We didn't have a lot of money, so we ate a lot of beans. No rice, ever. My dad spent 3 years in the Philippines in WW II and would not allow rice in the house. Mom always cooked Great Northern beans with ham hocks until the beans were practically a thin paste and served them with cornbread and sliced onion. As I kid I put ketchup in them.
When I got older I loaded them down with black pepper. Now they go through me like barbed wire. I still love them, but I don't eat them often.