Lima Beans & Bacon

I've been making this dish since the mid 1990s and I use frozen green lima beans or frozen baby lima beans. Lima beans are named for the capital city of Peru, as the beans first were taken to Europe from Peru in around 1500. Of course, the interesting thing is, the Peruvian city name is pronounced as if "lee-mah," but the bean name is pronounced "lye-mah," as is the name of the city located in western Ohio. Why did this pronunciation difference came about? It may well have developed because the first exposure many English speakers had to the word was through the written word, which they then assumed to have a long 'i' sound, especially because not many English speakers were familiar with Spanish or Quechua, the South American Indian language of the Incas from which the word was derived.  

 

This is not a diet dish. Serve with boiled potatoes

 

Ingredients (6 side dish servings):

 

1 (12 ounce) bag frozen green lima beans or baby lima beans

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons reserved liquid from the lima beans

12 slices smoked bacon

(optional) 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or other ground red pepper)

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

 

Cook the beans separately first per the instructions on the package of the brand you use. Generally, the lima beans are put into a pan, covered with water and the water is brought to a steady simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, with water added as needed. Drain, reserving three tablespoons of the cooking liquid.

To a shallow baking dish, add the lima beans, onion, cooking liquid, sprinkle on the cayenne pepper (if using), cover the beans with bacon slices, then sprinkle the brown sugar over the bacon, top with small pieces of butter scattered about. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 F for 40 to 50 minutes.

 

 

Lima Beans & Bacon along with fried potatoes and tomato slices ...

WORD HISTORY:
Truck/Truckle- "The most common modern meaning" of the noun is really American usage for a "hauling motor vehicle" (British usage for such a vehicle is "lorry"). This is only the history for the noun, for although the meaning of the verb form seems to tie in with the noun, they are really different words from different sources. The verb form means, "to deal or trade in something." The noun goes back to Indo European "dhregh," which had the notion, "to run, to move." This gave Greek "trekhein," which meant "to run," which then produced Greek "trokhos," meaning "wheel" (which made/makes devices move, run). This then produced Greek "trokhileia," which meant, "a collection of pulleys and wheels." This was borrowed by Latin as "trochlea," with the same general meaning. This gave French a form carried to England as "trocle," which was then borrowed into English and became "truckle," meaning "small roller type wheel." When cannons were put onto ships, they were mounted on "carts" on wheels, that also used a system of pulleys for a gun's recoil (the backward thrust of a gun when it is fired). The carts were termed "trucks," a short form of "truckle." The usage broadened to other carts and eventually was applied to heavy motor vehicles used for hauling in the United States prior to the outbreak of World War One in Europe.