A while back I admitted to making my first succotash and it was a big hit. Why is that lima beans sends a chill up most people’s backs? I made it again tonight.

One of the comments on my first post suggested adding a bit of cumin to the mix. Laurie Colwin suggested nutmeg as a common addition, but in her version which adds okra, which I didn’t have around, she adds ground ginger, which I did. I think I might have liked the cumin better, but to each their own.

The other difference was that Colwin has you saute diced onion, garlic, and red pepper in a bit of olive oil before adding the corn and lima beans (and okra, if you have some).

Many roads lead to a good ending. When I was first cooking I was nervous about not following a recipe exactly. Now I’ve learned I can leave some things out, add other things, choose between this or that… and with some experience it all starts coming out good, meaning you have endless variations on a theme available even from the simplest recipe.