Poor People Food

Last night I made beans and cornbread for dinner. My grandmother had bought me a bag of Anasazi beans when I was in West Virginia. They’re these adorable red-and-white speckled beans, and they’re similar to pintos in taste and texture, but they cook quickly and require no soaking. I cooked them with a ham hock and some chopped onion and garlic, and they were insanely flavorful. Right up to the edge of too flavorful, but not too much. Even Jesse liked the beans, and he’s not much of a bean person (though he eats anything put in front of him, bless him). The cornbread was good too, soft and sweet. We ate it in front of the TV, watching “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” We could answer almost all the clues on “Jeopardy!” because it was Kids Week, except the clues about Disney Channel shows. We threw our hands up in frustration when no one wagered enough for the final clue.

The meal made me think of my grandfather, who ate his fair share of beans and cornbread, who ate sliced tomato and whole green onions straight from the garden. And the TV made me think of childhood, when on Wheel’s bonus round contestants only got to pick from the letters W-H-E-E-L for their prizes, not some stupid wheel with a billion possibilities and flashing lights. I’d always think about which letter I’d pick. One of the E’s was always my top choice, but what if they had both been chosen already? Oh, the dilemma! What to pick? And then, which letters to choose in addition to R-S-T-L-N-E? Important decisions, something to consider carefully when you’re ten, or when you’re twenty-six, mopping up the last of the ham-flavored juice with a lump of cornbread…