“Lord I love to see beans grow better’n anything!”
Last night’s video: Alex Stewart Portrait of a Pioneer 15.
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Green beans were the first thing I remember learning to put up. There is nothing in the world any better than green beans seasoned with country ham! I don’t know if it’s “southern thing” like our Duke’s Mayo, but I love my green beans with country ham, throw in some potatoes and fix some good, ole cornbread and sweet tea and you have a feast!!
Amen, see earlier comment, Don’t worry about dessert, I will polish this meal off with a bowl of cornbread and milk. A quart mason jar is fine China to a southern boy. Gloria, I talked with a man a few weeks about tomato sandwiches and Duke’s mayonnaise. He said he had worked for Kraft and they had done taste test between Kraft and Duke mayonnaise and Duke’s won every time I think the judges were Kraft employees
Besides citrus, corn, and cotton, Dad also grew a variety of row crops (vegetables) down in far south Texas where I grew up. After a picking was done, we’d always go in and glean the fields for eating, canning, and freezing. Just can’t beat that fresh out of the field produce. We often had cornbread but Grandma made the most scrumptious rolls & fresh bed; added to our gleaning it truly made a meal fit for a king.
BTW: one of your readers mentioned “Omie” – that reminded me of an Aunt & Uncle who were called “Oma” & “Opa” by their kids and some of their kids’ friends. The little ones often called my Aunt “Omie”. Although we have a lot of German ancestry and, as your readers probably already know, “Oma” & “Opa” are commonly used by Germans to refer to their grandparents, I don’t recall anyone else in our extended family using those names. I’ve often wondered how my Aunt & Uncle came to be called such.
I love home grown, home canned green beans. To me, there’s nothing better. I love the shellies, they are my all time favorite. I’m loving the story of Alex Stewart, thank you for taking time to read to us. I love good stories. I wish I could find a reasonably priced John Parris cookbook. Maybe they will re-print it since you have made his name so popular. Thank you, again, Tipper, for sharing your love for Appalachia. I never get tired of watching and learning.
They are beautiful but dauntingly profuse sometimes. I still have beans from 2020. It seemed like they needed picking every other day. I thought they weren’t going to make anything and was scrounging every bean to have a canning. I didn’t realize they(pole beans) produced a little later than I thought.
Me too, but I have found out you have to plant a big garden if you plan on having them for cooking and canning. My days of growing, picking, and canning, are just about over, but I sure enjoy watching you and your family take care of your garden. One of the last things I was able to do for my dad was to take vacation days and help pick, string, and can loads of green beans. There were so many he was giving them away. One of my fondest memories even with all the chigger bites and a round with some yellow jackets. Bean growing is so much a part of Appalachia that it is passed down from generation to generation. We are so blessed to love these simple
things of life!
When I think of beans growing, I always remember the huge fields of beans grown by a little lady we called Omie. She used to grow half runners and corn and sell them every summer. It was so pleasant to drive down into the hollow where she lived even though the weeds and trees were growing into her little dirt road. We would buy half runners or October beans, and we always took a break on her big shaded front porch. There was always a pet dog hanging out nearby. Omie always took time to talk, and she would tell such interesting stories. Sadly, she told of buying her little piece of land twice, because somehow her brother had managed to lay claim to it the first time. We missed her when she left, but she left all that hard work and cares behind. Omie (Oma) truly was an angel, and I am sure she still is.
Hi all? Off the topic of beans, which are the best, especially soup beans or green, when is the best time to see the fall colors in Clay Or Cherokee county.
Pat-I’m sorry I’m terrible at guess when the leaves will be at their peak 🙂 I think there are websites that estimate the peak leaf color.
In my experience beans are like a watched pot, if I watch them they won’t grow. Seriously! This year I fought Japanese beetles for a mass of vines. Five or six times a day some days I walked the row picking beetles off beanless biomass. Then suddenly, it seemed, no more Japanese beetles. I curtailed my pest patrols and beans began to appear. It actually came to my mind, the admonition that watching a pot kept it from boiling. That the bean pods were not going to appear until I quit watching them.
Now there is a soul that can find wealth without money. I like to see them grow to but just not better than anything. If they were Scarlet Runner beans I might would love to see them more.
UnAppalicians are clueless to our culture and what they are missin.
I love them too. To me a Big pot of green beans cooked with some country ham, and fresh small first of season Irish taters throwed in with them, good hot unsweetened cornbread and a quart jar full of sweet Ice tea will make a grown man cry with joy. I wonder if I could get that sweet, nice, kine lady from Wilson Holler to cook some for me, she’s always showing off pictures of her green beans that will throw a craving on this Blue blood country boy.
Lord, I myself love to see those beautiful beans a-growin’ cause they’re plumb PURTY growing and plumb wonderful eating fresh cooked with maybe some boiled new taters and some buttered cornbread with a big slice of fresh onion and tomato to make it homemade gourmet!!!! You can have all the fast crap food and bad service not to mention filth at a restaurant if you want. I’ll be at the house eating like royalty!!!
Tipper…another great chapter. Alex was something else, it is a shame that journals back then were not around. Can you imagine his journal???…Waiting on next Friday. Thanks
I also love to eat them. A big pot of green beans, cooked up proper and hot buttered cornbread makes a fine meal.
that is does…home grown and home canned…yum