A food fix.
- At March 13, 2011
- By Molly Chester
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Do you remember the canned french-cut green beans of the 80’s? I do. I used to love them with a big ‘ole hunk of margarine. How times have changed…
Lately, I’ve been digging things that remind me of being little. For example, Homemade 24-Hour Chicken Stock, the chameleon of comfort foods, warmed up with a little sea salt reminds me of the smell of Campbell’s Chicken with Stars, a frequent childhood lunch. Yesterday, John, not knowing I had some in my thermos, asked me why the car smelled like McDonald’s. And honestly, it did smell a bit like french fries.
Last weekend, my sister-in-law took my niece home to Atlanta to visit my mom and dad and with the happy news of their visit came a little wave of homesickness. Though I really love living in California and my family still manages to find quality together-time, I miss the simple pleasure of swinging by mom and dad’s for a meal and a hug. Mom is such a good cook, too. I heard she was making a family favorite that is headed for our cookbook called Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy, and I moped for the next 1/2 hour.
Every evening of my childhood, I had dinner around the table with Mom, Dad and brother Matt. Probably the reason why family meals are something that I really miss. Back then, the same love was there, the same care in preparation. We just didn’t yet have the knowledge that margarine isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and canned green beans, though easier, can’t compare to their fresh counterparts.
So on a homesick day, I take one of those meals of my memories and add back the goodies that the 80’s stripped away. In this recipe, bacon grease, butter, fresh beans and 24-Hour Chicken Stock come together to recreate the canned french green beans of my childhood.
Click HERE for the French Cut Green Beans with Bacon recipe…
