Beans
I am not a Southern Gal.
We had just two kinds of beans where I grew up. There were green beans and dried beans. The dried beans were further divided into Great Northern –used for baked beans; lima beans which only my father liked and so we never had them, kidney beans again liked only by my father; pinto beans which my husband and I ate by the pound as they were so cheap.
Then I moved to Georgia and subsequently to Texas. I was bombarded by purple hull peas, crowders, ladypeas, and so forth. They all looked like beans to me. Trying to snap those purple hulls was a challenge and after I cooked them, well, they were awful. I could not figure out why anyone would want to eat them–until someone told me that they had to be shelled or husked.
Now I have a garden where I practice growing vegetables. Sometimes I am successful but sometimes what I get from the planting is not what I intended. I wanted green beans but I think I got some sort of hard bean. I had a large bowl ful and after shelling them, I microwaved them for a few minutes with a bit of salt.
I think I’ll have better luck with the okra.
Sylvia Weir Art 