I went home this afternoon, not in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense. My mind wandered right back to that couch way out in the country, right to Rt. 1, Box 208, Prague, OK. Green beans....that is what took me there..........I was 10 years old. This afternoon I sat right here on my own couch snapping the ends of fresh green beans when I realized I was snapping them just like Mom did. Remember how she'd snap the ends to make sure there were no bad spots and hold them in her left hand until she would get a handful? Remember that kids? When she would get a handful she would pass them over to one of us kids. I remembered us fussing over who would get the next handful of beans. It was our job to break them into pieces which was a lot of fun until we were old enough to know we were working!!!
I remember coming home from Vacation Bible School (VBS and green beans - always at the same time) and mom heading straight out to pick beans which if you have ever done this, is back breaking. I don't know how she did it. She would teach at VBS, go out and pick beans in the noon day sun, snap them, and can the rest of the afternoon, fix a hot meal to have ready when daddy came home, work outside with daddy until dark, and then make sure she was prepared for VBS the next day. I don't think I have ever in my life worked as hard as my mother did on any given day.
I have such sweet memories of canning green beans with mom. I remember the kids (I was the oldest so all my siblings are "the kids") comparing their bowl of beans to see who had snapped the most. I remember washing the jars. I remember putting the washed jars in boiling water and holding them there until they were needed. I remember fitting the funnel over the jars and stuffing beans in them. I remember pouring the hot water over the beans. I remember placing the jars in the pressure canner. I also remember being scared to death that the canner would blow up. Never did!! The best memory is hearing that distinctive plop when the jars sealed. If you have ever canned, that plop means success. I heard dozens of plops back then....we had lots of kids!
So tonight we enjoyed new potatoes and green beans with a side of nostalgia. Try them. Cook fresh green beans with fresh onions and a bit of garlic. Add a slice or two of bacon and cook for a while. Add small unpeeled new potatoes and cook until done. Add in a couple of memories and you will be set.
I love you guys.
I remember coming home from Vacation Bible School (VBS and green beans - always at the same time) and mom heading straight out to pick beans which if you have ever done this, is back breaking. I don't know how she did it. She would teach at VBS, go out and pick beans in the noon day sun, snap them, and can the rest of the afternoon, fix a hot meal to have ready when daddy came home, work outside with daddy until dark, and then make sure she was prepared for VBS the next day. I don't think I have ever in my life worked as hard as my mother did on any given day.
I have such sweet memories of canning green beans with mom. I remember the kids (I was the oldest so all my siblings are "the kids") comparing their bowl of beans to see who had snapped the most. I remember washing the jars. I remember putting the washed jars in boiling water and holding them there until they were needed. I remember fitting the funnel over the jars and stuffing beans in them. I remember pouring the hot water over the beans. I remember placing the jars in the pressure canner. I also remember being scared to death that the canner would blow up. Never did!! The best memory is hearing that distinctive plop when the jars sealed. If you have ever canned, that plop means success. I heard dozens of plops back then....we had lots of kids!
So tonight we enjoyed new potatoes and green beans with a side of nostalgia. Try them. Cook fresh green beans with fresh onions and a bit of garlic. Add a slice or two of bacon and cook for a while. Add small unpeeled new potatoes and cook until done. Add in a couple of memories and you will be set.
I love you guys.
Love you too :)
ReplyDeleteI can hear that snapping and plinking now--Grandma had a big metal bowl to put the pieces in, and we always put the ends in a brown paper sack. I feel like I'm there right now.
Gonna have to get green beans at the farmers market in the morning!