The hot sticky summer is upon us and and all I can think about is cooling down. Susan and I have been adapting to our new 1850s home and all of of it’s lovely quirks. I’ve been swapping out all the 30 something storm windows with their summer screens trying to see where the breeze comes from best. There have been a lot of wind slammed doors and rattling windows trying to get the combination right. How do we cool the house down naturally has been my top priority. This whole concept of cooling the house has had me thinking a lot about color. Why is the house painted white, maybe because it gets full sun and white deflects the heat. This made me think, what else does the color white represent? Whether it’s fashion for the heat, ice cream for the cool taste or the contrast of a white pizza. The color white has such an intrinsic stark cool feeling about it and it can change the mood in any case. So, to change our mood from the heat we are sharing with you some of our “Summer White” ideas in the the form of food.

We love this recipe because it’s the perfect side dish to any kind of BBQ and it’s pretty fast on the stove top so you don’t heat up your kitchen. If you have a cast iron pan, you could even prepare this on your grill, at the same time you cook your main dish.
Pork and beans is a time honored summer tradition, and if it’s not yours, you should try it. We always have a few cans of cannellini beans around in the pantry because you can use them for so many things like bean dip for pittas, add them to a soup, or fry in a pan for pork and beans. I will say this is not my moms recipe, but it’s pretty amazing and takes no time to whip up, which means you keep the heat down in the kitchen.

White Beans and Pork Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 14.5 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 5 ounces back bacon, diced (you can sub for regular bacon* if you can’t find this)
• 2 shallots, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, remove some from sprig

Instructions

1. In a large sauté pan, add bacon on medium high heat and cook until fat starts to release. Add shallots, and continue cooking until bacon is crispy and shallots are translucent. Add sprigs of thyme and cook for 30 seconds. *If you’re using regular bacon you might have to drain some fat after this step.
2. Add in the cannellini beans and stir, salt and pepper liberally to taste. Turn the heat down to medium, and cook for 5 minutes string frequently allowing flavors to combine and beans to soften.
3. Add in red wine vinegar and mix throughly. Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper of desired.

We’ll be sharing some of our favorite summer whites each month over the summer.