Snappin' Beans

Right now is the time of year that is one of my favorites.  Summer is in full swing and the farmers' markets and stores are overflowing with fresh produce.  As a kid and as an adult one of my favorite summer vegetables are green beans.  Combine fresh green beans with corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes from the garden and something cooked on the grill and you are about as close to food heaven as it gets in my opinion.

This last weekend I picked up a couple of pounds of fresh green beans from the farmers' market where we shop.  As I was snapping them and cleaning them I was reminded of the many family gatherings I have attended over the years.  When I was still living at home with my parents and four sisters we often had fresh green beans in the summer.  It was usually one of our jobs to clean the beans.  The process for cleaning beans involves snapping off the tips and then breaking them into bite sized pieces before they are cooked.   Often, in the Midwest fresh green beans are combined with onions and maybe a little ham in the cooking process.  Although snapping beans is not one of my favorite tasks the end result of tender freshly cooked beans makes up for the time it takes to get them ready.

While I was working I was reminded of all the family gatherings and reunions where we had wonderful food and company.  It also reminded me that as my sisters and I grew up and moved away that our dad took over the bean cleaning duties when we would return to visit in the summer.  You could always tell when our dad did the bean cleaning.   Being a scientist he brought his propensity for precision to bean cleaning.  While my green beans are usually all different lengths, his green beans are broken precisely into the same lengths. We would always tease him about his precision cleaned and snapped beans!

So many of my family memories revolve around gatherings where we shared food; summer cookouts and picnics, holiday buffets and favorite recipes.  As a family history my sister and I compiled a book of family recipes and favorites from all of our gatherings, including photos.   We shared it with all our sisters, other relatives and any new additions to our family.  That is one way of keeping memories alive as the older generation is passing on. 

It just amazes me that one simple task of cleaning green beans can bring back so many memories.  What brings back memories for you?  Food?  Music? Scents?