such a good time I mostly forgot to take photos and when I did, I didn't pay much attention to what I was doing. These are not my best work. But fun? Oh, I had THE BEST TIME.

Why, it seemed like EVERYONE came!
(Darth and his Storm Trooper buddies were actually spotted the next day at the Edmonds 4th of July parade. There were pirates, too. Very mixed group at that parade....)

BEAN GLOP
This recipe came from my mother, Pete Rawlings. She got it from a good friend of hers, Aileen Reynolds. Over the years I have tweaked the proportions a bit and spiced it up, but it’s still very similar to the “Bean Glop” Mom used to make WAY back in the 1950s.
Serves a bunch.
2 large cans low sodium garbanzo beans
2 large cans low sodium kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can cannelli beans
2 cans black beans
3/4 lb. good, smoked bacon, diced
4 tart green apples (Granny Smith, Braeburn or Gala); cored, seeded and diced
2 large onions, diced1/8 to 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
1 jar Snappy Tom tomato juice or Spicy V-8
brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a large, oven-proof casserole well (or use a crock pot and let the mixture cook for 8 to 10 hours on low). Drain all the beans and add to casserole. Add the apples, onions and raw bacon and mix well. In a large measuring cup, mix brown sugar* and tomato juice. Pour over the beans. The liquid should come up almost to the top of the beans.
Bake the glop for several hours. The liquid should gradually be absorbed and the sauce will thicken. Stir occasionally, being very careful as it’s very hot and loves to splash onto tender flesh. (Trust me, I know.) If the glop seems to be drying out before it’s melded into the proper consistency, add more tomato juice-brown sugar mixture.
Freezes well.
*The proportion of brown sugar to tomato juice is up to personal taste. Some members of the family like it sweeter than others. It should taste mildly sweet, at least, before adding to the bean mixture.