Archive for January, 2010

The last official day of our holiday was Sunday.  We had so much fun, it was hard to see it come to end.  We played games, saw movies, went snowshoeing and owling (no owls, but it was still wonderful), and ate lots of good food.  The girls and I made pinecone elves, knitted, and with the help of my Mom, stitched wool bird pillows for their bed.

On Sunday morning, I woke up with the sad realization that it was over and it had gone way too fast.  To dampen my spirits even more, we went about taking down our Christmas tree.  About half way through the job, the kids came running in yelling…. “Emma’s cracked her head open…. Emma’s bleeding bad!”

My husband and I ran through the house to her, and sure enough, right in the middle of her forehead was a fairly large, deep gash.

And since it was a Sunday morning, it was off to the emergency room at Primary Children’s Medical Center for us.

Ten stitches later, I was convinced that I have one tough bird for a daughter.  She didn’t make any sort of fuss or even flinch during the whole process.

As I sat in our little room in the ER, listening to the sounds around me, I began to feel very grateful.  I heard children and babies crying… children and babies who sounded either very hurt or very sick.

Stitches in the forehead aren’t fun, but they are a small “bump” in the road.  And in a strange way, it served as a reminder that life is fragile and precious.  We never know what is around the next corner.  I determined myself, as I sat there in the ER, that in this new year of 2010, I would try to live each day to the fullest.  I would take the time to really appreciate those I loved.  I would be aware of the small graces in my life.

Now, if I could just get her brother to stop teasing Emma that she looks like Frankenstein, we’d be all good.

“Waste Not, Want Not” That is what ham bone and beans is all about.

I love recipes that have a “make it do” quality… when the results are delicious.  Ham Bone and Beans is one of those recipes.  I love it.  It’s not pretty, but it’s delicious and it’s good old comfort food.

And it uses something that might have been otherwise thrown away.

We had a spiral ham for the Holidays and what was left was a meaty ham bone.

The night before, start with a 1 pound bag of dry baby Lima beans.  Sort through them and remove anything that doesn’t look like a pretty Lima bean.  Then put them in a pot of water to soak overnight.

This is a dish that cooks all day, so in the morning rinse the beans well… I just love getting dinner done in the morning.

Chop up a large onion.

In a large pot, saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add your ham bone and beans.  Notice their is still some ham on the bone.  Most of that meat is a bit fatty and wasn’t suitable to for eating on a sandwich (or otherwise).  Don’t worry about that, once it cooks all day, the fat is easy to separate from the meat.  It gets so tender it is falling apart, and it is delicious with the beans.

Cover the beans with about 1 inch of water.  Season with about 2 teaspoons of salt.

And pepper.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer (over low heat.)   Simmer all day, until the water cooks down into the beans and the beans become a bit creamy.

Remove ham bone and ham.  The meat will be falling off the bone.  Trim all the fat and chop into small pieces.  Return the ham to the pot.  Taste for seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. This dish does take a lot of both salt and pepper to make it good.

Serve over rice with your favorite Louisiana Hot Sauce- mine’s Cajun Sunshine which has nice flavor and is mild.  My husband likes Tabasco.

It’s a simple dish.  It’s easy to make.  And we love it.  So don’t throw that ham bone out!  Make it Do instead.