Having been raised by a cowboy, I’ve eaten a bean or two. Or three. In fact, there was one winter there where we didn’t have two pennies to rub together, a piggy bank to put them or a window to throw it out of and we ate nothing pinto beans. Well, we did have a few things canned from the garden, deer meat, some cheap pullet eggs from a well meaning neighbor and homemade bread from freshly ground wheat and some goats milk from the goats I got to milk. But really, that was about it. Mom claims it was the healthiest winter we have on record. Not that we kept track.

Anyway. I know my way around a bean. (I think ‘The Dry Bean’ is the coolest name for a tavern). You would think after all those years of beans, beans the musical fruit I would be sick of them, but I’m not. I still love them and much to the chagrin of my family, I fix them about once a week. Beans are a cheap protein that’s comforting and good to this former cowgirl. Besides it’s far too late to change my silly ways now.

Since I’m in a good mood and my dad’s birthday is coming up I’ll share his cowboy bean secrets with you today, in remembrance of him.

One Cowboy’s Bean Recipe

One kid to sort the good guys out of your bag of pinto beans.

from the bad…

After the beans are sorted rinse, drain and repeat…

until the water is clear and lovely. Then put in enough water to cover the beans.

Add one onion roughly chopped and four or five cloves of garlic. I smash and mince mine…Dad always smacked them once and threw them in the water and picked out the floating peels, but he was weird.

A handful of salt, that equates into a couple tablespoons.

 A ham bone. If a ham bone isn’t available use bacon, smoked turkey leg or a drip or two of liquid smoke. You can also throw in a beef, chicken, or vegetable bullion cube or four if you want too.

If you like your beans with a thick broth…put in a third navy beans. They break down fast when they cook, leaving a nice thick broth.

Cook with a wooden spoon so all the farts can climb out. 

And remember…to sing to your beans, just cause Dad did. 

Serve with cornbread, biscuits, fried taters or greens and a bunch of these pickled peppers to your best friends and family, only after saying a prayer of thankfulness that your eating beans cause you want to, not cause you have to. And as you serve them to your favorite people quote my Aunt Betty and say, “I wonder what the po folks are eating.”

Simply,

Sis

I am a lady of luxury who, most of the time, masquerades simply as a stay at home mom. I’ve been married to my banjo playing, soul mate, Ben, since 1995. We bypassed living in town for a simple life in an old farm house, that smells of two boys, and sits in the middle of a wheat field in Kansas.

Ben and I decided early on, one paycheck (whatever the size) is simply ENOUGH. Come to find out, like a good wine…money has legs too. After a few years of chasing our dashing dollars, we found our ‘money legs’. We paid off our debt and started making choices for our money instead of our money making choices for us. We live DEBT-FREE, except our dwindling mortgage, choosing to invest our time and money in simple things and relationships. We have discovered in the process we simply have more than enough. In fact, we are rich.

Of course…our life isn’t easy or perfect. And some days..okay… most days… I fail miserably at being content. In fact this site could be called a lot of other, more fitting things…but reclaiming simplicity is what I DO EVERY DAY. Turns out…all and all…I’m purdy good at the place in life that has been reserved for me. I’ll share some zany tales and tips I’ve learned along the way.

Ben’s work requires crazy hours, so I keep the fire stoked, the garden weeded and good food ready for any stray kid, cat, neighbor, coworker or otherwise, who we are blessed enough to share our journey with. And now, YOU! I’m honored! Welcome to my hilariously simple life. You can have one too, FREE for the taking, if you choose to CLAIM it.

So sit deep and come often.

Sandhill Sis