January clean-out, throw out or give away

                How-To articles abound during the early part of any new year. “Clean out your pantry; clean out your freezer; clean out and throw away what you haven’t worn in a year,” et al.

                I DID shuffle things around in one cupboard: stacked canned goods to use up head space. Why? To make room for grandson’s foodstuffs that have lain on the countertop since before Christmas. Took what was left out of his cereal box—it was clipped already—recycled the cardboard; moved the bowl with three lemons (for his water) still in the flimsy sack, plus the one piece of wheat bread that he will not refrigerate or freeze, plus two glasses he must have received as Christmas gifts.

                He was OK with it, and the counter was clean looking. I moved the fruit bowl to that area: grapefruit, Roma tomatoes, a baking potato, a red onion and two bananas that needed eating.

                During the rearranging of what was already there in the “pantry,” I pulled out a baggie of white beans that had lain inside that space for . . . I won’t hazard a guess. I ’d seen a recipe for cooking beans in a new monthly publication, Ouachita Life, and clipped it.

                One day last week. I studied the recipe—it had been YEARS since I’d cooked beans—and decided to use the HOT SOAK method that would cut down on “intestinal distress.”  Two cups of beans, 10 cups of hot water and let sit for four hours. I used the electric kettle I received for Christmas. It only held eight cups, so I had to refill and reheat it. The Dutch oven would be adequate, for I had planned to add the sizable ham bone left from Christmas.

                After the soak, I poured off the water, rinsed the beans, re-covered them with clear water, added the ham hock, and put it on to cook. Two more hours. Meantime, I reached for the box of cornbread muffin mix that had also been languishing since who-knows-when, pulled out a muffin tin, filled it with new papers, retrieved a mixing bowl and spoon and set all on the opposite countertop. That scene lasted the remainder of the evening and until the next morning. I didn’t require cornbread with my beans, but I’d bake some the next day and take a meal to a friend. Wouldn’t that red onion on the side add a dash of color as well as a tangy taste to set off the beans?

                Three days later, the muffin makings still occupied the countertop. (Obviously, I didn’t follow through on my intention to share.) After I typed the topic sentence in this paragraph, I left the computer and mixed those muffins! While they were cooking, I Swiffered the floor and moved the Christmas towels and hot pads to the linen closet. (Was it because I read a Facebook post that urged folks to “finish your projects”? Hmm.)

                So, for today’s supper, guess what? White beans, cornbread and a slice of red onion. And some tomato juice. 

c 2018, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR