At my mom's request I made Northern Bean Soup and Cornbread for dinner tonight...a first for cooking beans for this girl. I have made a lot of cornbread in my life but I don't really remember making it from scratch...both were delish-ous! I brought two cups of beans to a boil after rinsing and making sure there weren't any bad beans in the bunch. Let them sit for two hours and then rinsed them and brought them to a boil under 2" of cold water to begin. After they had simmered for a half hour I added 2 cloves of garlic, 1 walla walla sweet onion, 3 carrots finely sliced, 2 bay leaves, 4 chicken bouillon cubes, a piece of random pork I found in the freezer some parsley and a buttload of pepper (oops) simmered for about 45 more minutes and soup and cornbread filled the house with a savory smell. It was fairly easy and probably pretty cheap if I were to do a cost analysis!
So, the Northern Bean soup wouldv'e made my Southern Fried Grandparents proud (my mom's words)!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Soul Food
I don't suppose that grilled pork steak, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus and peach cobbler are really classified as soul food but I think that cooking for others when your soul feels a little bruised is good medicine.
This past weekend has been a somber one; my children's stepmother passed away on Sunday from complications that arose from chemotherapy. She was 36 and her cancer was in remission, she left behind four children and many friends and family. At one time we were good friends. The last time I spoke with her was in January when I asked her if I could run in her honor at the Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon. She told me it would mean a lot to her and I am at peace that our last conversation was a good one. Our relationship has often been rocky over the past eleven years.
Along with this rather drastic wind that has blown across my life there are other things that trouble me, aging relatives, a mom I did alterations for last fall is missing under suspicious circumstances, the economy, missing loved ones and a whole host of other worries.
But I have so much to be thankful for while I am walking through this time...and probably the biggest thing I am thankful for right now is time...I have time to create, work on my art, work on my body, spend time with my mom and family, time to cook, walk my dog, learn new things, read, and just really breathe and enjoy my life! This is huge because for years and years I have been running around like a crazy woman, working, raising kids, getting my degrees, always too busy to do the things I want and need to do...So I say thank you so much God for giving me the time and the realization that for the first time in a long time I have the gift of time, and I pray that I will use it wisely!
Buon appetito!
This past weekend has been a somber one; my children's stepmother passed away on Sunday from complications that arose from chemotherapy. She was 36 and her cancer was in remission, she left behind four children and many friends and family. At one time we were good friends. The last time I spoke with her was in January when I asked her if I could run in her honor at the Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon. She told me it would mean a lot to her and I am at peace that our last conversation was a good one. Our relationship has often been rocky over the past eleven years.
Along with this rather drastic wind that has blown across my life there are other things that trouble me, aging relatives, a mom I did alterations for last fall is missing under suspicious circumstances, the economy, missing loved ones and a whole host of other worries.
But I have so much to be thankful for while I am walking through this time...and probably the biggest thing I am thankful for right now is time...I have time to create, work on my art, work on my body, spend time with my mom and family, time to cook, walk my dog, learn new things, read, and just really breathe and enjoy my life! This is huge because for years and years I have been running around like a crazy woman, working, raising kids, getting my degrees, always too busy to do the things I want and need to do...So I say thank you so much God for giving me the time and the realization that for the first time in a long time I have the gift of time, and I pray that I will use it wisely!
Buon appetito!
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