Doing unto others ...

This Christmas, I did more - a lot more - cookin' for others than I did for myself, or for ma famille (for the first time in a long time).

I prepared ten pounds of mashed potatoes for homeless folks at my church two weeks ago; and I cooked up at least - at least - three gallons of homemade chicken soup for the folks participating in my church's drive-through nativity the following weekend. Then, on Christmas Eve, I cooked up a big pot o' green beans for, again, the homeless who'd gathered at my church looking for a warm meal and a warm bed.

I mention all this not to insinuate that I'm a holier-than-thou man who's gotta eat. Indeed, I mention it in the context of this Web site because I'm slowly learning how to "expand" my recipes to feed more than a handful of people. Such learnin' will serve me well if and when - emphasis on when - I start serving food to a mass eatin' public.

Here're a couple o' pics from my Christmas Eve green beans:



I was forced to use two big cans of Del Monte string beans, instead of Allen's pole beans, 'cause that's all Wal-Mart had on Christmas Eve. But that was okay. My beans were still good ... even though Del Monte's string beans are heavy on strings, indeed.

I cooked my green beans like this:

I poured off the can-water from my beans, then I put 'em in a stock pot. I cubed three potatoes, and I put the taters in the pot. Then I sliced three big hunks off a slab of country bacon ... and I put 'em in the pot. I added a little salt and pepper, and I threw in about two tablespoons of sugar (my, er, my Granny Ruby's secret).

And not a bean or string was left in that pot ...