Nothing really to do with your instructions. Just my own technique.

My mother was a wonderful cook, and I was her only child. I did help out a lot in the kitchen growing up, continuing well into my 20s. Unfortunately, cooking has never been something that I’ve enjoyed all that much, so I guess a lot of it didn’t stick. I tell people I’ve forgotten more about cooking than most people will ever know. My mother was not ‘trained’, but she was phenomenal. She was the oldest of 6 children, born in 1950, with a mother that was more of a playmate than a parent. This woman could make a feast out of anything. And I was often right there at her side as she did it. But my memory is naturally horrible, and I’ve done a lot of damage with drugs and drinking in the past.

I said that last paragraph to say that while I was cooking this meal, I caught myself feeling nostalgic and falling into feeling more comfortable with cooking, like I did growing up. I guess mom being there gave me a lot of confidence.

Anywho! The changes: I either soaked the beans too long, or cooked them too long. I ended up with more of a bean mush. Still very good, but I think I’d like them a bit more together lol. It is entirely possible I soaked them too long, as I put them in the fridge in a pot with water on Wednesday night, had a low mental health day and didn’t cook Thursday, and finally cooked them Friday at like 10am. There was also a point while cooking them when I thought they were probably good to go, and I should have trusted my gut instead of letting them cook longer.

I’d get more veggies! I was very constrained money wise, so that was all I was able to get. Unfortunately I was also shopping at the Asian market near my house, mostly because I didn’t feel like riding elsewhere, and their produce can be a little on the higher side. I could have gotten way more greens even at Publix (where I work, but more expensive than a lot of stores). But live and learn, or whatever. But I’d definitely want to get more mushrooms, way more greens, and maybe carrots or something. It’s extremely hearty as it is, but I think the carrots would add some nice color and flavor. I actually have some carrots, but I wasn’t confident about when I should add them to the veggies or how long they’d take. Now that I’ve got some made, I feel more comfortable experimenting. I’m guessing the carrots could go in with the mushrooms, time wise.

I am very intrigued about using different grains. I tire of rice pretty quickly. I love it, but it wears on me fast. I want to try the chickpeas, grits, and mushrooms that you recommended, because I love chickpeas. I’ve also never had oatmeal as a savory dish, I don’t think, so I’m excited to try that.

I really appreciate, again, you and the effort you put in to answering my question. I’ve been really struggling in a lot of ways. And of course this doesn’t solve all my problems, but it really has made me more confident in my ability to feed myself on very little money. For now it’s just the beans, but I’m excited to try out the other recipes as well, once I have the money. Unfortunately the second job I had isn’t going to pan out. It’s a contract position and after a conversation with the person training me, it became apparent that getting $13+ an hour out of the job was going to be a challenge, and was probably not going to happen in the short-term. I obviously can’t afford that. So I’m applying to other places around me; see if I can pick up 20 hours a week at a Goodwill or something. Just about whatever will hire me, at this point.

But you caring enough to spend the time, and the result of that time spent, has really been significant to me. I just want you to know you did a good! lol. Thank you so much. Even though th recipes are simple and honestly, harking back to what I said earlier, I should know how to do them. But I’ve lost so much. My memory and its faults is enough for a whole fucking effort post on its own, so I won’t go into it more right now.

I did also download that cookbook, so I’ll be trying some things out as I can.

Much love!