Why Do I Do It???

Mmmmm Beans!! May I please have some? I am not a creature of habit, but my husband is. This is the kind of thing I imagine he would do. I like to think about things and analyse them to deah, so chances are if I am doing something that my mother always did it'because I agree with it, not because that's just what I was taught to do. It's like the story of the lady with the ham. She cut of the ends of the ham, and threw them away. Her husband asked why she'd waste good meat. She said "well, my mother always cut off the ends. I guess I thought there was something wrong with the ends." They went to her mother, where sure enough she was cutting o the ends of the ham. The son-in-law asked her why she did it. The mother replied "because my mother always did that. I thought there was something wrong with the ends, so like her, I cut it off. The next day they went to the grandmother's, and requesed a ham dinner. She put the ham on the counter and started to slice off the ends. "Why do you do that, " her daughter and grandchildre asked? "Well Dears, my pan is too small to accomodate the entire ham!" My French teacher told me that story twenty years ago (in French!!) and I have never forgotten it, to this day. For me that is a good lesson in why we need to think before we do.

I love pinto beans and yes I do sort mine and get all the little rocks out and the ones that are split and broken and the ones that look like they have been nibbled on by bugs. I also wash mine before cooking them. I used to soak them but later on I learned from my mother to bring them to a full boil then turn them off and put the lid on and let set for an hour, pour off the water and rinse them and then cook them. They cook faster and have less "gas" effect to them. My husband like chili powder cooked in them.

I think we all do things because thats the way our moms did them. I also sort the beans, the directions on the bag says to sort them. I also rinse them to get the dirt off of them. I have found rocks and pieces of dirt many times in a bag of beans. Someday your Aunt is going to bite down on a rock and be sorry she didn't rinse and sort her beans. I soak them and after soaking them I rinse them again. The second rinsing help makes the beans less gassy. I love pinto beans, I like making chili with the dried pintos too. I will use the canned kidney beans when I am in a hurry. Chili with pintos is the best.

twoey hi i do a lot of the things because I wastaught to do them that way but now I have learned that for good nutrition you do not have to cook your veggies in a ton of water until they cryuncle cause that loses all the vitamines and makes you veggies tasteless. now I use just a little water and only cook them til they are crisp tender, much better flavor and better nutrition' too. I always soak beans overnight then cook in the morning. my pasta has to be cooked o nly eight minutes to be aldente. any longer and it tastes like mush and yucky.

I don't ever really think about things like that. I'm sure I'm more the type who skips steps, and have learned along the way that skipping steps often makes the end results a lot different. I have a favorite cookie recipe, and you're supposed to combine 3 ingredients, then some other ingredients, then add the 2 mixtures together. I often skipped that and just added them all at the same time. The cookies would not come out very well when it was done that way.

First the beans...though we do wash them, other than that we just open the bags and dump them into a pot. Next question. Absolutely I do things simply because that was the way that I was taught. I am of the mind that if something works, why change it. Many of the things that I do in life are simply because that is the way that I was taught some even as a child growing up.

We are creatures of habit most times or it is just something we like. My husband loves Pinto beans. I used to do things as my mom taught me then I started to do things my way as I got more comfortable in my kitchen after I was married. I now do most things my way. I will cook our beans on high and boil them for 15 minutes or so then put in a crock pot to finish cooking for a few hours till done..I do have my certain ways I have to have things before I eat them but then that is alot of dishes. When I make cole slaw I will only use Mircle Whip salad dressing and I also use milk to..some don't use milk but everyone likes my cole slaw and ask for it at all the get togethers

My mom soaks her beans too. First of all, it is nice to see you here again! But your story reminded me of something my mom has told me, and can laugh about it now instead of being annoyed. When she and my dad first got married, he alwayws complained about the tea she made. He kept insisting it wasn't dark enough, it was way too light colored. Why she wondered? Because that is the way HIS mom made tea.

Funny how that happens. My husband and I talked about that not too long ago. We had fixed some green beans and he decided to do it like his mother did. I fixed fried chicken the way my mother did. I frequently find myself doing things the way my parents did. I don't even realize it but it is something I learned from them. And it usually is something small that unless I think about it comes naturally. It is only later that I remember it as something I learned long ago. Funny how somethings are so ingrained into our minds that we don't realize where they came from until we stop to think about it.

Hi twoey, I am usually doing things base on my learning and training at home and most of the time, I am learning different way with people..So, I am just trying to follow and change my style often..My Mother used to soak it before cooking, in that way, it will not take longer to cook them...

there are alot of foods that i make that i was taught to make from my mother and i do it the way i was taught and then there are other things that i make that was just an experiment. i've never really made anything with beans though other than chili for the hubby

Yes, I have thought about that many times in many situations. Cultures are so varied in many places that people can't even get along together. I am trying to think of the one big thing that was locally done that amazed me. Got one: Many third world country's do not remove the eyes in the fish they prepare. Ewwwwwwwwwww! But! That's how they do it. Not me.

Hi Twoey. I find I do things like my mother too. Since my parents are from Jamaica beans/peas are a staple in our food....especially every Sundy. Rice and peas up to my eyeballs. But anyways in regards to sorting and washing the beans it is to make sure that you don't get rocks in your food. I have seen my mother pick them out numerous times and wash them too. It is for these reasons why she tells me not to eat food from eveyone because you don't know how it is prepared. (I wont be eating from your aunt now that I know) You just want to make sure your food is clean before you start to prepare it for eating. Beans do come from the ground. I think I heard that soaking them releases some of the acid/gas that is in them so you don't end up living on the toilet after eating them. That is just what I hear. But my parents do this too and I think it just helps them cook faster. There have been other times where I will be doing something, full concentration and then glimps myself in the mirror and notice that I have the same facial expression as my mother. I'm always trying to create my own facial expressions.

I know more than one person who cut off the end of a roast because her mother did...then discovered it was because the mother's roasting pan wasn't big enough for the cut of meat. Come to think about it, that's probably how superstitions are perpetuated too. Our parents did something or didn't do something, and we blindly carry on tradition. Hmmm. Is that also how prejudices remain?

I do the Pintos the same as your mom to get the rocks and dirt out. rocks so little but can break teeth. and I wash them too. Now if ya go to Colo. ya cant cook them I tried for 4 days once and they never did get done loloolol

I always cook my meals plain without any seasonings. I prefer it that way. My mother always cooked that way so I just got used to it and don't like to take to much time preparing it a fancy way.

I always pick through my beans. I've found little stones, hunks of dirt, and some bad looking beans. I'd hate to cook up a whole pot of beans thinking there might be something like that in the finished product. I used to do a lot of things like my mom taught me, but over the years, I've started doing things my own way. Her macaroni and cheese was the best, and I would make it like she did if I could find the same brand of macaroni.

It's funny you mention this as one "tradition" my great grandmother had when she used beans was to soak them overnight, that way the dry beans are rehydrated. One can just simply cook them dry, but it takes longer I think. But no, I've never sorted them though

Yes, I have thought about that many times in many situations. Cultures are so varied in many places that people can't even get along together. I am trying to think of the one big thing that was locally done that amazed me. Got one: Many third world country's do not remove the eyes in the fish they prepare. Ewwwwwwwwwww! But! That's how they do it. Mot me.

I have always asked why! It is the best way to find out, if anybody knows! There can be dirt and stones in the beans, that is my understanding. Soaking them helps take a lot of the gas out of them before you cook them. They are good protein and fiber so I try to make them and eat them regularly.