Lima Beans

So last night I wrote about LIMA BEANS and when I looked this morning, it wasn’t there. So here I go again.

I have learned that in all four corners of the United States there are 2 main staples: BEANS and POTATOES. In the southwest there are Pinto beans; in the northeast the favorite is navy beans and in the northwest, it’s red beans. In Hawaii, we love kidney beans in our chili. In the southeast you have three different fave’s: butter beans (they don’t taste like butter), blackeyed pea (they aren’t really peas) and LIMA BEANS

Regardless of where you are from, unless you get your beans out of a can or a package, beans  MUST BE PREPARED properly before consumption. First beans have be free of any debri (rocks, pebbles, globs of dirt stuck to the bean). Then the beans get washed and soaked for a few hours, usually over night. Then they are cooked for a few hours (boiling and cooking until soft and yummy) and it is during the cooking stage that you can add all your seasonings.

So if you aren’t familiar with these beans, then you can be shocked at what presents itself during the cooking phase. After all the prepreparations I finally put my LIMA beans on the cooking mode. I started with fatback and started the fire roaring. About an hour later I opened the lid to add more water, all was fine, it smelt good and the beans were rolling. In another hour I once again checked on the beans (I didn’t want them to burn). As I added more water I notice something that looked like maggots. I was shocked. How in the world did THESE get into my pot?

Not being successful in getting all these “creatures” out of my pot, I ended up THROWING the beans out. YEP, a whole pot of beans went out the door. I was nervous because my mother  and father in law would be home from work and there was NO FOOD. What was I going to do? When they arrived home, hungry and tired, I explained to Rosa what had happened. She then ordered me to make a simple meal of flour bread, fried green maters and finish cooking the rice. NO MEAT tonight because the fatback went out with the beans.

Lesson here: listen to directions and if you don’t know something ASK. Learning became a big part of my southern experience. Yep, I should have asked granny (she lived next door), or I should have at least discussed it with my sisters inlaw (Shirley and Sandra Lynn). You see, they were the experts and I was the newbie. Asking questions is not always a bad thing, it shows that one is WILLING to learn something new; and dialogue with the experts can bring clarity to the subject. It can create harmony.

Later that night, Rosa and I sat and laughed about my “maggots” and the following Saturday she schooled me on the art of cooking LIMA BEANS. .I will forever be grateful for that woman as she taught me many things about being a Southern woman, and I listened.

And the journey continues.