Arkansas Blog

my neighbor, who is very good to me, knows Im working all day and as long into the evening as possible -- just brought me and the Wonder Dog a bowl of white beans. I never can get that thing down where you soak dry beans overnight and then cook them.

But she has. they were so good, and i suddenly remembered working thru lunch, and then we couldnt even wait to make cornbread. we always return the favor, maybe in the form of computer time, or buying things on eBay, or faxing & copying or........... anything we can do for her. she is truly a wonderful neighbor. And we try to be a good neighbor too.

as she says, you can't make good beans without making a big old pot of them, and they dont want to eat leftovers forever. So the Wonder Dog (no, he didn't get too many beans.........just enough to say he had had some) and I are always willing to help her out. perfect for a cold wintery night. Too bad i was too hungry to fix cornbread.

tina, whats so hard about soaking the beans?? I pick and wash mine in the evening, cover
with water, put lid on and forget till next morn., pour water off, rinse and you are good to go.
I always cook a 2 lb. bag 'cause I share mine too,,,don't forget the sugar in pinto's, about 4 t.
to a 2 lb. bag.
Bon Appeti.............whatever

WOOOOOO PIGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LSU and Ole Miss are having a shoot out.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will be at the Clinton School of Public Service on Tuesday, along with Senator Mark Pryor, to discuss national broadband policy in a lunch and lecture program. The FCC is about the only federal agency I see moving in a good direction lately.

Tina:

I have the same problems doing beans, too. I have found that if I soak them overnight and then throw in a crockpot, I will have better results.

The other night after I finally regained my appetite from having the flu, I was really in a mood for comfort food, but had nothing in the house to cook. Plus, I really didn't feel like it after being sick for almost a week. I called in an order to Dixie Cafe and pigged out on meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, Pinto beans and rolls. I ate every single lick of it, and I usually don't eat like that. Beans and cornbread sounds really good now, though.

I can't get over your work hours, tina. When Shannon, my baby gurl, tried it at home she
didn't get enough work to pay off. Now she works for a big clinic in Arkadelphia, off on w/ends
and wed. aft....can take off anytime there is a need, they cater lunch a lot, have a big, fancy
Christmas party at a swank resturant every year and even tho she and hubby have insurance
they treat the whole family for nary a penny....she loves her job.
Would thrill me to see you in such a position, sounds like you are doing slave labor.

Huh oh. All marriages in Texas now banned? Click on Cato

Watched/listened to the Senate vote on C-SPAN2 just now. The vote was 60-39 (?) to proceed to debate. Not a single Rethuglican voted in favor of debating health care reform. What's wrong with those people? They should be stripped of their government health care- after all, it's socialist!

Any Rethug Senators want to volunteer to go health care-less?

Hadn't thought if Kim Brazzel in ages. Wonder what he would think of the Zenyatta/Rachel Alexander debate.

Jazzy, I make more working as an independent contractor for this out of state company than I could ever make where I live. I can't get up and work 8-5 any more, either. it might be fun to go to an xmas party sometime, though. They actually treat me very very well. Im just so damn slow today because of this dumb ear infection.

thanks for your concern, jazzy, I know it comes from your heart. I dont have to work so much on weekends, but all days are the same to me, and i do have to make enough money this month to catch up on some bills, it doesnt matter what it takes. It just has to get done.

I really didnt need to get a stupid EAR infection in the middle of all this. I dont mind working weekends, I dont have anything else to do, and it lets people like your baby girl take weekends off to be wtih their families. mine are grown and gone, alas. we have a big pool of MTs who work at home and I dont even want to think about the nightmare of adjusting everyone's hours, but they do it.

it just doesnt matter to me right now. And it didnt matter when i was raising my kids, either, because I just had to work as much as I could. Maybe I am finally just worn out. Like an old shoe. thats about how a feel. aw, poor me.........But they dont make me work these hours. I would be done by now if I hadn't had a high fever when I woke up and just couldnt make myself get up quite yet. This ear infection stinks.

I also dont have a husband to share expenses and stuff like that. It's hard to make it alone with these insane medical bills. And I wanted my Wonder Dog to have a daddy so I could spend less time working and more time being normal, but it just didn't work out that way.

they are very good to me, and this is the only way i could possibly work right now. I can't get up and get going like a normal person since I got sick. But thanks, I truly appreciate it.

poor Jazzy, I am sorry bout your football team. I even heard some jackazz blaming the INEXPERIENCED QUARTERBACK for not getting the field goal team out on the field in time. Poor kid. Is he supposed to fetch the field goal team and tie all their shoes, ask does anyone need to go potty, or what? I dont think it's fair to hang that loss on him.

we dont know whether he was in charge of calling time-outs or not either but it was for sure not handled so good at the end by LSU. It was a great game to watch if neither was "your" team. But I know for sure one was Jazzy's. Lots of good football on tv today, makes for nice background entertainment. Except MY team got STOMPED very rudely by texas tech! And now we have to help texas beat kansas. The wonder dog appears to be passed out cold, upside down, but I feel sure he's got it covered.

thanks, Jazzy, its very nice of you to care and send me details.........it does sound good but my life isnt as bad as it sounds. I just have to work more than a normal person because im alone and i have all these horrible preexisting medical conditions. could always quit taking the medicine and then quietly waste away but I wont give the stupid doctors who tried to kill me at first any of THAT satisfaction.

I hope everybody has a nice Saturday night snuggled up somewhere warm, and yall are right, tonight is a good night for comfort food.

Jazzy, I know how youre supposed to fix dry beans but it just doesnt work when I try it. Put them in the crockpot? for me that produces another batch of rocks. I dont know why, i just can't do that. I can cook most things, if I have someone to cook for, but not dry beans. Im bean-impaired. ;) as long as my neighbor is so good to me, we're okay here. we pay her back with the best possible currency.....something chocolate.

Frenchie had call from older brother and retired schoolteacher wife in Montreal little bit ago.
Just sending love and best wishes our way but then told him they had seen a report, on CBC,
about the free health clinic in LR....they don't understand how the GREAT USA has ppl going
w/out even the basic health care....if I could speak to them I'd say I don't know either but,
I don't speaka da hnglish.

The Senate voted 60-39. All Democrats and Independents voted aye, all Republicans voted No.

"Blanche Lincoln Lectures Blanche Lincoln on a Senator's Duties"

We need a real Democrat in office--she makes me sick to my stomach.

Clicky

Apparently, my link didn't go through...

http://firedoglake.com/

Listen to the last bit!

Crockpot...what is that???? No, I do my cookin the ole fashin way, stove top or oven.

Once more:

A hymn for the planet

HOME is an ode to the planet's beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth - our Earth - as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth's treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. "From the sky, there's less need for explanations". Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)

For now HOME is free. You will never forget it. On clicky. I suggest using the HD button and going full screen. Enjoy
.

government_cheese,

For some reason you can ONLY post an active link if you refrain from using the "preview" feature.

Our own dear Blanche made the NYT.

Click the blue....

did she get fired, impeached, whatever?? now that would be interesting. otherwise, i doubt anything she's done today is real interesting right about now.

Just for kicks, I have visited some of the right-wing websites tonight.
Heads are exploding all over the the country!
Once again, the Republicans have shown themselves to be the party of "Nobama."
What a bunch of asshats!

If your beans turn into little rocks, Tina, it could be that you got some old ones. I've had that problem a time or two. They never would cook completely.
Nice fat butterbeans are on tomorrow's agenda around here. Got a ham hock so big hubby and I have agreed to split it. I'm gonna wait and "soak" the beans in the morning. Wash 'em, put 'em in a pot and bring 'em to a boil for a minute or two. Then cut 'em off and let 'em "soak" for an hour before I toss in the ham hock. And hope the beans are not old.
Now if I could just figure out how to make frozen chopped turnip greens taste like fresh. With all our rain a couple of months ago the greens I planted must have ended up downstream somewhere.

I was just gonna post what DoI just did - the "quick soak" process works just as well as the overnight... g'night, all! Be SURE not to add acid or salt until they are cooked - makes the skins tough, and Petit Jean peppered bacon works just fine as ham/hock substitute. Yum.

SNL hit it all on the head tonight. Why is all of the Presidents idea's to save money cost more money?

"But she [ Senator Lincoln] insisted Saturday that her position on health care would not be shaped by political considerations." NYT

Hahahahahahahahhahahahaa

My favorite new web site. All are welcome to participate. Click on Cato

doigotta,

I don't know about fresh, but my mother (who turned 100 in July) used to love turnip greens (fresh and frozen) cooked with butter and "fatback" (salt pork). Now she doesn't think they have any flavor. She taught me how to cook 'em that way.

She was dowsing them with white vinegar to get some flavor or taste.

I tried some Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning and Konriko All Purpose Jalapeno Seasoning, left behind by a visiting New Orleans cousin, the last time. The seasoned turnip greens have a lot of flavor and she ate them all. I liked them two, but I can't swear they taste fresh.

Try it if you can find those seasonings.

There is no need to soak beans if you have the time to keep them from boiling dry. Simply sort, wash and throw them into a large pot, add lots of water, and boil them until they are almost done - usually 2 to 2 and a half hours for white beans, and an extra hour for pintos. (You will have to add water every half hour.) About 30 minutes before they are completely done, toss in your bacon grease and salt. Turn down the heat a bit and make the cornbread while the beans simmer.
MOST PEOPLE MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ADDING SALT AT THE BEGINNING - DON'T DO IT!

SNL did a great commercial tonight spoofing 2012 with the planet going into chaos (like in the 2012 movie trailers) but with Palin clips interspersed as if it was her becoming president elect was the cause of the multiple disasters. Name of the movie--Palin 2012! Hopefully they'll post the clip on their website tomorrow and I can share it.

eLwood--I posted information about "Home" on the AT Blog back in July. You can see what I said by doing the clicky.

Well....wasn't this a big day! A bunch of people got free health care in Little Rock, several of my close friends volunteered and I'm just so proud of them, proud as punch as Hubert Humphrey used to say. Blanche Lincoln did the right thing, so did Pryor, so did even old mush-mouth LIEberman. I don't know what kind of pig in a poke the final health care reform bill will be, but what we got now will kill me sure as the world, so any good changes up my odds and no I don't drive a luxury car or own an iPhone.

It was a big day for Lt. Gov. Bill Halter too. I'm told he was all over the free health care clinic. I like keeping up with my daughter's BFF, I hope we hear more from him in the future.

I want to hear why Blanche Lincoln is dead set against a Public Option. Those health insurance bastards will continue to eat us alive if they don't get some competition and the only gorilla bigger than them is the US Government. So we won't have much if the health care reform bill has no Public Option. Tell us again, Blanche, why no Public Option?

I like navy beans and ham and I finally got where I can cook a batch worth eating, but they're still not what I want. They're just a tad off and I can't figure out what I'm leaving out or doing wrong. I'm not much on country cooking, but there are few things as good as a perfect bowl of beans and hot buttered cornbread. Now you all have made me hungry!

I'm going to start in shopping on Monday for Thursday's turkey dinner. I'm going to try to spread out the cooking so I don't do myself in on Wednesday this year. Thanksgiving dinner is my most favorite meal of the year and I'm about to get excited about it! We don't have much family left, I might rustle up 6 hungry mouths among the living, but all those dead ones will be on my mind because I am thankful they once where here and I'll always remember them as long as I have the ability to remember.

It was a pretty good day, yeah it was.

I usually do beans by boiling for a few minutes. Season with salt, pepper and a little onion and then throw it all in a crockpot on low for most of the day with a chunk of ham. Cornbread is a must. After all of this talk about beans, I think I'm going have to make a pot of them very soon! Yum!

>>eLwood--I posted information about "Home" on the AT Blog back in July. <<

Yes you did. That's why I began with "once more"

Loved this article today-

"Women's Reproductive Health Is Not a Social Issue
Saturday 21 November 2009

Language matters, so let's be clear: Women's reproductive health is not a "social issue."

Deciding whether to carry the red purse or the black bag to dinner Saturday night? That's a social issue. Wondering why your child wasn't invited to her classmate's birthday party? That, too, is a social issue.

...
Attempting to limit women's access to legal and safe abortions? Not even remotely a social issue, so let's stop calling it that as we debate the Stupak-Pitts amendment, which is the latest effort in Congress to prohibit insurance coverage for abortion. The sooner we reject this dismissive casting of a woman's essential right the sooner elected officials will understand it's not theirs for the tinkering.

article is clicky

DBI, my momma always said to put the ham bone in with the beans. And she made some wonderful navy beans.

I saw the "once more" but thought you meant that you were posting it "once more". Seems like I saw it on another thread a day or two ago. It is certainly worth bringing to everyone's attention again in case they haven't seen it.

NVR, elwood, thanks for the link, I watched it with my wife and 11 yr. old daughter. I worry that I use much more than my share of mother nature. Watching that documentary has me motivated to do better. I have to admit though, I think we're doomed. We humans with our big brains, we just can't help ourselves.

"Can't explain shit/can't focus: Should we blame the lead paint in their childhood homes? Could it be chemicals in the air? Whatever the explanation might be, it's astounding to watch the New York Times attempt to deal with health care.

Consider Robert Pear's hapless report in this morning's paper.

Good God! After all these days, Pear actually arranges to quote some language from the Stupak amendment! But he might as well be writing in Urdu, so inept is the long-term Timesman when it comes to explaining such matters. Pear attempts to explain the difference between the House and Senate bills when it comes to funding abortion. We'd say he wrote the passage in crayon. But this would tend to overstate the skill he brought to this task.

Meanwhile, we had to laugh when Pear marveled at the difference in the cost of the House and Senate bills. This is the start of his report:

PEAR (11/20/09): The Senate version of sweeping health legislation would cover five million fewer people than a companion bill passed by the House, but it would cost less, in part because Senate Democratic leaders felt they had to win support from fiscally conservative members of their party.

[...]

The Senate version of sweeping health legislation would cover five million fewer people than a companion bill passed by the House, but it would cost less, in part because Senate Democratic leaders felt they had to win support from fiscally conservative members of their party.

The Senate bill would spend $821 billion over 10 years on Medicaid and subsidies. The House bill would spend 25 percent more: $1.03 trillion over 10 years.

Wow! The House bill would spend substantially more over the first ten years! Only much later does Pear drop the information which shows how misleading that account is:"

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
http://dailyhowler.com/

"... And if you do get sick, just please die quickly." That's a TRUE American patriot, Alan Grayson, accurately describing the Republican "Health Care Plan".
...
"Health Care Nullification Legislation

A reading of the Constitution through the original understanding of the Founders and Ratifiers makes it quite clear that any national health care plan, or national public option, is not something that was delegated by the People to the Federal Government in the Constitution.

However, the courts, politicians and many commentators have interpreted (and re-interpreted) the Commerce Clause, the general Welfare Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause in ways not intended by the Founders so as to justify such programs under the Constitution. They are most certainly wrong. A number of states are considering legislation to effectively nullify any future national health care plan."
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/nullification/health-care/

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free?" YEAH RIGHT!

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free....."

here's how we do it now. Tired and poor, we will give you a bag of old beans that will turn out like Tinas Special Rock Dinner.

Huddled masses -- you mize well go on and say what you mean, THEM ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS -- we dont give them anything but maybe a court date and a quick 1-way trip back home where they couldn't earn a living no matter how hard they tried. Oh, and when you round up them illegal immigrants, because a good Repug knows that ALL immigrants are ILLEGAL immigrants, dont forget to stop by the church house and drag those out and make sure there aren't any parent-teacher meetings going on at the schoolhouse because they will be there.

thanks for all the bean-cooking tips. now I have a question -- If you do the fast boil/soak method,do you still pour off that water, like Jazzy said to pour off the water she soaks her beans in overnight?

Jazzy, I keep forgetting to tell you one minor detail, as usual...........All of our work accounts are hospitals, thus the need for 24/7 coverage at times and coverage for every weekend.

I have found that if you dont have fresh turnip greens - now there is something I actually can cook -- take at least 2 cans of Bush's turnip greens if available, if not just get 2 cans of whatever. season with salt, pepper, Cajun spices, or plain ol' Tabasco, which is what I prefer. bring to boil, then simmer a few hours. You can also toss it all in Crockpot and cook on High till they get going, then down to low.

they arent fresh greens but they're a fair imitation if you want some greens.

Thanks for all the turnip greens tips. I do have a box of creole seasoning so maybe I'm in luck today. Dunno why I never thought to try it before.
The bean soak water? I used to pour it off, but I don't anymore. I read somewhere that all your vitamins go down the drain if you do that so I changed my ways. Haven't had any problems just adding more water and cooking.
I'm not sure why it's sometimes -- not always -- recommended. No "ptomaine poisoning" -- hubby's words -- around here from my beans, or any of my cooking. Now if we were talking about a certain well-known, but now closed BBQ place in town, that's another story.
Oh, and the ham bone recommendation (Perplexed?) is four stars, maybe five if there is such. When I buy a ham, I'm usually thinking -- at the meat counter if you can believe it -- about what to do with the ham bone more than what to do with the ham. ("Lessee, do I still have a package of yellow split peas? Will hubby go along with 'em, or will he lobby for navy beans or great northerns?")
Dang. We had a late breakfast, but I'm still making myself hungry. And I think I need to watch for hams to go on sale. Yellow split pea soup sounds great.
One tip, even though no one asked: Never, never buy a mixed (green and yellow) split pea soup mix. Never. It turns out to be the most unappetizing dirty brownish color you've ever seen. You have to close your eyes to make yourself eat it. Yuck. Might as well add water to the dog's food and eat that.