Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Bringing back some memories


I went to visit and have lunch with my friend, Cindy yesterday. This is a picture I took as I looked out her driveway yesterday. We had had a light snowfall in the night and I thought this was such a pretty scene.

Cindy made the most delicicous chicken salad for lunch! Yummo! *smile* We talked and ate and ate and talked and just caught up with eachother!

Well, when I walked in the house, I asked her what smelled sooo good and she said that she had soup beans cooking in the crockpot. Boy, did they ever smell wonderful! Well, later in the afternoon, I stopped by my friend Pam's to see her new apartment and to visit for a bit and again, I asked her what she was cooking that smelled so divine and she said SHE was cooking a pot of soup beans!! Can you believe it? She had some ham that she needed to use and what better with ham than beans? Well, that did it! I came home and whipped out the crockpot and put some navy beans on to cook overnight! And are they ever good!! I also baked cornbread!

I remember that Tuesday's were always ironing day for my mom when I was a child. Wash day was Monday. Ironing day was Tuesday. *smile* And she always cooked a big pot of soup beans on that day. We always knew that when we got home from school in the late afternoon, that there would be beans and cornbread for supper. Sometimes Mom would fix spinach to have with them or she would fry sauerkraut or cabbage. AND sometimes she would put potpie in the beansoup. Now that WAS yummy! For dessert, if we had it, there would be a bowl of fruit that Mom had canned....raspberries or peaches usually. Mom always used white cornmeal and baked the cornbread in a black iron skillet. I remember hearing the sizzle as she would pour melted bacon drippings into the cornbread batter right before pouring it into the skillet.
The cornbread would have a hard crust on the bottom and the outside of the pieces so we kids would scoop out the soft part to eat with our beans and then spread butter and jelly on the crust and eat it.
What precious memories of the family gathered 'round the supper table! Do you have any special dinnertime memories or favorite comfort foods?

6 comments:

Stace said...

My mum would always go shopping on a Tuesday, to get the weekly groceries. Each week she would bring each member of the family a chocolate bar, and we all had to make it last until the next Tuesday... mine was always a Cherry Ripe! I loved those things. It was always carefully rationed, so I'd finish it on a Monday night before getting my new one the next day!

Rochelle said...

What sweet memories. I think about the memories left in my daughter's mind when we do certain things. I hope she has sweet ones too.

Jewel said...

Wow, Stace, you were able to make it last alllll week? Amazing! I'm really impressed!
Yes, Rochelle, I sometimes wonder about the memories that Daniel has. We don't really talk about them much but that is probably something that he talks to Erin about, you know?

Catherine Roseberry-Meyer said...

That cornbread sure looks good. An old friend of mine from back east does it that way, yummy.
A few days ago I was just talking with my daughter about the canned cherries that we had in the dead of winter and the jam made from red currants and raspberries. Well there are many more wonderful foods, fondue, pot-au-feu, quiche lorraine, beef roulades, anise cookies... now I'm hungry and dinner is not ready!

Catherine Roseberry-Meyer said...

BTW I like the picture - just like my childhood.

Jewel said...

Hello, Catherine, food does evoke so many wonderful childhood memories, doesn't it? Of course, yours were much different than our American ones but no less precious, I know. Do you still prepare the french dishes even though you are here in America now?
Yes, that picture is just how my mother's looked. *smile*