And taste as heavenly.
Every now and then I fall hopelessly in love. I’ve tumbled hard for a spider, a redbird who chirps relentlessly when I forget to fill his feeder and a squishy pair of flip flops. (The latter being a painful subject having found one recently in my pup’s mouth.)
The morning's haul.
My children have been gone all week. It’s been odd. (Will leave that onion to peel in another post.)
With all this free time on my hands, after prying myself out of bed in the morning, I get in the garden and poke around.
Here are the goodies I found yesterday.
I took all those green beans — pole beans, snap beans, whatever you call them — stringed ‘em, snapped ‘em and put them in the crock pot with a bit of water, salt, bacon and the extra special ingredient, a good sprinkling of sugar.
Cooked them till they were good and mushy as all southern veggies are supposed to be.
This was done at the suggestion of Michelle as she healed my torn-up backside the day before. During a most wonderful massage at the hands of Michelle, we talked of our gardens. She mentioned fixing up a bunch of beans in the crock pot (she didn’t add sugar, that was my addition). Her husband and mother LOVED them, but when she tried them…Eeww! Michelle didn’t like them — at all.
“They didn’t taste like canned green beans, did they?”
“No ma’am, they sure didn’t.”
I got it. There is something so very comforting about canned greens beans. Opening a can of green beans, sniffing that wonderful scent, transports me to school lunches on plastic green trays (with four compartments) at Audubon Elementary.
Makes me happy.
But so does the taste of pole beans stewing in their own juice, salt and bit of bacon all afternoon.
Yum. When those beans have come out of your very own garden ~ that’s just plain good eating.
And rather surprising for me. In fact, the whole gardening, cooking thing is quite miraculous where I’m concerned. Not that I’m complaining being the recipient of a minor miracle, especially one that tastes so good.
Happy, Happy Thanksgiving.
Hope you are having a wonderful holiday with family, friends and all those you love (or at least those with whom you have to be civil for 3 hours once a year.) No. This is the time of year to give of ourselves and open our eyes to the best in everyone ~ even those who might rub us a bit wrong.
And a good time to be honest about our faults.
Number one for me…I need a little maturing in the kitchen.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to share recipes. I have printed them all and made an oath to try each one out and share on this blog…(though not by tomorrow).
Deborah Montella won the side of cornbread dressing most generously donate by Madison’s own Ye Olde Colonial. Those of you not from Madison looking for some great Southern cooking just drive to the square and look for the sign. You can’t miss it.
Deborah is a writer friend I met through a UGA Harriette Austin Writer’s Conference. I haven’t landed a agent yet from the conference, but have made two wonderful friends each year I attended…both who are now working with agents on their projects. What can I say? I seek out attractive, talented, fun women at these things hoping their talent will rub off on me. Deborah asked me to donate her hard earned dish to someone who might be in need of a side item tomorrow. I quickly thought of someone.
Me.
But no, thank goodness there is plenty of food to go on our table this year, and I did come up with someone who was very grateful to add that dressing to their all-give-thanks meal.
So now I’ve got to run look through my race packet. Don’t want to leave it till last minute like usual. Almost missed the start last year.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving…
And with my recipe post last week through Nancy Wall’s comment I learned about another great web site … with loads of recipes to share: Necy’s Kitchen.
Nancy Wall and her husband grew up in Madison though they don’t live here at present. Her father, Woodrow Neal, was once principal of Madison Elementary. How cool is that? Her recipe blog is loaded with 40 years of her best recipes. YAY! Nancy’s blog…
Necy’s Kitchen. “I am the bread of life.”
