BACHD BEANS

An eye injury has waylaid my writing and reading for that matter. A corneal abrasion that ,once the intense pain had left, has altered the vision in my left eye. As I try to write, it tires easily but I believe it may actually be healing!
I wept as I picked the beans this morning. A beautiful day, cool with a light breeze and varying clouds. I sit upon a small coleman cooler with a flat top so that I do not have to do a great deal of bending. Its is the perfect size for fitting in between the rows of beans. A portable radio tuned to NPR and a large metal bowl are my equipment. This morning's selection happened to be Bach and as I listensed and picked, I was overcome with the beauty of them both. Bach and the beans. The pure simplicity of putting a small, grey seed into the ground and then watching it grow and the pure ecstacy of Bach's piece that itself sprang forth from a small, black note. I held the beans in my palms, closed my eyes and let the music envelope me and as I wept, I said a feeble word of thanks for the beautiful, crisp green Bachd beans.

COOKING

The party was a huge success and I have speant the last few days cleaning up and distributing left overs! Here are a few of the recipes and always remember that your taste buds complete a recipe and all of these have wiggle room depending on your likes or dislikes. A couple of these I got from THE GRILLING BIBLE which is one of my favorite summer time cookbooks. I added, subtracted, substituted and tweaked until it was perfect...you should do the same.

SPICY SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE BOIL

In a large pot boil 10 - 12 cups of water. Place two hot chiles(sliced down the center), 4 stalks of celery, quartered; 2 medium onions, quartered; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 3 TB of seafood seasoning; 4 ears of corn, quartered; cook for aprox 15 minutes. Add 1 pound of new potatoes, 1 pound of smoked andoullie sausage cut into 1-inch pieces, cook an additional 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, add 1 pound (or more) of shell on shrimp, let stand until shrimp are opaque for about 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid. Drain mixture and place in huge serving bowl. Add 4 TB of melted butter, hot peper sauce (to taste) and the reserved liquid. Serve with the seafood seasoning. Enjoy!!!

SWEET BASIL PESTO PASTA SALAD

In a small food processor, place 2 cloves of minced garlic, 10 oz of pine nuts, 1/4 c. of grated parmesan, 1/2 c. of fresh basil leaves (torn into pieces) and 3 TB of olive oil. Process until smooth. Now here is where you have to use your eyes, nose and tongue to determine if it is ready. You can really play around with a pesto using more cheese, less basil etc until it is to your liking. Prepare an interesting pasta, drain, add any veggies you like (tomato, olives, etc) or nothing at all. Stir in pesto and serve!

CORN AND BEAN SALSA (this is my sister's favorite!!!)

Whisk together 6 TB of Franks hot sauce, 6 TB red wine vinegar, 3-4 TB of minced fresh cilantro, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tspn of chili powder, and 1/3 cup of olive oil, until blended.

Pour over 1 -12 oz package of thawed and drained frozen corn, 2 cans of drained black beans, 1 can of diced tomatoes and chilies and 2 diced green onions. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with a variety of tortilla chips.

PATIENCE AND WATER

Gardening takes a lot of water and patience. Water I have from a well that has never run dry! Patience...that's another matter. I am afraid that well tends to run dry from time to time but you can't rush a tomato or a zuchinni...they make you wait. It takes me aprox. one and a half hours to water the garden and, inevitably, about three quarters of the way through I think "oh, the last few will probably be okay" and then I take a deep breath, remind myself of the eventual reward, yank the hose a few more feet and soak every last root. Patience.
Much of what has been grown will be used this Sunday for my son's birthday. On the menu is meat, of course, we are midwesterners afterall , ribs, pork steaks, chicken wings with homemade bbq sauce and a variety of other dipping sauces. Baked beans, Sweet basil pesto pasta salad, tossed leaf lettuce salad with fresh tomatoes and onions. Potato salad and macaroni salad. Corn on the cob. Black bean and corn relish, homemade salsas and chips and last but not least, cake and ice cream! I have to wrap this post so that I can get started. Next week I will post my recipe for Sweet basil pesto, pico de gallo, bbq sauce and a spicy shrimp boil! have a safe and happy 4th of July and to my son. Colin, at GITMO and to all of the other service men and women THANKYOU!!!!