Were you lying awake last night with Neil Young going around in your head? Perhaps you’re just getting ready for this Saturday night, when the Harvest Moon will light up the sky…

With that in mind, let’s go back to an earlier Autumn, in 1620. In the brand-new Plymouth colony, a bunch of hungry Pilgrims were facing starvation, and were saved by some generous Narragansett natives, who introduced the newcomers to their “three sisters” – corn, beans and squash – which the Europeans had never seen before. Of these, corn was most important because it grew like crazy and stored well through the long winter. And it was the central ingredient in a miraculous dish that the natives called “Sohquttahhash,” which means broken corn kernels and just about anything else.

It probably saved a lot a English lives, and it went on to become a standard throughout the Northeast. In the 1800’s, an educator named Catherine Beecher (sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe) published a home skills textbook that included a recipe for a stew made from corn cob broth, two parts corn to one part beans, thickened with flour. Her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, later published a twist on the recipe that included salt pork. From there the variations included different meats, roots and vegetables. It’s a Yankee tradition.

Unless you live in the south. Down there the recipe is reversed, and the beans get all the credit. Anything that contains lima beans and a mix of any vegetables qualifies, especially if you’ve plunked a lump of butter – or even better, lard – right on top. Or you can take it one step further and throw some crust on it for a casserole. Dang.

During the Depression, when lots of folks were as hungry as early Puritans, the recipe was commonly reduced to whatever was available, usually a can of corn and anything else. Which may explain why the version that went into public schools and became the common standard is just a watery mix of corn and limas. Admit it, you hated that.

Which is a travesty. Because this stuff is awesome. Nutritionally speaking, the combination of a grain and a vegetable provides a perfect mix of amino acids, whether you add protein or not. And it’s easy. Start with red onion, red bell pepper and enough red pepper flakes to give it heat, sweated in oil. Add any kind of corn. Beans, preferably limas. Fresh basil or parsley if you have it. Smidge of butter. Salt and pepper.

If you’re missing any of these, don’t worry, just use whatcha got. No matter the exact recipe, it’s simply Succotash. And it’s miraculous, simply perfect, on this Harvest Moon.

(For best results, serve it with a cold Narragansett.)