RANDOM THOUGHTS & RECIPES-THE GOOD LIFE

I grew up in a family of eight children. I was the oldest of them all. I used to wonder why my parents did that to me. Other kids had maybe one brother or sister to deal with, and here I was stuck with seven sisters... and a brother. I always thought they were kind of bratty, but, of course my mother didn’t think so. She took us all in stride. I don’t know where she got her patience or her energy. She used to clean, cook, help with homework, you name it, she did it. She actually cooked three meals each day. She was a stay-at home mom back then.

Every evening when Poppy came home, (that’s what I called my dad), we all had to go wash for dinner and sit at the kitchen table. We felt so abused. Other kids in the neighborhood got to eat at Burger King, the home of the whopper. They were actually whoppers back then. I used to think they were as big as a small skillet. My mom had craved one when she was pregnant with my little sister and my uncle Bob, brought her one. Boy, was it huge! I wanted one so bad. Sometimes we saw our neighbors with the red and white bucket of KFC. We were stuck with the chicken that my mom cooked. It was good but we wanted some KFC too. Sometimes she would bake it, or boil it or even fry it. But whatever she did, it was not KFC. We always had to have a protein, a starch and lots of vegetables. Sometimes that may even mean no meat but it was always balanced. We would sometimes have beans and rice and green salads. I always wanted something else, whatever she fixed.

After school, we could never watch TV. We had to do homework. Actually for a long time, we didn’t even own a TV. I think I was about fourteen before we even got one. We couldn’t go outside until everything was done. That meant that IF we went outside, we only had a very short time before Poppy came home. We were so deprived of the finer things in life….we thought.

I now look back at that time in my life and appreciate the love, the time, the sacrifices my parents made for the eight of us. We didn’t know then just how blessed we were. I wish I had been able to give my two daughters the daily care that my mom gave to us. As a working mother, I was not always able to be there to help with homework after school. I remember I had to take one of my daughters to Sylvan learning center for help with that. They always had a hot meal after school and sometimes it was provided by Burger king, KFC, or even McDonald's. There were times, however, on rare occasions, when I found time to break away early from my work that I could take them to a sit-down restaurant for a family style meal. Although I love to cook, I rarely found the time because I was so busy providing for them.

I am sure they felt deprived at times. I gave my mom a plaque of appreciation once but she really deserved a gold medal. She and my dad took care of the eight of us together. It took me a while to learn to appreciate them for the love and care that they gave us. It’s really funny when you stop and think about how things change. But that’s life. We grow up and we learn that all the things that we took for granted were truly the finer things in life and we already had them. That is why I want to share in this chapter a simple recipe of black beans and brown rice that I think is just so delicious and filling. You really don’t need any other meat. Just serve a salad and cornbread. That is what we did. Sometimes we ate the turkey butts....your choice.

Beebe Love’s Black Bean’s & Brown Rice

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Ingredients

· 1 pound dried black beans (about 2 cups), rinsed, soaked in 4 quarts of water overnight or 6 hours, drained

· 1 lb smoked turkey butts

· 2 bay leaves

· 5 cups water

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 4 Tbsp olive oil

· 1 large yellow onion, chopped fine

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 4 medium garlic cloves, minced

· 1 Tbsp ground cumin

· 1 teaspoon chile powder

· 2 cups chicken stock

· 2 Tbsp brown sugar

· 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped

· Chopped fresh cilantro

Method

1 Place beans and turkey butts in a 4-quart, thick-bottomed pot. Add 5 cups water, bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and let cook 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until beans are tender (add salt last 15 minutes). Remove bay leaves. Remove turkey butts from the pot. Cut turkey meat into small, bite-sized pieces, set aside.

2 Heat olive oil in a large 8-quart thick-bottomed pot on medium high until the oil is hot, but not smoking. Add the onions,. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and softened, Reduce heat to medium, add the cumin, chili powder, and garlic, cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

3 Add the beans, their cooking liquid, chicken stock, molasses, and bell pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes.

4 Serve beans with steamed brown Basmati rice

Makes 8 cups. Serves 6.