Big Mama & Her Green Beans

Whenever I prepare fresh green beans, I always think about my grandmother Mary Howard aKa Big Mama.

When I was about 11 I started calling her Big Mama & she always laughed when I did.  I don’t know where I got it from back then but it seemed appropriate because her love was big, her food was big, her hugs were big & her smile was big.

After I purchased these beans today, I had every intention to pick them on the porch like Big Mama used to but I did not because the rain kept me inside but that did not deter my “rememory” of Big Mama & the way she picked her beans with a big smile while humming deeply sweet nothings that only she knew.

On another note, if Big Mama  were alive today, I would not be eating her green beans.  Back then, I like the boiled to death beans steeped in salt pork with the potato chunks bobbing up & down in the boiling water.  Today, I must have them sautéed, steamed or poached & lightly seasoned.