I Made A Fish! Ya Gotta See This!

I will answer Carol's questions about the beans here as well.  I guess first.  I don't really measure when I do the dishes I grew up with, so bear with me here.

I used about 1/2 a carton of chicken broth.  But I have also used plain water, vegetable broth and beef broth.  Whatever your tastes are, I guess.  And I monitor it fairly closely so I add additional liquid if it seems to need it.  And on the other hand, you don't want it too liquid-y, but that is better than burning it!

You do want a bit more liquid than you see in that photo  because I had to add more in the end time.  I was just gun shy from the last time when I made it too wet.  I try to be conservative with liquid because you can add more at any point.The

I also use that same ham in mirlatons, squash casserole, egg breakfasts, other kinds of beans, and some other things I can't think of right now.  I use it a lot so I do get a big ham and everyone laughs at me until I am cooking in June with the ham from January.

I cook those large lima beans and navy beans the same way.  They taste similar but different.

OK --------------------

My fish!

The theme in my small fiber group next month is Aquatic.  I thought of Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic.  Did you see that?  I loved it.   But I didn't do Bill!

I did this guy!  It was a learning curve, as is most of my stuff.  I looked on the internet and saw a way cool fish purse I wanted to make, but it seemed daunting. Then I saw this guy and figured I could do him more easily.

I originally cut the outside body out of a raveling piece of curtains.  Duh.  Did not work, idiot!  Then my eyes lit upon this black to go with the already made gold fins and tail.

The tail has some tweaking to do, so don't dwell on that too long.  Look at his zipper mouth!  He looks like he is making fun of me, doesn't he, with that sideways grin.

And his fins!

And his body.

I love him!

And McGee is helping me get all new stuff.  He destroyed a pot holder while I was sewing my fish.

Dying to Start a New Quilt

After watching all those great quilts Pat had, I am just dying to start a new quilt.  I will work that out by standing in my room and looking at everything I have to finish before I get anything else going.

I cooked dinner, mayhaps you want to know how to make a Southern favorite, Red Beans and Rice.

OK.

Buy a package of red beans.  I use Camellia, cheap enough, easy to find, good quality beans.  Rinse them off, and pick out the broken or discolored beans and toss them.  Sometimes you will find a tiny stone in there, so make sure you rinse the beans and just look at them.

Get  a dutch oven, add the dry beans and cover with about 1 -2 inches of tap water.  My mother would put garlic in the water to flavor the beans and my aunt would use some broth.  Bring the water to a boil, and turn off.  Let the beans sit for about 2 hours until they re-hydrate themselves and swell up big and fat!  My mother would let them sit overnight, but onnce they are hydrated they are fine.

Drain all the liquid and rinse the beans once again.  Using a clean dutch oven, add olive or canola oil and heat.  Add a medium onion and a bell pepper chopped, ham seasoning, some garlic chopped up and saute until clear.  Add the beans back to the pot along with some liquid and a tablespoon of ketchup for sweetness.  I use chicken  broth here.

Do not add anything with salt in it because the beans will be hard.  I sometimes add a bit of ginger for digestion.  In India they make a wonderful dish using red beans and cinnamon.  Sounds weird but it is pretty good.

Cook on low heat for about 2 hours.  Watch it carefully so as to not burn the bottom.  If it burns you might as well toss the whole pot, you will never get that taste out of the beans!

Ask me how I know.......

Once the beans are soft and cooked through, get out your potato masher and smash about 1/2 to 3/4 of the beans to get a creamy yummy pot of beans.  Add some additional liquid if you need to.  I add Nature's Seasonings at this point.  It is a mixture of salt, pepper, onion/garlic salt, parsley, celery seed.  If you like it spicy add some cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce.  Frank always adds Tabasco when he fills his plate.

Boil up some white rice.  I get a crusty bread and make garlic bread with lots of butter or olive oil and a nice salad of tomatoes and mozzarella pearls.  And my fabulous balsamic fruit vinegar!