My friend Cora

In honor of Mother's Day... 

This is Cora Garrett Wright. She's my friend. We never met, she died in 1956 here at 2950, but we share something pretty special. We are the Mommas of 2950. When the Bluebird came home  4 glorious years ago she was the first baby here in 90+ years. Cora raised 2 earthly babes Melvin and Annetta who I grew up knowing, and her angel babe Anna Mary who lived 4 earthly days. 

She left the gift of her words in 1935 keeping a yearly diary that is a favorite morning coffee read. It makes me feel connected to the past here and makes me realize she was a way better housekeeper than me! Through this I also got to know here in a different way as the pages traverse I watched a mother raise her children, while loosing her own. 

She left me other gifts as well. The pock marks on the kitchen wall where here cook stove scorched it and the tiny cut out in the pantry door so that it could swing past the cook-stove foot. 

The bluebells that pop up every spring at the first warm snap near the spot where she had her garden gate. 

And the stained glass window that overlooks the high fields where she grew her tomatoes for market. 

Over a 100 years have passed since her babes traversed these hills and valleys, and there are days as I am weeding, or tending the chickens that my mind wanders to my friend Cora. It is a goal of mine to make this a place she is still proud of, and it is  a honor to share the blood sweat and tears of motherhood in the same beautiful patch of dirt as my  friend.

To the mother's of blood and the mother's of choice we rejoice in you this Mother's Day!
~AVR

So let's spill the beans on... beans...
Beans are a great tool in your home canned arsenal! They can be added to soups, chili, or even made as a side.
Why not just leave them dry AVR? Hydrate them when you need them? Well friends because AVR doesn't always remember 18 hours prior to dinner to hydrate beans. Also, farm life sometimes means lunch time can go from us 4 to 10 in a matter of minutes.

Dried beans are also cheap cheap. I shop for dry goods at an Amish grocery. Rehydration and canning brings the cost to 38 cents a pint! Not to shabby! And best of all I can beans maybe twice a year and I'm set!

Black beans, kidney beans, pintos, limas, great northerns, and chick peas (ok maybe not a bean but he lives with the beans on the shelf so...) all are in the pantry here.


Here's how it goes.
You're going to need to soak your beans 18 to 24 hours in clean cold water. If they suck it all up you'll need to top it off.

After they've reached the time frame rinse thoroughly and then put back in the pot with clean cool water.

This water you'll bring to a boil for 30 min. You want the beans to be firm still kinda crisp. If you boil to long you get paste ewwww.

As they boil they foam. It's what Mammaw called "mung". Scoop that off and discard.

Load up the jars adding a bit of canners salt. Regular salt is not a canners friend it makes the water murky.

Process for the recommended time for your canner. Yep kids this is something you need to pressure can! It's a low acid item so you need the heat and pressure to correctly seal the jars and lids.

Now you've got a ready supply of easy to access beans for your bean needs.
2 favorite ways to enjoy are black bean hummis.
-1 can black beans
-juice of a lime
-cumin
-salt and pepper
-splash of oil

Pop in the blender and mix well. Spread in soft taco shells with cheese and make like a cheese ques- a-dill-a ( it's late and auto correct isn't helping)

Beans beans...
~AVR