A Southern Grace: no sufferin' here

March 9, 2015

no sufferin' here

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I think I knew the phrase "thufferin' thuccotash" long before I actually tasted succotash for the first time.


Do you know that reference? If you grew up in the US during the 80s and 90s, you probably do. Boy, did I love those Saturday morning cartoons. Do they even run cartoons on Saturday mornings anymore? Even if they do, I'm sure they're nowhere near as awesome as the ones airing when I was but a wee lass.

Garfield and Friends, Bugs Bunny, Fraggle Rock, Inspector Gadget, Snorks, Carebears, the Jetsons, and on it goes. Classics. I get all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about those fun and wholesome shows that would probably still seem incredible to today's youngsters. My niece loves VeggieTales, but I bet she'd get hooked on Carebears* just as easily.

*Incidentally, the only Halloween costume I can remember wearing as a kid was that of a Carebear, lovingly crafted by my mom. Wonder whatever happened to that.

BUT I digress. This is a post about succotash. Not sufferin' succotash. Just your good, old-fashioned, basic mix of corn and lima beans with herbs and a few other tasty components. For this batch, I added some sugar and vinegar to shoot for a little sweet and sour action, and I finished the dish with some fresh lime juice. We thought it was delicious, and even though the limas were rehydrated from dry and the corn was frozen, it still brought a nice, warm, Southern summer day* to mind.

*Yesterday, happily, temperatures nearly reached 80 degrees F, so it might as well have been a Southern summer day!

Summer Succotash in the Dead of Winter
Makes about 8 1/2-cup servings
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups corn
  • 2 cups frozen baby lima beans, thawed
  • 3/4 lb cherry tomatoes (1 pint), halved
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
Directions:
Add onion to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Stir in corn, lima beans, and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.
Stir in vinegar, sugar, basil, and salt and pepper to taste; cook for a minute more.
Remove from the heat and add the lime juice and stir to combine.

15 comments:

Pam said...

Your succotash is definitely not "sufferin," Roz! It looks delicious! We love it, but for some strange reason only have it at Thanksgiving time. That will change when the farmers' market opens! Great recipe!

Barbara said...

Definitely a southern dish from way back...although my mother made it and we were from Michigan! I like your winter version...and the finish with lime.
My grandkids seem to find cartoons easily, but not the ones we all loved.

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

I def remember those cartoons!

Angie's Recipes said...

Your succotash looks very tasty! I would spread them on my bread too.

pam said...

Oh yes, I remember all those cartoons! I don't really like lima beans, but I like the sweet sour thing you have going on.

Erica said...

I used to watch all those cartoons in Colombia. They were translated to Spanish. The recipe very really good!

Joanne said...

I'm pretty sure I had NO idea what succotash was until my twenties! I wonder what I thought that they were saying in the cartoon?

Unknown said...

Well I definitely learned a couple of new things from this post! I have only ever heard of succotash from the cartoon and did not know it was an actual dish. Now I have to try it. Guarantee it won't be "sufferin'"

Marjie said...

Yeah, no one understands the wonder of the Saturday morning Cartooniverse any longer, with cartoon network and all those other 24/7 channels. Ah, well, one of these days, your reference will be a complete mystery! But your succotash will still look good.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I remember that cartoon! I also didn't think that succotash was a real thing until I tried it in Canada-it was delicious! Because it was associated with the word suffering I didn't think it would be that good! :P

I Wilkerson said...

Yes, I spent far too much time in front of Saturday morning cartoons growing up. I haven't had succotash in ages--and never as "fancy" as yours. Looks great!

Pam said...

I loved Saturday morning cartoons too.

I haven't had succotash in a long time - it looks terrific!

Katerina said...

My son still watches cartoons on Saturday morning and I love your succotash!

Digestive Enzymes said...

I’m really excited you’re sharing this food. But I want to be sure about Digestive Enzymes. Can you inform me this is no problem for digestive in human body?

Betty said...

Today's Saturday morning cartoons are NOT the same. The last time my grandson was visiting, we looked for some and they were quite inferior to those of my youth, or even in my kids' time. Sigh. I do love your succotash. I love to make it in the summer when the veggies come right out of the garden. But I have corn and lima beans that I froze last summer, so why not? Sounds like a plan! :)