Transformations - Tuscan Bean Soup

Easter has come and gone but the Transformations continue.

Each Easter I pull out my grandmother's old pitcher with the old rugged cross and I anticipate the colorful and life affirming transformation on Easter Sunday morning. Nanny's pitcher has a little crack in one side and I love it because I always think of how resilient and strong Nanny was. She lived for 101 years and to think of all the transformations she witnessed is mind boggling.

Nanny wrote her own life story when she was in her 90's. Writing our story must be something in the genes because Dad has written many of his own stories and I do enjoy blogging. I would love to have been a follower of Nanny's Blog!

Recently I was re-reading her story and it is fascinating to step back in time when she describes living in the early 1900s on a red dirt road that is now Highway 74 near Lattimore. "In the fall of the year, we would see covered wagons drawn by two oxen passing by. Sometimes they would stop. They had apples, cabbage, irish potatoes and chestnuts for sale." For a special treat her grandpa would buy chestnuts for the children. Her father worked in Latimore as a carpenter for one dollar per day and she wrote, "that was good pay back then". He rode his bicycle to work and Nanny would ride on the back to a Subscription School taught by Mrs. Mary Calton. She stayed in Lattimore from Monday till Friday for school and then her father would ride her back home on the bicycle.

I'm proud that they put such a high priority on educating their children, especially the females, at that time. Nanny said she enjoyed school, but she also writes about how much she loved family and babies and especially rocking her baby sisters. She writes about her father making furniture and building coffins. "The coffins were made of pine lumber and were covered in cloth, black on the outside and white on the inside for grown folks. And all white for children....Back then there was no funeral home. When anyone died, the neighbors would come...When my little sister died, Aunt Willow McSwain laid her out and dressed her. She was fourteen months old. Papa made the coffin, covered it in white cloth. That was the first death in our family. We were all very sad for we loved her very much...She was buried on Easter Sunday. There were no florists then. They just used what flowers they had in the yard and garden. In the winter time when there wasn't any flowers they would get cedar and holly from the woods and made wreaths and crosses for the graves."

Wow. Kind of brings things into perspective.

I love bringing out Nanny's pitcher at Easter and using flowers and greenery to remember her strength and love and her peace which passeth all understanding.

There is so much more to Nanny's story and I hope to intertwine her writing into this blog from time to time.

On Easter 2012 Nanny's pitcher and the old rugged cross once again transformed with a host of colors and textures because so many things were blooming at once. Geraniums, hydrangea, iris, azalea and all kinds of greenery brought life to the cross. And of course I added a few sprigs of Rosemary - for remembrance.

Transformations aren't limited to Easter Sunday. Pretty much everything transforms at one time or another. The trick is adapting, accepting - or better yet appreciating - change. You sure can't fight it.

David IV and KC arrived for Easter Saturday night at Lake Lure with Jay, Turner, Devin and Emily. Another transformation. Usually our house is full of boys and this time there were a lot of girls. All Sweet Georgia peaches. Someone asked how I liked that change and I loved it. After supper there was discussion about watching a shoot 'em up movie or the Blind Side. With help from the girls Blind Side won. It's nice to have backup.

All families and traditions change over the years and I appreciated the Easter Sunday picture that we took this year at Sister's house. After a great covered dish lunch, a mixture of Hunts, Roysters, Mabrys, Saleebys and Kohlers gathered on Sister's front porch for a combined family picture. It is a beautiful medley of family. Life affirming. Much like the flowers in Nanny's pitcher.

The garden is transforming as well and we have enjoyed lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic and many herbs. There are a few strawberries appearing.

Cooking is all about transformation and so our Easter ham transformed into several quiches and then soup. Carol had brought over some white beans, there was spinach in the garden and I had a tiny bit of Easter ham left. I love soup. You can call it anything. So to paraphrase Greasy Sae, When I put it in the soup I called it Tuscan Bean Soup.

Tuscan Bean Soup

32 oz Chicken Broth
About a quart of cooked white beans (if you use canned ones rinse and drain them)
However much leftover ham you have

It helps to have a garden full of the following, but I'm sure it works from the grocery store too:

Minced fresh garlic
Fresh Spinach leaves, torn
Spring Onion, Chopped
Oregano
Basil
Ground Black Pepper

Put it all together, simmer and serve with crackers, cornbread or just by itself.

Let's Party! - Susan's Roasted Asparagus

Robin Williams says, "Spring is nature's way of saying Let's Party!"

With everything blooming at one time right now I think Mother Nature must really mean it this year. So we are partying - our way - with food, family, friends, sports and animals. Far be it from us to disappoint Mother Nature.

We can make a party out of most anything. Even doctor appointments. It's that glass half full thing. Jay had an appointment to see his amazing endocrinologist in Chapel Hill. Trust me, having Type 1 Diabetes since age four has been no picnic for Jay but he has learned that it's better to control diabetes than let it control you. So instead of moaning about having a doctors appointment 3 hours from home, we looked at it as a great opportunity for a ROAD TRIP! Jay caught up with old friends from his year at NC State, with old friends from Shelby and with several cousins. I was in the mood for a Road Trip too so I tagged along and enjoyed some R&R at Judy's condo. Jay and I had dinner at the Red Dragon which is our favorite Asian restaurant in Raleigh. Dr. B gave Jay a good report but it was in a sort of "stroke and upgrade" manner. Meaning, he congratulated Jay for having good test results and then outlined ways for improvement. They communicate in a common language - basketball - so basically the advice boiled down to sticking with the fundamentals. Many basketball teams could have used that advice this year.

We made a party out of work when The Hunger Games was released. Having had the fun opportunity to be close to some of the filming of the movie was one of the highlights of last year. I am a total fanatic of all things Hunger Games and love the mockingjay pin that David surprised me with last Christmas. It was such a fun experience and also some really hard work. Turns out movie making is way tougher than it seems.

We were blown away when we learned that David III and David IV were listed in the movie credits. We were also blown away that it became one of the most successful movies of all time in the first week. With all the excitement, Judy called to say she wanted a bumper sticker that says, "I grew up in District 12".

Another party broke out when our friends Walter and Lucille Dalton dropped by for a reception at our house. They have been friends for many years and now Walter happens to be North Carolina's Lt. Governor. Hopefully he will be our next Governor and we were excited to support him in that quest. Susan had recently held a similar event and had advised me that she wasted some energy stressing over things that no one noticed. Boy was she right on that one. With alot of sweet helpers we worked and worked getting the house and yard in ship shape, planning menus and cooking for the reception. I laughed out loud when I received a kind thank you note from one of the attendees. She did mention the food and yard and then waxed poetic about how charming our dogs and cat are. Dingo, Simba and Mr. Cat always steal the show.

I had especially worried that late March is not one of the prettiest times of year for the yard. Typically camellias are blooming and that's about it. But this year, we have had the most unusual warm springtime which made everything in our yard bloom at once. Even things that typically bloom in May were blooming for the reception. Azalea, iris, dogwood, hydrangea, camellia and geramium blooms brought bright colors and a wild assortment of shapes and textures to the yard. This season's blooms are breathtaking. Mother Nature sure knows how to party.

Along about this time, Quinn arrived in town with Mary Katherine and Robert. It started with an adult party - The Heart Ball - which sweetly honored Kathie. Then it turned into a fun kids party for me because I had a couple of opportunities to keep the children. I enjoyed turning back the clock a little and remembering the joy and innocence of little tykes. MK loved picking flowers and playing with Simba and I found a Carolina - I mean Citadel - Blue basketball for Robert. Can't start 'em too early.

Lynn was in town for several days as well and we loved having her over for comfort food. She saw The Hunger Games with Quinn and Sister and then was moved when Tony used the story to illustrate hope and sacrifice during Sunday's church sermon. Growing up in District 12 requires alot of hope and strength. Lynn possesses both and she possesses a profound faith that gives others hope and strength. She is a steel magnolia and I bet she could shoot a bow and arrow if she wanted to.

Mother Nature took our breath another way with some pretty fierce weather in Dallas, Texas. Thank heavens for modern technology and being able to text with David IV who informed us he was 50 feet underground in the stadium tunnel. He and others rode the winds and hail out in about as safe as place as you can hope for. Susan and I were in South Carolina watching live television reports as huge transfer trucks were tossed around like Tonka toys. Thankfully most damages were to property and not humans so we were grateful for that.

Susan and I were in South Carolina on our annual Spring Break Mom Style to watch the Family Circle Women's Tennis Tournament. It's always fun to see tennis at the professional level and always gives me the bug to get out and play again. We didn't play any tennis this time but we did follow the picturesque path from the house out to the ocean for beachwalking.

While I was in Isle of Palms, Allie - who may be the most organized person I know - taught me a new trick for 'boiled' eggs. They are actually baked. She puts the eggs into a muffin pan, no water, and then bakes in the oven at about 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Then she cools and peels the eggs for egg salad or whatever. Allie learned this from Pinterest which I signed up to do several months ago. There are a good many folks following me on Pinterest and to all of you I apologize for not pinning anything but I just haven't gotten back to that yet. Allie tried bravely to help me organize my laptop, ipad, iphone and then synch it all to the cloud. Whatever. After learning that I have two iclouds and 3 email accounts Allie suggested that I need to go on an email diet. Dieting is not my strong suit but I promised to try.

When I returned home I had a request from Katie to blog an Easter Recipe. Here's an easy one that Susan taught me years ago. We were talking about it the other day and Susan pointed out that the best thing is that you can serve it room temperature so you can do ahead of time and then just put in a bowl until ready to serve.

Susan's Roasted Asparagus

Use tender baby asparagus and cut off any tough end pieces.

Layer asparagus in a baking pan in one layer. Use 2 parts olive oil and 1 part sesame oil or you could use all sesame oil. Susan is right - the sesame oil gives it a great flavor.

Brush oil onto asparagus very lightly. Sprinkle on a very small amount of kosher salt. Can't remember if Susan said to but I added a little fresh ground pepper.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. As Susan says, some people like it crunchier than others so you can adjust the time to your liking. Less time = more crunchy. Roasted Asparagus can be done ahead of time. Just put into a pretty bowl and set aside till ready to serve at room temperature. Happy Easter!