Friday Friend Recipe #222 -- Portuguese Beans

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I had about 50 of my closest friends and family (from all over the county) on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends . At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 19 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself?)--said,  "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to this... recipe #222

Traci's Portuguese Beans

Portuguese Beans
Traci Marques

2 24oz can pinto beans
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. bacon
1 to 2 links linguica--sliced into small bite sized pieces
4 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp cumin

Fry bacon and linguica - set aside to cool.  Simmer onions in bacon grease.  Drain into a bowl lined with paper towels.  In large pot dump beans, juice and all, add crumbled bacon, linguica pieces and onions.  Add tomato sauce and cumin. Stir well and simmer on low for 3-4 hours. Add more cumin to taste.

It's a different take on the old ham hocks and beans my mom used to make--but a very good one.

This is Traci's 8th recipe in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown.

(check out her others here:)

Traci is my person.

You know--the one I talk to every day.  Well maybe not 'talk' to but we email every day all day long.

We're both at work and we'll always say 'good-morning'  and then send little notes/questions/things going on in our lives throughout the day.

We've done it for 20 years.

Do we see each other ever?  No!

Did we get together much socially when we lived in the same town?  No!

Do we talk on the phone?  No!

Do we keep in touch via the US Postal Service?  We use to every week, now it's sporadic.

Do we know more about each others inner lives than our closest friends?  YES!!

Seriously we talk most of the day long 4 or 5 days a week.

We know each other's deep dark secrets.

One day---and I don't know how this subject came about--Traci said,  how often does anybody ever see a real cowboy?   She was implying the answer was--NEVER!

Well, Holy Cow! (that's a pun--and you'll see why)

 I was shocked that she didn't know this about me-- my answer was,

every single day of my life!

Traci comes from the land of Dairy Cattle--she sees cows. She smells cows.  She is surrounded by cows.  Dairy Cows.  

I knew I would one day write a post like this so I said, the next time you are by a dairy  (her Portuguese son-in-law...see how this all comes together? Portuguese son-in-law AND Portuguese beans... and daughter own one) take a picture for me, would you?

She didn't and I kept bugging her to do so,  so one day she sent me these  (she's an elementary school librarian) (as well as a smart-ass)

I mean alec….Smart Alec! 

Sorry about that. 😏

I on the other hand, come from the land of Cowboy Country -- no, really, the Nevada State Tourism Office has divided Nevada into territories (for tourism purposes) and I do live in COWBOY COUNTRY!

I won't even meander to stories of my granddad being a cattle rancher in Oregon--a cowboy.

But back to the story at hand--I never thought about it, but I do live among working cowboys.  The Handyman and I are not, but we live and love and encounter REAL cowboys every day of our lives.

Once a year there is a huge beef cattle auction --done on video--and all the cowboys/ranchers come to buy and sell.  I took a picture of the crowd one year.

And this was a real cowboy showing some little cowboys how to lasso.  Something they really do use in their life.

I love Dairy country--because I also lived there for 5 years.  I too, saw it, smelled it and lived it, but the two, Dairy and Beef, cattle are miles apart--both very important and hard hard work, but living where I live now, and have lived for most of my life, you can just be out driving and come across an honest to goodness 'cattle drive'.  STILL!  In this day and age.

And we have 'free range' here in the state of Nevada so cattle can roam for miles and they have the right of way on any dirt road you are driving on.

I like to photograph them.

I say  'moo' as anyone does and they look up and think 'yeah, that was really funny lady.  I've never heard that one before.'

I will end with this-- cow dogs!  They help the cowboys with their job.

These guys are working hard to get the cow thru the gate.

I love them so much.

 And a shout out to all the cattlemen in every state--Beef and Dairy. It's a hard life, but a good one.

My mother bought my kids a shirt once that said

Farming!  It's everybody's daily bread.

It's true.  Farmers and Ranchers!  Where would we be without them! (not a question)

This is recipe #222 only 145 left to go!

Friday Friend Recipe #202 -- Greek Pasta Salad

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #202

(#willreallyfinishthissomeday)

Ashley's  Greek Pasta Salad

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

...and the rest is cookbook history!

This is a great Pasta Salad!

Serve along side some grilled chicken and a fruit salad and it's a perfect summer meal.

I don't have as many photos of Ashley as I'd like to.  She moved away before cell phone photo taking was common. 

Here are  a couple that I found of the Chamber of Commerce Crew working the concession stand at the fair grounds for an event they brought in years ago. Years ago.

I did not help--I just took a couple of photos.  I did not work for the Chamber of Commerce at the time and there was no way I was going to stand over a hot grill in the heat of the summer if I didn't have to.  

(now I have too, but I get paid for stuff like that--and thankfully, we/chamber doesn't do events where any of us have to stand over a hot griddle anymore)

These are all volunteers. ( Look how happy the Handyman looks!)

Ashley always was involved in her community.

She set her feet down in a place and claimed it as her own--loved it, cared about it, understood it.

The only trouble was---she moved on---a couple times.  Maybe not easily. She always said that her husband had to drag her to Winnemucca kicking and screaming and now the only way she was going to leave it was kicking and screaming.

She kicked and screamed her way up into Idaho and has done great for herself!

Long before she was the owner of 5 restaurants, she was showing people how to use a hot grill. 

At this event the Chamber brought to town.

What event?

BULLS ONLY

( a bull riding event)

Say what?

We're outta here!

The arena is bigger than it looks here, I was  trying to get a close up.

Interesting Bull Rider fact:

Where we assume that because they are cowboys, they listen to country music before they ride.  NO, they listen to hard rock music.  It was blaring from the stalls-- it gets the adrenaline going and stokes them up for their 8 seconds in the saddle.

You want to try it?

This is recipe #202 only 165 left to go!