Friday, May 21, 2010

Wash Day Dinner ---Beans and Rice and whatever else is leftover


Remember the tea towels that our mothers taught us how to embroider, the days of the week, our chores to be done…Monday was wash day, Tuesday was ironing day, Wednesday sewing, Thursday shopping, Friday cleaning, Saturday baking, Sunday was a day of rest. Not only did we learn to embroider the days of the week we learned the childhood nursery rhyme “Here We Go ‘Round The Mulberry Bush" by singing it as we played a game imitating the actions of the days of the week.
Since Monday was laundry day and there was always so much of it, the “Wash Day Dinner” was and is still today a traditional southern dish with many variations. Brown beans or red beans, ham or hamburger, rice, whatever was left over in the refrigerator.

My sister Mary remember with fondness those Monday night dinners but it has been a long time since my mom had a busy household with children running in and out at all times; and with an automatic washing machine, the usual doldrum chores go much faster leaving more time to read cookbooks, magazines with recipes, and expand the traditions of past.

I went home to California to spend a nine days with my mom and celebrate mother’s day with her. I spent one afternoon with my sister helping her spring clean her closets. We called my mom late in the afternoon to let her know we would be coming home soon and asked what was for dinner or did she want us to pick something up on the way. “No!” mom said, she would have dinner ready when we got there. We asked “what’s for dinner” but mom wasn’t telling, just said dinner would be ready when we arrived.

To our surprise mom had fixed “Wash Day Dinner” to the best of her relocation. What a nice surprise for my sister and me. And while it was not “Monday”, dinner that night tasted wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed it along with the homemade apricot pie.

Be sure to make a pan of cornbread to serve with the wash day dinner because they just seem to go hand in hand.

Recipe:

1 ham bone, ham hock, leftover chicken, cooked hamburger, sausage cut into bite size pieces or roast beef chopped up
1 pound dry red kidney beans or leftover cooked brown beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
Optional – a few dashed of Tabasco sauce or chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
4c. water
4 c. chicken stock
Leftover corn can also be added
Leftover potatoes cut up can be added
1 large tomato diced or a 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
Brown or white rice cooked

Rinse bean and remove all foreign particles and soak overnight covered with water. Drain and rinse the bean and set aside.

In a large pot, sauté onion, celery, garlic, green peppers, and carrots in oil or butter until soft. Add water, meat, beans, tomato, tomato paste, and spices. Simmer on low for at least 3 hours (you can use your Crockpot), the flavors get better as it simmers.

Add the rice fifteen minutes before serving to soak up the flavors.

Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush’ Nursery Rhyme

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.

These are the chores we'll do this week,
Do this week,
Do this week.
These are the chores we'll do this week,
So early every morning.

This is the way we wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes,
So early Monday morning.

This is the way we iron our clothes,
Iron our clothes,
Iron our clothes.
This is the way we iron our clothes,
So early Tuesday morning.

This is the way we scrub the floor,
Scrub the floor,
Scrub the floor.
This is the way we scrub the floor,
So early Wednesday morning.

This is the way we mend our clothes,
Mend our clothes,
Mend our clothes.
This is the way we mend our clothes,
So early Thursday morning.

This is the way we sweep the floor,
Sweep the floor,
Sweep the floor.
This is the way we sweep the floor,
So early Friday morning.

This is the way we bake our bread,
Bake our bread,
Bake our bread.
This is the way we bake our bread,
So early Saturday morning.

This is the way we get dressed up,
Get dressed up,
Get dressed up.
This is the way we get dressed up,
So early Sunday morning.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.

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